Western Civilization: Part II (Proponents)

This is a three-part blog post; Part I covers the opponents, Part II the proponents, and Part III some examples of programs at peer institutions.

Part II: Proponents

There are many articles readily found about the benefits of a more defined curriculum to prepare students better for advanced coursework no matter what their declared major. The debate lies in the content of this curriculum. Within the same articles is an examination of the history of the teaching of Western Civilization, usually with the observation that there is a general decline in the teaching of this in the undergraduate curriculum.

There is a sense that in order to have an informed citizen there are some “required readings” or themes that should be covered, but some authors argue that other cultures and voices need to be included.

Allardyce, Gilbert. “The Rise and Fall of the Western Civilization Course.” The American Historical Review 87, no. 3 (1982): 695-725. doi:10.2307/1864161.

Ricketts, Glenn, Peter R. Wood, Stephen H. Balch, and Ashley Thorne. “The Vanishing West: 1964-2010–The Disappearance of Western Civilization from the American Undergraduate Curriculum.” National Association of Scholars (2011).

Voeltz, Richard A. “No Longer from Pyramids to the Empire State Building: Why Both Western Civilization and World Civilization Should Be Part of the History Major–A Case Study.” History Teacher 44, no. 1 (November 1, 2010): 83-91. ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).

Nieli, Russell K. “From Christian Gentleman to Bewildered Seeker: The Transformation of American Higher Education.” Academic Questions 20, no. 4 (December 1, 2007): 311-331. ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017)

Borish, Linda J., Mitch Kachun, and Cheryl Lyon-Jenness. “Rethinking a Curricular “Muddle in the Middle: Revising the Undergraduate History Major at Western Michigan University.” Journal Of American History 95, no. 4 (March 2009): 1102-1113. Humanities Source, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).