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News: Yale caves in to SJWs, because course too white
Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 3,460
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Yale caves in to SJWs, because course too white
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Following a tumultuous academic year during which the diversity of scholarship and academia has come to the forefront of campus discussion, undergraduates in the English department have authored a petition to “decolonize” the department’s introductory curriculum.
The petition urges English department faculty to reevaluate the undergraduate curriculum, as well as reconsider the current core requirements and introductory courses. It particularly criticizes the Major English Poets sequence, a longtime prerequisite for the major and “perhaps the most distinctive element of English at Yale,” according to the department’s website. The petition calls for the abolishment of this prerequisite and for the pre-1800/1900 requirements to refocus and include literature relating to gender, race and sexuality. According to an author of the petition, who requested to remain anonymous, the petition has gathered 160 signatures as of Thursday night.
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“It’s time for the English major to decolonize — not diversify — its course offerings,” the petition reads. “A 21st century education is a diverse education: we write to you today inspired by student activism across the university, and to make sure that you know that the English department is not immune from the collective call to action.”
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Yale Daily News
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This isn’t the place to critique or defend the course—except to say that student evaluations for the spring semester of English 125/6 were overall very positive, as is usual.
English 125/6 is a course that introduces students to a particular literary tradition, and the course itself has the status of a tradition. The thing about literary traditions is, they are always being upended and remade. That is the history of English poetry from Chaucer to Eliot (or to Hughes or Stein or Bishop or Walcott or Glück, who were all taught this spring in one or another section of this multi-section course). So it seems fitting for students and faculty to raise questions about the course and its role in the major.
The questions on my mind about English 125/6 are: How can this course be made better? What is its relationship to the rest of the English Department curriculum? What should and shouldn’t the faculty require of its majors? What does a strong education in the discipline of English look like today? And what should it look like tomorrow?
The English Department faculty is charged with asking those questions about all of our courses. We ask them in formal and informal ways every year, and we will again next year. We’ll be in conversation with our students, who have a range of views. And we’ll make decisions about what we teach and what we ask of students that seem appropriate to us.
—Langdon Hammer, Niel Gray Jr. Professor of English and Chair, Department of English, Yale University
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Yale blogpost
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 14,345
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It particularly criticizes the Major English Poets sequence, a longtime prerequisite for the major and “perhaps the most distinctive element of English at Yale,” according to the department’s website. The petition calls for the abolishment of this prerequisite and for the pre-1800/1900 requirements to refocus and include literature relating to gender, race and sexuality.
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This actually does sound kind of interesting, I'm not sure how this will work out, could be good 
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 1,304
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political correct utopia is coming, bigots better be prepared 
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Member Since: 7/4/2007
Posts: 24,859
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I mean, was there a lot of English literature pre-1800 that was gender, race, and sexuality inclusive tho?
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Member Since: 11/28/2011
Posts: 27,495
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They should start for middle school tho.
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Member Since: 12/24/2010
Posts: 1,980
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This stuff is happening at all of the ivy leagues according to some of my friends. A lot of students are actually indifferent to all of the **** that's being complained about its just a very very very vocal few
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Banned
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 4,870
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Quote:
Originally posted by fridayteenage
I mean, was there a lot of English literature pre-1800 that was gender, race, and sexuality inclusive tho?
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Right!!  do they want to go back and re-write history or something? 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 23,374
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If they want to read different kinds of poetry then go nuts
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 8,187
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I mean, so are they just gonna read Othello over and over?
Like what the **** is the point? why do people need to change an entire curriculum just so they can feel special?
Its a ****ing prerequisite, just take the damn class and move on
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Member Since: 11/10/2011
Posts: 14,820
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Originally posted by Humunukuapua
Right!! do they want to go back and re-write history or something? |
They've actually done this in the UK for senior schools. But in History class, not English. They're now teaching some historical figures were different races to what they really (most likely) were.
It's stupid, because they're still teaching white history, just saying some of them weren't white.
In my opinion they need to look into the history of other parts of the world, like Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia if they want to teach about different races and teach about that, giving the students a more global view of history, not get European history and pretend some of the key figures weren't white. It's basically cheating the students, and most importantly, it's lying.
They might as well start teaching creationism again in schools (which isn't on the UK curriculum anymore) if they don't care about what's actually true.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 3,683
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seethe
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 2,591
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 when need to learn about our history so that we don't repeat it
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 19,418
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Quote:
Originally posted by Humunukuapua
Right!! do they want to go back and re-write history or something? |
That doesn't mean they shouldn't read non-white material though. I'm pretty sure there had to be a few people who did write at that time that wasn't white.
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 10,487
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Complaining about it being "too white", what else would you expect from an ENGLISH course ? 
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Member Since: 5/19/2012
Posts: 25,222
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The petition calls for the abolishment of this prerequisite and for the pre-1800/1900 requirements to refocus and include literature relating to gender, race and sexuality.
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This sounds good tho
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Member Since: 2/2/2014
Posts: 6,765
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So they're diversifying their education instead of just learning about white people and you're annoyed? Privileged white people always feel like things are getting taken away from them when things become more equal I guess
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Banned
Member Since: 3/3/2012
Posts: 13,073
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Originally posted by RainDreamer
Complaining about it being "too white", what else would you expect from an ENGLISH course ? |
No, silly goose, they are asking to update the curriculum but the OP wanted to be edgy and controversial.
Nothing about being too white.
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The petition calls for the abolishment of this prerequisite and for the pre-1800/1900 requirements to refocus and include literature relating to gender, race and sexuality.
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Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 9,393
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Another example of ATRL throwing around the SJW sobriquet a bit too freely.
Sounds to me like this department at Yale wants to make sure that those who are English majors get more interesting options for their requirements. When I was an undergrad I enjoyed Chaucer, but the great majority of my peers dreaded that course (as well as Shakespeare and any ancient lit). The courses on African-American Lit, Caribbean Lit, Jewish Lit, and Contemporary Writers always filled up as soon as registration was open.
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Member Since: 8/24/2008
Posts: 35,091
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It's always funny to me how angry people get at the thought of inclusiveness.
God forbid we focus on more than just dead white men.
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Banned
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 4,870
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tsuko
They've actually done this in the UK for senior schools. But in History class, not English. They're now teaching some historical figures were different races to what they really (most likely) were.
It's stupid, because they're still teaching white history, just saying some of them weren't white.
In my opinion they need to look into the history of other parts of the world, like Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia if they want to teach about different races and teach about that, giving the students a more global view of history, not get European history and pretend some of the key figures weren't white. It's basically cheating the students, and most importantly, it's lying.
They might as well start teaching creationism again in schools (which isn't on the UK curriculum anymore) if they don't care about what's actually true.
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What a mess  I agree, why not just teach World History rather than European? European History is set and you can't change the race of historical figures to diversify the curriculum Don't agree with the last sentence though.
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Originally posted by Caesar
That doesn't mean they shouldn't read non-white material though. I'm pretty sure there had to be a few people who did write at that time that wasn't white.
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Yes I'm sure there were quite a few authors, but none that were major or important figures. The course is already jam-packed as it is with the largely known writers, so it'd be pointless to teach them otherwise in a subject about the important, groundbreaking texts and writers of English literature/language.
If they want to learn about a more diverse range of writers then the course is not for them.
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