History Dept. at Oberlin College Emphasizes Leftist Ideology, Including Course Examining ‘Whiteness’
“an enduring commitment to acting in the world to further social justice”
If and when Oberlin College goes the way of Hampshire College, the country will be better off.
Campus Reform reports:
Oberlin College’s history department features emphasis on leftist ideology, including course examining ‘Whiteness’
Oberlin College, an Ohio private liberal arts college, has long held a reputation for being one of America’s most liberal post secondary institutions.
The school took the top spot in a list of “The 10 Most Liberal Colleges” compiled by AP Guru, which noted its “strong commitment to social activism” and “history of promoting social justice, diversity, and inclusion.”
This reputation is confirmed by students attending the school. In a survey on the college’s political leanings, 75 percent of students identified as “liberal or “very liberal,” and a total of 94 percent gave the same labels to “the political beliefs of the campus as a whole.
Oberlin itself proclaims its commitment to advancing progressive ideas in its stated “Learning Goals,” noting that students who attend should develop “a critical understanding of the historical and cultural factors that underlie difference and inequality in U.S. and global societies” and “an enduring commitment to acting in the world to further social justice.”
“We value this highly not just because of Oberlin’s unique history in terms of the early role it played in the education of African Americans and women, but because truly engaged learning requires the presence of diverse learning communities and the reduction of barriers to inclusion at every level,” the school’s website states. “And this, in turn, requires providing the resources needed to support diversity and to help the entire Oberlin community understand how inequality has been generated, shaped, and or challenged both in the past and at the present time.”
This devotion to leftist ideology is seen within the course offerings of the school’s history department, which purports to prepare students to “flourish in a range of professional pathways and as engaged citizens in a rapidly changing world.”
One such course, “The History and Practice of Whiteness in the United States,” appears to portray white people in a disparaging light.
“This course explores the creation of white racial identity in the 18th century, its evolution since its invention, and the policing and privileging of whiteness over the course of U.S. history,” the course description reads. “Themes include the role of law and science in defining white racial identity; how immigrants and other groups have sought to ‘become white’ or have challenged the boundaries of whiteness; and how the state has granted economic and political privilege to those deemed white.”
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Comments
Oberlin has always been run by a bunch of kooks. This “history department” is run by fools who claim to be progressive. There is nothing progressive about blaming whites for all the problems of our society. I put the name of the department in quotes because there is nothing historical about their courses if this one is an example of their coursework. As a retired stem professor, I am disgusted by this poorly run school.
Why am I not surprised?
Could someone check to see how much of the $8O million loan Oberlin received from Obama and friends after they had to pay out $36 MM to settle the civil suit that we all know about? The DOE “loan” was supposedly for “energy efficient” improvements. I’m sure the Dept. of Education is collecting the monthly payments. or maybe not..
In contrast, Bob Neil’s “Germany since 1914” was one of the best courses that I took at Oberlin. He explained the Nazi psyche in a nutshell. In retrospect, I often wonder if half of the class was thinking “what they did was wrong” and the other half thinking “this is what they did wrong.”
I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
Curiously, I believe it was “white people” that freed the slaves. Or was it some other mysterious force?
The fundamental purpose of a liberal arts college education is teach
Researching skills
Analysis skills
The ability to synthesize variously sourced material into a composite
The ability to report coherently on what you have found
The ability to draw conclusions from your research
The ability to defend the reasoning behind your conclusions
The ability to intelligently and coherently challenge the research and conclusions of others.
In my opinion it doesn’t matter what you study as long as you learn those skills.
Now, ideally you will also learn technical skills specific to an occupation in college – but that is going beyond a classic “Liberal Arts” education.