Description
In this course, students will make the university itself—as a historical creation, a social body, and an institution—into an object of analysis. They will reflect on problems with the university, its relation to the wider public, and the dangers that concentration and specialization pose for learning. They will also gain critical insight into the university as an instrument of social segregation and control. Student projects can include: examining education access and outcomes for black vs. white students, graduate placement, and contemporary debates over affirmative action and discriminatory admission policies (e.g., at Harvard and other Ivy Leagues).
Area of Study: History and Methods
Required/Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Admission into a Program of Study and completion of HAM 7401 – The Humanities and the University I
Instructor: Dr. Joydeep Bagchee