University Education.....strange but true

[LovetoGiveRoses]

I'm a strong supporter of education, don't get me wrong. However, some parts of our US academia are a little strange. Here's a quick summary of some of the more bizarre offerings.

What do you think of this?

Study lists 'bizarre' college courses
By Ellen Sorokin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

"Philosophy and Star Trek," "Seeing Queerly" and "Who is Black," are among the college courses offered this year at public and private universities, an annual study of the most outlandish and politically biased courses has found.

The study, conducted by the Young America's Foundation (YAF), also found that radical authors and philosophers including Cornel West and Karl Marx have a monopoly in the college classrooms, while conservative scholars such as Milton Friedman and Paul Johnson have been ignored.

Rick Parsons, who authored the study, said many academic institutions no longer require courses in fundamental subjects such as American history or Western civilization. Yet, they use taxpayer money to fund "eccentric, bizarre and politically correct" courses, he said.

"Americans need to realize what they're paying for," said Mr. Parsons, program officer of the conservative educational organization that saved former President Ronald Reagan's Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara, Calif.

"We're not saying that these courses should be banned. The point here is by offering these kinds of courses, the universities are taking away resources from traditional courses that could be taught, like American history."

Mr. Parsons relied on the course descriptions provided by colleges and universities nationwide to produce the study.

Some of the classes listed in the study are:

•"Philosophy and Star Trek" at Georgetown University. The course asks: "Is time travel possible?" "Can a person survive death," "Could we go back and kill our grandmothers?" and "Is Data a person?"

•"Seeing Queerly: Queer Theory, Film, and Video" at Brown University. The course asks, "While cinema has typically circumscribed vision along (heterosexually) normative lines, can film also empower viewers to see 'queerly'?"

•"Cultural History of Rap" at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The class offers a discussion "on musical and verbal qualities, philosophical and political ideologies, gender representation, and influences on cinema and popular culture" in rap.

University officials defended their course selections yesterday.

UCLA officials said the university teaches more than 3,000 courses that "cover the full spectrum of liberal arts and sciences."

"And there is certainly room for adding new courses that deal with emerging social issues, music and culture, whether you like the music in this case or not," said Harlan Lebo, a university spokesman.

Mark Nickel, director of Brown's news service, said YAF knows nothing about the courses that make its list.

"To concoct a list of courses with titles that counter their ideology leaves the impression that these courses are easy, and they're not," said Mr. Nickel. "At some point, it becomes pointless to respond to their assertions."

Other classes cited by the study are:

•"Language and Sexual Diversity" at the University of Minnesota. The class teaches how language is used in "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities" and the "ways in which sexual diversity affects language use."

•"Black Feminism" at the University of Missouri. The course examines "the multiple systems of oppression on black women's lives and black women's collective actions against social structures."

•"Ecofeminism" at the University of Florida. It explores "Western tradition's naturalization of women and feminization of nature, drawing the conclusion that the domination of women and the domination of nature are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing."

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

If I'd said something like "PC runs rampant at Universities", there'd have been a hundred angry responses by now. That's not my style though. I remember being in school and taking "lark" electives. These are kinda bizarre though, even for electives.

It worries me that some schools are de-emphasizing "Western Civ" which is a bedrock of our culture.

Maybe our culture is changing away from "Western" ideals. That would be sad. Much of the world outside the "Western" countries is brutal and difficult.

 

[Rex1960]

...It worries me that some schools are de-emphasizing "Western Civ" which is a bedrock of our culture.

Maybe our culture is changing away from "Western" ideals. That would be sad. Much of the world outside the "Western" countries is brutal and difficult.

"western" as in "christian occident" ?

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

"western" as in "christian occident" ?

It's semester long required course in most Universities. It is a brief summary of Western European history emphasizing the thought and philsophy that is generally considered "Western." The philosophy generally covers religion too, from the Druids to Rome through Lutherism. It's an attempt to show Americans where our traditions and culture comes from.

Though, in some places it's being eliminated as a requirement.

 

[Hamletmaschine]

... Though, in some places it's being eliminated as a requirement.

Yeah, eliminated completely in schools of busniess and physical sciences--along with literature, philosophy, foreign languages.... Those goddamned leftist business people and scientists are ruining Our Culture.

 

[Guest]

 

[Hamletmaschine]

LOL - Hi, foxy-loxy! Hope you're well and happy.

 

[Guest]

 

[Hamletmaschine]

I'd be happy with that.

 

[lavender]

 

[lavender]

 

[Guest]

 

[freescorfr]

I can't be assed reading the C&P.

So I'm just gonna agree with Hammy.

He's so smart

And very funny. I'd have him in charge of USA Higher Education if I were you. I want him as a major contributor for my "Conference in a Field" on the dissolution of acadmeic institutions.

 

[Guest]

 

[lavender]

 

[Guest]

 

[Hamletmaschine]

Let's all go over and play in Free's field. It's in France or Scotland, either of which sounds good to me at the moment.

 

[Guest]

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

•"Language and Sexual Diversity" at the University of Minnesota. The class teaches how language is used in "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities" and the "ways in which sexual diversity affects language use."

•"Black Feminism" at the University of Missouri. The course examines "the multiple systems of oppression on black women's lives and black women's collective actions against social structures."

•"Ecofeminism" at the University of Florida. It explores "Western tradition's naturalization of women and feminization of nature, drawing the conclusion that the domination of women and the domination of nature are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing."

If these courses are elective, I don't care though I'll still keep my kids away from them. If however, courses like these are being substituted for "Western Civ" then I'll have an issue.

Forget Greek philosophy, forget the tragedy of Julius Caesar, who needs to know about Martin Luther other than he's a dead white guy? In preference, we should teach about the nuances of effective communication in a gay bathhouse? Maybe in some places that's considered "Greek History" though it's fairly narrow, don't you think?

These courses are catering to the legitimization of "victimization", and if that is taught in preferance to an understanding of the successes and failures of Western Civilization or that our teaching evolves to be the villanization of Western Civilization, then that's a sad thing. I don't want to be a censure, I believe in free speech, so I'll not say they shouldn't be taught. If people want to take those courses, fine. However, I'll be working to ensure that my kids have a well balanced education and don't have to spend their time learning the benefits and "glory" associated with claiming to be a victim in preference to a more balanced education. I hope they learn empathy and understand where oppression has taken place in the world and what people have done to overcome it, but I'd like to see it done in a world-wide focus, part of a balanced approach and not in some sort of a PC context.

There are a great deal of grand aspects to Western Civilization and they should be praised. There are problems too, and those shouldn't be hidden, but should be open for debate. But to focus on only the failures or to ignore it completely isn't a positive change in our overall educational goals.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

*packs bags*

He's in France, a beautiful section of France too.

 

[Guest]

If these courses are elective, I don't care though I'll still keep my kids away from them. If however, courses like these are being substituted for "Western Civ" then I'll have an issue.

Most of these courses are additional courses that people can take if they are interested in them. Your idea of elective and required classes is a bit antiquated. For example, my university had "dimensions" that had to be fulfilled. Many classes fulfilled a particular "dimension." For example, instead of being forced to take Biology I, you had to feel a "Science" dimension. You could take many classes in order to fulfill that requirement but you did have to take something that was "Science" related. You also had to take a public policy course. Courses such as Health Care Policy in the United States or maybe Gay Rights in the 20th Century or something like that might fulfill such a requirement.

All universities still offer basic history and civilization courses, they just also offer a broad spectrum of things. They like to cater to the students' interests. I think it is better for a school to offer a broad spectrum of classes to find out what particular students are interested in learning.

Forget Greek philosophy, forget the tragedy of Julius Caesar, who needs to know about Martin Luther other than he's a dead white guy? In preference, we should teach about the nuances of effective communication in a gay bathhouse? Maybe in some places that's considered "Greek History" though it's fairly narrow, don't you think?

That is very insulting to say that a class about queer theory is about effective communication in a gay bathhouse. You obviously know very little about queer theory and how it applies historically and in present contexts. Your mind is so narrow on these subjects that you fail to see how beneficial such courses could be. I am no scholar of queer theory nor am I very knowledgeable about such theories, yet I can tell you some of what a course might teach. You would probably read some excerpts from Foucault's History of Sexuality. You would also read a lot of literature and historical documents that refer to sexuality - specifically sexual nonconformity - throughout history. You would probably analyze the way sexual nonconformists have been treated throughout Western civilizations. I would imagine a course would deal with sexual nonconformity in "Greek History" and possibly how it was dealt with in the Roman Republic. You would hear about how it was during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Europe. Although this might only take one or two class periods, you would understand how human sexuality has been treated throughout western civilization.

You might also read some highly acclaimed literature that had references to such behavior and or preferences. Then after that, we would see what psychological, sociological, cultural influences have created the taboo that is homosexuality in today's culture. You would probably learn a bit about how western religion has affected sexual norms.

What you need to know, LTGR, is that queer theory does not just encompass GLBTT persons (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgendered, FYI). Queer theory deals with all forms of sexual nonconformity. (BTW, many people believe that sex outside of marriage, outside of the missionary position is sexual noncormity). Queer theory and language is a critical topic in today's political and legal culture. This discusses why we have said that men who are sensitive or effiminate are "sissies," it examines why women who are strong, opinionated, and less "girlie" are called "dykes." It has much stronger social implications that simply how they communicate in the bathhouse. I would take this course in a heartbeat. In many ways, I think at least one lecture of this should be taught in almost ANY contemporary western civ class.

These courses are catering to the legitimization of "victimization", and if that is taught in preferance to an understanding of the successes and failures of Western Civilization or that our teaching evolves to be the villanization of Western Civilization, then that's a sad thing. I don't want to be a censure, I believe in free speech, so I'll not say they shouldn't be taught. If people want to take those courses, fine. However, I'll be working to ensure that my kids have a well balanced education and don't have to spend their time learning the benefits and "glory" associated with claiming to be a victim in preference to a more balanced education. I hope they learn empathy and understand where oppression has taken place in the world and what people have done to overcome it, but I'd like to see it done in a world-wide focus, part of a balanced approach and not in some sort of a PC context.

These courses do NOT cater to the legitimization of victimization and are NOT taught in preference to history, sociology or whatever courses. To be honest, my western civilization class was the most piss poor course I took in all of college. Would you call me a complete idiot about Western Civ? I would hope not. If you want your kids to have a well balanced education, LTGR, you need to get out of the 1950s Donna Reed thinking about education and realize that higher education and academia is about knowing what theories of our society are currently being promoted. Your kids need to learn these things to understand CURRENT constitutional battles as well as the sociopsychological underpinnings of these rulings. This is not about being PC. I think you misunderstand what all of these classes, that you hate, are all about.

There are a great deal of grand aspects to Western Civilization and they should be praised. There are problems too, and those shouldn't be hidden, but should be open for debate. But to focus on only the failures or to ignore it completely isn't a positive change in our overall educational goals.

These courses have NOTHING to do with focusing on the failures of western civilization. Me thinks you have a chip on your shoulder - to assume that anything about feminism, queer theory would delegitimize western civilization or delegitimize anything about the United States legal or political system. These courses are not as "political" as you might think.

Let's look at one course that you found to be idiotic: ecofeminism. Do you know what ecofeminism is? Ecofeminism is the idea that the principles of feminism are intricately linked to the way we treat Mother Earth (I'm oversimplifying here) Ecofeminism would discuss attitudes towards environmental policy on a domestic and international level and would tie this philosophies to that of feminist theory. It would examine how feminist theory and a love for Mother Earth are linked. How is this victimization?

Additionally, the class on Black Feminism would be amazing. Black feminism would look to black women who had been politically active throughout history. It would give you a different focus on the end of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement as well as current politics. Black feminism would introduce your child to a number of amazing black female writers who not only are significant in our literary history and tradition but who are significant in the whole grand scheme of American history. Black Feminism would also analyze feminist theory and probably critical race theory to see exactly where women who are black fit in. Are black women, women first? Or are they black first? Where are the lines to be drawn?

I think your post demonstrates that you have not truly thought through how beneficial some of these courses would be in broadening your child's mind and exposing them not only to "talking in gay bathhouses" but seeing a different side of our history, a different side of literature, and understanding thematically how this all ties in to who we are as people - as Americans, as individuals from Western Civilization.

 

[lavender]

 

[seXieleXie]

lavy makes it so i don't have to talk, ever. i'll just follow her around and say "yeah! what she said!"

 

[seXieleXie]

every university has tons of courses that marginalize the importance of minorities, women, and homosexuals. traditional history is not concerned with these groups because traditional history was written by those in power.

i challange you to find me a single reputable university that does not offer a western civ type course. most of us learned the history of white and european men in high school. i certainly don't need a rehash after 4 years of it.

my college (i don't know about the rest of the university) doesn't require that i take any one specific class, from calculus to classics. like lavy's i am required to take courses in a wide range of subject areas, but what courses i take are up to me. and so i learn about queer theory, about the chicano experiance in america, about the politics of difference. i take these courses in addition to organic chemistry, physics, the british literary tradition, statstics and macroeconomics. i know about martin luther, i've read plato, and i've studied the history of dead white men. now i want to know about the other 80% of the world. if you don't see the value in that, i feel very sorry for you.

 

[CoolidgEffect]

Yeah, eliminated completely in schools of busniess and physical sciences--along with literature, philosophy, foreign languages.... Those goddamned leftist business people and scientists are ruining Our Culture.

Bow down to our great power!!!!

Buah Hah Ha ha!!!

http://www.georgetown.edu/irvinemj/english016/franken/youngfr.jpg