Harvard College is undertaking a comprehensive re-examination of undergraduate education, a broad-based review of undergraduate programs, including the Core, concentrations, and tutorials.

This program provides an introduction to the process of curricular review by presenting two segmented lectures. The first, by Dean of Harvard College Benedict Gross, outlines the approach and considerations in undertaking the current review. The second lecture, presented by NYU Professor Thomas Bender, presents a historical perspective on academic culture.

Select from the video segments listed below to begin viewing the presentations.


Harvard College past curriculum reviews:

1945 — Faculty committee chaired by Paul H. Buck, dean of FAS, produced the General Education in a Free Society — based on the principle of a shared body of knowledge, reshaped the College course of study for a generation.

1974 — Henry Rosovsky, dean of FAS, challenges the faculty to rethink the curriculum again, supported by Harvard President Derek Bok. The faculty had grown and become more specialized, but unifying "general education" had deteriorated — raising the specter, Rosovsky suggested, of a bachelor's degree reduced in significance to a "certificate of attendance."

1978 — The faculty at Harvard responded with the new Core curriculum and had begun a four-year process of phasing in courses organized by "approaches to knowledge."

1997 — Review of the Core curriculum. Professor Sidney Verba chaired the group that created the quantitative reasoning part of the Core.
Harvard College Dean Benedict Gross
Curricular Review: Redefining a World-Class Education
 
 Introduction to the Curricular Review3:38
 A Harvard Education: Two Tensions7:18
 Concentrations, Calendars, and Contexts7:08
 Audience Question & Answer: Part One9:47
 Audience Question & Answer: Part Two11:50
NYU Professor Thomas Bender
History, Structure, and Content of American Academic Culture
 
Introduction: American Academic Culture 7:13
The Shaping of the American Curriculum6:57
Building an American Academic Culture8:57
Theories on the Contemporary Curriculum6:41
Conclusion: The Challenges of General Education3:46
Audience Question & Answer8:05

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