Advocating a curriculum that focuses more extensively on classical knowledge, Dartmouth government professor James Murphy recently founded the Daniel Webster Program, in an effort to shed light on the current social relevance of classical learning by bringing classical scholars to speak on campus and by offering an optional core curriculum at the College based on the "great books" of the liberal arts.
The Daniel Webster Program calls for two major changes to Dartmouth's curriculum on its web site this week. The first change would add a number of two-term courses for freshmen, which would build upon the study of authors like Plato, St. Augustine and Nietzsche. The curriculum would require freshmen to complete a total of six classes, consisting of two-course sequences in each of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences fields, according to the site.
The second part of the proposal suggests that a "touchstone minor" be offered, comprised of seven interdisciplinary courses linked by a common foundation in classical literature. In an interview with The Dartmouth, Murphy noted courses such as "Political Ideas" and "Religion of China," as examples of courses that would be eligible for the minor. Students would select their courses around a particular core area of study, for example, "The Abrahamic Faith" or "Eastern and Western Ethics in Comparison." Through this program, Murphy hopes to broaden students' exposure to classical literature.
"I don't want classical knowledge and learning to be 'ghetto-ized' into the classics department," he said. "I want to bring learning out of the classics department and bring it into larger issues and debates."
The Daniel Webster Program's curriculum would not focus solely on the work of white males, a common criticism of other institutions' classical instruction, Murphy said. The program's website lists a number of books by non-Western authors, including the Quran and the Upanishads, a Hindu holy scripture.
Murphy recently began talking to administrators about implementing these changes, but said the process would likely take a number of years.
"I'm in this for the long term and am going to persevere," he said.
Murphy said seniors in a Political Ideas course he taught a few years ago expressed "buyers remorse" about their course selections and admitted selecting the course because they realized they had not read the "greatest books." The students' response inspired Murphy to institute the Daniel Webster Program.
A survey conducted by the Committee on Instruction during Murphy's tenure as committee member in the late 1990s confirmed Murphy's belief that classical literature was underrepresented in most students' curricula.
"We found a very scattered randomness in course selection," he said. "Very little visible or evident or coherent theme in general education. Students are groping without much forethought or plan."
In the past, nearly all universities required students to study Greek, Latin, Biblican Studies and mathematics. This pattern lasted through the 19th century but began to dissipate in the 20th century when institutions began offering more specialized disciplines. Following World War II, many colleges completely eliminated their required curricula.
A few institutions have preserved their core curricula, including Columbia University, which requires all students take a group of courses that study major works in the Western canon, and Yale University, which offers an optional core curriculum through its Freshman Directed Studies Program. Notre Dame allows students to select an interdisciplinary major anchored around classical texts.
Citing the success of these programs, Murphy said he believed the Daniel Webster Program's curriculum would be well-received.
"In the tree of knowledge the outer branches are always growing and changing but there is the trunk and limbs that stay the same," he said. "Students don't want to just flit from leaf to leaf but want to learn from the foundations of knowledge."
In addition to the modified curriculum, the program plans to sponsor various lectures and events at the College, including an annual conference on ancient and modern studies and the Janus lecture series, which aims to connect various academic fields with classical thought. The first Janus Lecture on Friday. Yale Law School professor Anthony Kronman will inaugurate the annual event on Friday with a lecture on his book, "Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life," which criticizes universities' desertion of the broader questions of classical thought.
