我第一次接觸“Liberal Education(自由教育，又稱通才教育)”這個概念是在念大三時上的《美國文化》這門課上。美國大學奉行的Liberal Education旨在培養學生全麵發展，不以“專業學習”為目標，而其中，“哲學”方麵的學習被擺在了很重要的位置。有人說，哲學是科學中的科學，雖然哲學不能取代科學，但它卻指導了科學。哲學討論的不止是“我是誰”、“人是什麼”這些問題，它還要人們學會如何思考，而這也是埃及開羅的美國大學希望其學生掌握的能力。
——Mac
When Rafik Gindy graduated from high school， he knew he wanted to become an engineer. So he enrolled at the American University in Cairo and prepared to 1)immerse himself in math and science.
But the university had a different idea.
Mr. Gindy knew what he wanted to be， but did not exactly know who he was. That was what the university wanted him to think about， in a class called The Human Quest： Exploring the Big Questions.
“I thought identity was just your name， your culture， but now I know it’s really complex，” said Mr. Gindy， a 2)slender freshman who shook his head at that 3)revelation.
Who am I？
What does it mean to be human？
These are the kinds of questions posed to undergraduate students entering this 90-year-old university during what the president， David D. Arnold， called a first year of “4)disorientation.” During disorientation， the students—85 percent of them Egyptians—are taught to learn in ways quite 5)at odds with the traditional method of teaching in this country， where instructors lecture， students memorize and tests are exercises in 6)regurgitation.
“It’s different here because there is room for people to express themselves，” said Manar Mohsen， a junior majoring in political science and journalism. “It is not that simple outside， where it is more about 7)conformity.”
In Egypt， education is based on the concept of 8)rote learning， and creativity in the classroom is often discouraged. Students at Cairo University say they memorize and recite， never analyze and 9)hypothesize.
American University is a private， elite school， although university officials sometimes 10)recoil at the elite label. Yet， the school is expensive and so is generally out of reach for all but the wealthiest families and a handful of scholarship students. Tuition and fees for Egyptian students run about $19，600 a year， a 11)princely sum in a country where about half the population lives on about $2 a day.
The campus 12)exudes 13)affluence. Students joke about the “14)Gucci 15)corridor，” a spot where 16)well-coiffed students gather each afternoon. There is no cafeteria， only expensive fast-food 17)stands.
“We are all rich and spoiled，” said one student， upset that more of her classmates were not more politically aware. But in some respects， the elite label is a strength. American University plays a central role as a sort of intellectual 18)boot camp for young people who will become leaders in government and the economy.