Word: douthat
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...proving—via his own example—that “gut” classes and delinquent students exist at even this great university, Douthat does no more than acknowledge that Harvard students are more normal than the traditional “egghead” stereotype might allow. And despite the fact that an exposé of this sort seems to pop up every few months, the article’s success proves that this sort of revelation is clearly still considered newsworthy...
...proves more valuable is in his discussion of the problems with Harvard’s current academic structure: there are major flaws in the current Core Curriculum, the academic advising system, and even the apathy of some professors and teaching fellows. But these descriptions succumb to an inherent bias. Douthat blasts the humanities for inflating grades—he argues that it’s a reaction to their “retreat into irrelevance”—and neglecting to prepare those students who are not headed for professorships of their own. Perhaps the history and literature...
...addition, Douthat is unabashedly Eurocentric. It is a tragedy, he claims, that an undergraduate might leave Harvard’s walls “unable to distinguish Justinian the Great from Julian the Apostate.” Instead, they’re more likely to be familiar with propaganda in Nazi Germany, the role of the samurai in Japanese culture, or the Castro regime in Cuba. Of all the things to criticize, why complain that Harvard is too successful in attempting to expand the cultural and intellectual horizons of its students...
Perhaps there has been a move in the American university system away from fact-based learning—and perhaps Douthat is right that this trend is not a positive one. He may even make an argument for increased control over grades or more direction for confused undergraduates faced with a massive course catalog and no idea where to start. But these flaws are pervasive, not unique to Harvard, and tossing in the Harvard name to attract attention is cheap journalism...
...Douthat never points to a better model. He never suggests that Harvard is being held to an existing standard and has been found wanting. Instead, he chooses to follow in the steps of so many before him and demand that Harvard, and its slothful students, isnot living up to some ever-elusive ideal. Based on his past performance, we rather expected better...