The disappearance of political history from the college classroom is a symptom of a larger problem: Why did universities stop requiring American history?
Today, only 18 percent of colleges and universities require students to take a course in United States history or government. Astonishingly, at many of the most highly ranked institutions, even history majors can graduate without taking a single American history class. At programs that do require American history, electives in niche topics often suffice. Instead of a robust survey of America’s history, courses such as History of Sexualities or History of the F.B.I. can pass for adequate.
Boston University has suspended admissions to humanities and social science Ph.D. programs for next year after agreeing to a new graduate student workers union contract with massive pay increases.
ACTA presented our 19th annual Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education to Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School and the first female president of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Brayden Cagle is pursuing an alternative career path after high school. Instead of pondering Plato at a four-year college, he is apprenticing as a heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician.
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