English Department restricts graduate admission to Black Studies only

[JBStillFlying]

@collegemom3717

Imagine being in an English class at a top uni where an unqualified prof is teaching a core text. Seriously. Any respectable prof could/should/would have swotted up on the relevant bits before teaching Dante- even if they were a substitute teacher.

Every generation howls at how we are neglecting the classics, at how ‘modern’ trends are ruining the field, how in some other time it was qualitatively better. Every generation (generally rightly) mocks the extremists, the ones who go over the top- but the next generation moves it on, in the endless winnowing through which people hope to separate the wheat from the chaff. Expanding the canon of literature that is considered worth serious study does not take away from existing areas of study, and broadening the tent of scholars engaged in rigorous literary analysis only adds to the field.

The desire to blow away all the “dead white males” seems futile and risks further marginalizing the discipline as “irrelevant.” I read a recent essay from a young college student who provided a very objective and critical viewpoint of why this is a bad thing

Demands for more than just “dead white males” are not the same thing as a comprehensive “desire” to blow them all the way- and there are plenty of young college students who recognize that. And many profs are building courses that integrate all of those pieces into a bigger, stronger whole.

• As to your second point, collegemom - I hope so. Based on genuine observation, it's not appearing that way. And then there is the English Department's actual statement which I invite you to re-read.
• As to your first comment: that Hum faculty member is a UChicago PhD grad in the humanities. Not sure you are familiar with the Core at UChicago: while there may be some English faculty who teach a course or two, that's usually not the case; hum faculty are usually teaching fellows, post-docs and other scholars who teach a required set of texts with limited ability to revise. That doesn't mean they are "unqualified" and our personal experience with two kids in the College would support the opposite point of view. Nevertheless, someone not trained in Christian core beliefs would have drawn a black at this small point (as this guy did) - I'm wondering if in your experience (assuming you are well-versed in the humanities) all your faculty or colleagues have been so trained and would have gotten it?

In my view, it’s about culture; graduate humanities departments are bestowing PhD’s on students who read the “old stuff” but don’t have the cultural competence to understand it in the original context. No one has to be “raised” in it but they should at least have that cultural competence. I’m sure UChicago would not be alone in failing there.