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EDITORIAL: Maintain major specificity
Don't overemphasize interdisciplinary studies
Editorial | 4/21/09
Posted online at 2:11 AM EST on 4/21/09
If the new proposals by the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee can be called anything, it's ambitious. Its meticulous collating of academic disciplines and redistribution of academic resources shows as much consideration for both students and faculty as one should expect, especially given the state of our University's finances. But as good as many of these suggestions are, this editorial board has some reservations about the long-term effects of some of the CARS proposals, some of which we fear may dilute the academic rigor for which our school is known.
For some departments, absorption under a larger academic umbrella makes sense. Much of American Studies can easily be placed under the auspices of a larger History or Politics department, as can African and Afro-American Studies. In these cases, the committee's fat-trimming exercises are well-thought-out and appropriate. However, with a department such as Classics, the formula doesn't work quite as well. The study of ancient Greek and Latin history, texts and culture has been codified over the centuries as a traditional academic discipline. While the CARS program allows students to continue to have the option of majoring in African and Afro-American Studies, American Studies and Classics, even if those departments are absorbed into other similar departments, dissolving the Classics department and spreading its professors among different departments cannot be accomplished easily and logically and will be much more to the detriment of Classics majors than such a maneuver would be for majors in African and Afro-American studies and in American Studies.
While America's service economy calls for well-rounded, flexible minds and people who can move easily among fields, the University should take caution before rendering a large majority of traditional majors "interdisciplinary." Classics cannot easily be redistributed as simply history, art and literature classics focusing on the Greeks and Romans. Likewise, other areas of study cannot easily broaden the scope of their classes in order to appeal to a wider demographic.
For some departments, absorption under a larger academic umbrella makes sense. Much of American Studies can easily be placed under the auspices of a larger History or Politics department, as can African and Afro-American Studies. In these cases, the committee's fat-trimming exercises are well-thought-out and appropriate. However, with a department such as Classics, the formula doesn't work quite as well. The study of ancient Greek and Latin history, texts and culture has been codified over the centuries as a traditional academic discipline. While the CARS program allows students to continue to have the option of majoring in African and Afro-American Studies, American Studies and Classics, even if those departments are absorbed into other similar departments, dissolving the Classics department and spreading its professors among different departments cannot be accomplished easily and logically and will be much more to the detriment of Classics majors than such a maneuver would be for majors in African and Afro-American studies and in American Studies.
While America's service economy calls for well-rounded, flexible minds and people who can move easily among fields, the University should take caution before rendering a large majority of traditional majors "interdisciplinary." Classics cannot easily be redistributed as simply history, art and literature classics focusing on the Greeks and Romans. Likewise, other areas of study cannot easily broaden the scope of their classes in order to appeal to a wider demographic.
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