Student groups propose adding cultural studies requirement

If a proposal from the Cultural Leaders Summit of the Carl A. Fields Center and some members of the USG succeeds, ST's, HA's and EC's will have new company — a cultural studies requirement that would be incorporated into existing University distribution requirements.

The proposed formation of a student committee to develop the new distribution requirement comes in the midst of debates on such divisive issues as self-segregation and campus diversity.

A similar requirement was last considered in 1994, when a faculty committee concluded it would further rather than alleviate cultural segregation.

Though the proposal is still in the research phase, the Cultural Leaders Summit plans to approach the administration in the fall, James Tieng '04, co-president of the Asian American Students Association, said in an e-mail. The group hopes to see the requirement implemented as early as the fall of 2005, he said.

"We anticipate that this will be a long-term effort, but we want to approach the administration as soon as possible and see what the faculty can agree on," said William Robinson '04, USG undergraduate life chair and one of the students involved in the creation of the exploratory committee.

The requirement will most likely be presented not as an additional course but as an integral part of the current system of distribution requirements, with a cultural studies class also fulfilling another requirement, like the Social Analysis or Literature and the Arts requirements already in place, Robinson said.

However, the exact structure of the proposal is yet to be determined, he said.

The idea for a cultural studies distribution requirement came out of the April 3 forum on self-segregation sponsored by the Cultural Leaders Summit, said Taufiq Rahim '04, chair of the Fields Center Governance Board.

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The idea was also presented by Ayana Harry '05, vice-president of the Black Student Union, at last week's panel on campus diversity. The proposal follows the implementation of a similar requirement at Columbia University.

"One of the things people carp about is academic and social segregation, this sort of segregation of ideas," Rahim said. "This requirement would encourage people who aren't inclined to do so right now to cross into different fields of study and interact with people from different cultural and ethnic groups."

Robinson said he hopes a cultural studies requirement would improve the campus climate, helping to ease tensions between different cultural groups and addressing campus issues like self-segregation.

Academic concerns

While many students see the proposal as a step forward, doubts still remain as to the real academic value of such a requirement.

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In 1994, a report written by dean of the college Nancy Malkiel and religion professor Cornel West GS '80 and issued by the Committee on Diversity and Liberal Education concluded that a cultural studies requirement would contribute to rather than alleviate a sense of cultural segregation on campus.

"We are persuaded that the study of diversity should be embedded in the larger curriculum and should be seen by students as an integral part of their education, rather than as something set apart as a special category," the report reads. "Also, we know that people tend to resist courses that are imposed as requirements, and we believe that the study of diversity should be approached with openness and curiosity."

Malkiel declined to comment on the current initiative.

The report also said distribution requirements should be representative of different ways of thinking rather than different fields of study.

Robinson said, however, that the Cultural Leaders Summit does see multicultural education as a way of fostering different methods of thought.

"As globalization continues to lessen barriers between citizens all over the world, students are in need of exposure to distinct identities, both foreign and domestic," Tieng said. "I feel that the requirement is a necessary step in order to broaden the depth of education at Princeton."

While the proposal still requires more research before it can be presented to the administration, Robinson said he is confident this initiative will bring about positive change on campus whether the requirement is ultimately implemented or not.

"The end goal is a requirement, but a lot of great things came out of the last time such a proposal came before the administration," he said. "This current proposal will allow the University to take a fresh look at the situation, and our research will only help to address other important diversity issues on campus."