AAS program additions have other programs looking to grow

As the discussion over the African-American studies program intensified during the past month, little attention has been paid to the University's Latin-American and Jewish studies programs.

Though the programs said they would welcome more attention and resources, program administrators and students have said that ethnic studies programs should not compete for University support.

This controversy grew out of the discussion earlier this year over whether African-American studies scholars Cornel West GS '80 and Louis Gates Jr. would leave Harvard University for Princeton. In January, African-American studies professor K. Anthony Appiah of Harvard was appointed to professor at the University.

The Latin-American studies program, which has about 107 certificate students and offers about 24 courses, is supportive of the African-American studies program, program director Kenneth Mills said.

But Mills said he does not feel that the program has been ignored or unduly affected by recent discussion of the African-American studies program. While departmental status may suit other programs at the University, the Latin-American studies program deliberately borrows its faculty from an interdisciplinary range of departments, he said.

"The debate over the African-American studies program doesn't really affect us. We're working as a program that's interdisciplinary by design. We're not interested in becoming a department," Mills said. "But a lot of the things we do have are shared with African-American studies and we're in support of the program."

While the program is always looking for more faculty, he said, the recent debate has "not prompted us to make any special effort."

Mills praised the University's support for Latin-American studies during the past few years. "It's been good in the recent past, with a lot of new appointments," he said.

Kristin Darr '02, a comparative literature major concentrating in the Latin-American studies, said the program deserves a lot of credit, but that many students believe the program does not receive sufficient support and should become a department.

"That definitely has been an issue in the Latin-American studies program," she said. "The feeling in general is that it doesn't get the respect it deserves."

The Jewish studies program, which was founded in 1996, currently enrolls about five students. Director Froma Zeitlin noted that the recent discussion of the African-American studies program revealed the dangers of the "politicization" of higher education.

Zeitlin also said the discussion has raised concerns over whether the University should turn programs into departments. Programs award certificates to students who complete a minimum number of classes in the program and write their theses on a related subject. Because of the University's relatively small size and the design of its academic system, Zeitlin said, "if we change things, we should think about them in great depth."

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She pointed out that in considering whether to switch to a department, the University must also consider how the change would affect other departments.

"When you break down and form a new department, you have to consider what the downside is and and what it means in practical terms," she said. "The reason for making the decisions in the best possible world should be the intellectual advantages and rationale behind it."

Zeitlin also noted that though the African-American studies program gets more attention since "it is much more central to the agenda of the this country," she does not feel the Jewish studies program was slighted by the recent emphasis on the African-American studies program.

The Jewish studies program should not become a department, she added, but the University should commit more resources to the Jewish studies program.

"We got a great deal from the University," she said. "Did we get as much as we wanted? By no means. Are we still working on it? By all means."

Adina Yoffie '02, a history major enrolled in the Jewish studies program, said she was generally satisfied with the University's support for the Jewish studies program.

Yoffie said she believes the University still needs to come to grips with its positions on ethnic studies.

"I think this University in particular has a problem with its image regarding its commitment to diversity," she said. "And that may affect Afro-American studies in a way different from Jewish studies."