Thank you for this thoughtful article! In order to claim to be a university, Columbia must acknowledge intellectual diversity, and protect academic freedom. Good to know that the discussion about the CC syllabus is ongoing and that excellent writers such as yourself populate the senior class. I happened to take first semester CC in 1989 and the second semester in 1996 (long story). I feel like I’ve heard 4 or 5 generations of debates about the syllabus but little commentary that makes the case for the importance of considering opposite perspectives. Perhaps too often in the Committee on the Core it is thought that the instructor can briefly but fairly address the historical/cultural context.
Thank you for this thoughtful article! In order to claim to be a university, Columbia must acknowledge intellectual diversity, and protect academic freedom. Good to know that the discussion about the CC syllabus is ongoing and that excellent writers such as yourself populate the senior class. I happened to take first semester CC in 1989 and the second semester in 1996 (long story). I feel like I’ve heard 4 or 5 generations of debates about the syllabus but little commentary that makes the case for the importance of considering opposite perspectives. Perhaps too often in the Committee on the Core it is thought that the instructor can briefly but fairly address the historical/cultural context.