The attacks of Sept. 11 had an almost immediate impact on courses throughout the University, with many professors using the current events in class lectures and discussions. Now, as a new semester dawns, the attacks are beginning to have a more permanent effect on curriculum.
Students beginning classes this week will notice some small curriculum changes related to Sept. 11, including new classes themed around the attacks and the events since then. The changes remain few and far between, however, as professors and administrators continue to consider what perspectives academe can add to the current situation.
Universities around the country took varying approaches to integrating the fall's events into curricula, with perhaps the strongest response at the University of California at Los Angeles. With coordination by the administration, the faculty there organized 50 new fall courses centered around the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The seminars ranged from a geography class on "Understanding the Taliban" to an English class on "Fictions of Terror vs. Real Terror."
Although the provost's office at Duke helped organize a series of eight current events forums last semester, the administration has left curriculum changes to individual departments and professors. A top-down approach, they said, would both be inefficient and, in addition, many departments already had classes relevant to the subject.
"Any time an administrator tries to suggest what people teach, you're in trouble," said William Chafe, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences.
Departments have taken different approaches on the subject.
The Department of History is offering a seminar this semester on the history of Afghanistan in an attempt to give students a more comprehensive view of how the war-torn country served as Osama bin Laden's staging ground. Readings will include scholarly studies of how Afghanistan's relationships with its neighbors and its relative isolation have stunted its growth.
"You don't get the full view of the difficulties of Afghanistan unless you have some sense of the historical context," said Professor of History John Richards, who is teaching the seminar. "If you only look at what has happened there in the last five years with the Taliban, you have a very short view of what is going on."
Students in the class, which is full, cited a variety of reasons for taking it, but for most the attacks were at least one factor.
"For us to get a real understanding of what's going on, I think it's important that we know what their history is," said freshman Caroline Paulsen.
Few other departments are planning new courses, either because their courses were already set for this semester or because existing courses are already relevant.
The Department of Psychology: Social and Health Sciences set its spring courses almost a year ago, but the attacks have been relevant to such discussions as how to explain tragedy to children, said Martha Putallaz, director of undergraduate studies. The department is also planning new courses for next year on trauma and coping with tragedy.
Like the course on Afghanistan, other departments' current courses related to the attacks are experiencing high enrollments. The Department of Religion's course on the Muslim world, for example, is full, and the Department of Political Science's introductory course on international relations has seen a jump in interest. The latter has long been one of the department's most popular courses, but this semester 160 students are enrolled, up from 151 in the fall and 110 last spring.
Despite the increased interest in international current events, some professors are not yet ready to change much about courses that may seem naturally suited for current events discussion.
Although he noted the need to give students more context to the events, Professor of Political Science Albert Eldridge, who is teaching the international relations course this semester, said scholars have just begun discussing the events' relation to political science.
"I think right now we're getting some good journalistic response, but we really haven't had the time to see what the full context will be," he said. "I think it's always good to err on the side of seeing what's going to be said, what's going to be written. Otherwise you have students end up reading a bunch of newspaper articles."
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