My letter to the editor was published today in the Wall Street Journal in which I argue that the rationale for requiring Western Civ courses for college undergraduates should not be coupled with political conservatism. The reasons are not entirely pragmatic: of course, there needs to be an argument for teaching Western Civ that doesn’t require professors to register for the Republican Party. But even at Columbia, where the faculty is bluer than blue, the faculty support this strict Core Curriculum.
Politics never needed to be tied to curriculum, and pretending like they must go hand-in-hand doesn’t promote dialogue among academics.