Core Curriculum Courses

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes the position made by Allan Bloom, author of "The Closing of the American Mind ", regarding the agenda of certain universities that construct a core curriculum. The paper points out that Bloom believes these core curricula, which focus on a certain canon of books and authors that have been quantified over time as "great literature", are beneficial to young scholars. The paper also summarizes arguments made by proponents of multiculturalism in education, which contend that Bloom's position is xenophobic and narrow-minded. The paper then goes on to suggest a form of independent study that would meet the criteria suggested by proponents of a core curriculum, as well as the criteria suggested by proponents of a multicultural education.

From the Paper:

"Given the subjective nature of what is canonical and non-canonical, it is tempting to dispense with the need for a common core in education at all "why not leave it up to the student, to chose his or her own classes and course of study" Although some institutions have opted for this, even from a social and psychological point of view, some multicultural educators might suggest that this is the wrong approach. Don't younger students need some guidance? After all, many of them are still attempting to find out what they are interested in. It is easy to simply be rid of a common core curriculum, or simply to include skills classes that teach writing or other exercises in methodology, without attempting to create the foundations for the education in any particular cannon let the student create his or her own canon, or wait for society to reconstitute a more multicultural canon, one might say."

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