The past five years have seen world horizons shrink as a result of the pandemic, even as they have expanded artificially in its aftermath as a result of new technologies. This special issue of Innovative Teaching and Learning, “Liberal Arts, Diversity, and Our Times,” combines reflections on liberal arts and the associated educational and cultural mission when driven, but also challenged, by the complex social, historical, economic and technological developments of our times. With the global rise of joint ventures in liberal arts education crossing Western and non-Western divides, ventures that experienced an important surge in the late twentieth century, it is important to understand how diversity, in the sense of addressing the needs of the whole person but also the widest variety of individuals comprising a student body, is reimagined in global contexts and at important intersections of learning traditions across spaces.

This article examines the pedagogical challenges and opportunities involved in teaching Media Studies in Chinese Mainland’s private liberal arts colleges, where demographics indicate that students are predominantly Han Chinese from upper-middle-class backgrounds, with limited exposure to social diversity. Employing a mixed-methods approach—quantitative analysis on enrollment data analysis, qualitative classroom observations and case studies of pedagogical initiatives, this article investigates the structural homogeneity of the student body and its implications for critical thinking. Findings reveal that while students initially focused on specific diversity topics (e.g., gender), structured pedagogical interventions broadened their critical awareness to include disability, religion, migration and cross-cultural representations. By emphasizing social-inclusion pedagogies centered on “social difference” rather than static “diversity,” this research demonstrates how educators can counter neoliberal marketization in higher education and foster critical engagement with plural communities. The study contributes to global debates on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by advocating for curricula that bridge privilege and social realities, thus preparing students to navigate and address inequality in a divided world.

Gender education has emerged as a focal point in today’s pluralistic society, as the construction of gender significantly influences personal identity cognition, well-being, and social interactions. In the context of tertiary education in China, gender-related courses are increasingly being integrated into general education frameworks, reflecting a societal attitude towards greater awareness of gender issues. To align with this educational paradigm, Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU; formerly United International College) which adopts a liberal arts teaching philosophy, has developed a course named Gender, Family, and Marriage. Within this course, an innovative experiential learning activity, "Gender Swap Day", has been incorporated to allow students to personally experience through the symbolic adoption of diverse dress codes, the identities conventionally associated with the opposite sex. This initiative aims to facilitate students’ understanding of gender as a socially constructed concept. Results from the activity indicate that participants come to recognize that gender roles and expectations are not static, rather, they are socially constructed. This activity has resulted in positive learning outcomes for many students, including increased interest in gender-related issues and the development of a more inclusive consciousness. The activity has its limitations; for example, its design assumes a restricted range of ways of expressing gender identity. Nevertheless, the insights garnered serve to inform the development of more diverse pedagogical and teaching approaches to gender education, thereby fostering a more empathetic societal awareness of gender issues.

This article explores how liberal arts education leads students to critically examine their everyday experience of mass media and to creatively transform their observation into radical knowledge about social norms, especially gender identities. The first part of this article lays out the shared grounds and connections between genre and gender: both are repetitive performances that reflect cultural rationality and gather people into distinct communities. The second part illustrates the significance of relating genre studies with gender issues in the liberal arts classroom through the example of the genre parody assignment in my Mellon-funded course “Race, Gender and Media.” Through showcasing two students’ parodic works, my article shows how liberal arts education can cultivate students’ genre-gender awareness and transform their experience of mass culture into knowledge about social norms.

At the present moment, there is a danger facing the proponents of liberal arts education. In trying to salvage the liberal arts tradition, its apologists risk diluting it to the point of unrecognizability. Invoking the Nietzschean category of untimeliness and drawing out the importance of reading the writings of the dead, this essay examines the contemporary cultural landscape and offers a critical assessment of the ongoing mechanization of human beings. It suggests that for liberal arts education to mean something substantive today, it must assume, in opposition to this dehumanizing process, a less acquiescent stance towards the environment in which it is imbedded.

The convergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse is fundamentally reshaping our understanding of work, leisure, and social interaction. This article examines these transformative technologies’ impact through the lens of contemporary research and sociological analysis. While generative AI tools like ChatGPT Sora, DALL-E, and Vidu are revolutionizing content creation and industrial processes, the metaverse is emerging as a persistent, immersive digital universe where physical and virtual realities converge. Through the seminal work of Italian sociologist Domenico De Masi, we analyze how these technologies are transforming creative industries, healthcare, education, and commerce. The metaverse, in particular, is redefining social interaction, work collaboration, and leisure activities through immersive virtual experiences and decentralized digital economies. Our analysis reveals that while these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for human creativity and connection, they also present significant challenges regarding job displacement, unequal digital access, and the potentially detrimental psychological impact of increased virtual immersion. The study emphasizes that successful integration of these technologies requires careful consideration of human values, equitable access, and the maintenance of meaningful connections to the physical world. Through examination of concrete applications and diverse stakeholder perspectives, we propose a framework for understanding and navigating this technological transition that balances innovation with human wellbeing.

This paper examines the transformation of liberal arts education under neoliberalism, focusing on the ideological shift that has redefined the purpose of higher education in economic terms. The paper traces the increasing instrumentalization of education through the lens of “human resources” and “human capital” theory. Drawing on the works of Gary Becker and Friedrich Hayek, it explores how neoliberal thought has reshaped not only educational institutions but also the very conception of knowledge and subjectivity. The argument highlights the paradox at the heart of neoliberal education policies: while higher education is framed as an investment in human capital, neoliberal economic theory simultaneously asserts the fundamental unpredictability of market demands and the limits of knowledge itself. The paper concludes by reflecting on the potential for intellectual freedom within this framework, reclaiming the liberal arts as a domain of autonomous inquiry beyond immediate economic utility.

Internationalization has motivated tertiary educational institutions to open their doors to global students and instructors. This movement has led to the adoption of the English language as a lingua franca among many distinct nationalities on the same campus. Consequently, the number of programs using English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in their classrooms has steadily grown, raising pedagogical issues associated with dealing with an academic community with diverse characteristics. Accordingly, the goal of this project is to identify and understand how teachers and students deal with the challenge of teaching and learning via EMI, specifically with regard to two issues: the different levels of English language proficiency in the classroom, and any distinct cultural features among participants that might hinder communication during a lesson. Some pedagogical scaffolding strategies such as the use of students’ L1, checking comprehension, co-construction of knowledge are identified. To better understand these pedagogical scaffolding strategies in a program using EMI, I present a case study of a postgraduate group and its instructor.

The use and effectiveness of Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) are thought to be shaped by personal variances as well as environmental and contextual factors. Given the intricate and dynamic characteristics of LLSs, a qualitative research approach is fitting for investigating this topic. This paper details the qualitative findings from a multiple-case study on English learning strategies among university students in the context of an English-medium university and complements earlier quantitative research on the topic (Luo et al., 2024). The data was gathered from semi-structured interviews. Findings show that the construction of students’ LLRs is profoundly influenced by significant others and their individual interest. There is considerable diversity in the size of LLS repertoires among learners as well as significant variation in their preference for dominant LLSs and their usage. The transition to an English-medium university environment has transformed participants’ perspective of the language from a distinct subject to a vital tool for acquiring professional knowledge. As a result, they place a greater emphasis on enhancing their speaking and writing skills. However, most learners lack affective strategies to manage their speaking anxiety. This study not only enhances understanding of students’ LLSs but also yields some important pedagogical implications.