Since 1975, Wabash sophomores have had the pleasure or pain (depending on how one looks at it) of taking Cultures and Traditions (C&T). For some students, the class is pure torture. For others, it is rewarding and enriching. One thing is certain though: it is among the most controversial and debated courses at Wabash.
According to the C&T committee’s principles, the course aims to “foster intellectual curiosity and a willingness to explore new things beyond the comfortable and familiar.” By studying works from different cultures all around the globe and noticing the diversity and the complexity of interactions between cultures, students are encouraged to “avoid the trap of oversimplifying and essentializing cultures.”
Besides expanding the cultural horizons of students, C&T also aims to bring sophomores together through a common experience. “It is important to have a common experience. It helps create a bond among the students. The class influences the campus in ways that an optional course never could,” current C&T co-chair Joyce Burnette said.
Professor Bill Placher, who has taught C&T more than twenty times, agreed.
“I think it’s at the center of Wabash education … It provides, in courses with juniors and seniors, a common set of reference points. Placher also said the course helps to better unify Wabash professors: “It’s an important way we shape our faculty into a common community.”
Discussion and participation are perhaps the most important aspects of C&T.
Participation amounts for more than one-third of a student’s overall course grade.
“The best discussions are when people disagree but respect their classmates enough to respond seriously to their arguments,” Burnette said. Thoughtful and respectful debate is encouraged more than anything else in class. The C&T charter states that the course is designed to focus on learning through discussion. Students are encouraged to learn the value of sharing insights and testing ideas against those of others.
Though a substantial number of Wabash faculty members support the course and have taught it, there are some professors who have issues with the current structure of the course. One such faculty member is Professor of Religion and Philosophy Steve Webb. Webb taught the course and was co-chair for three years, but says that he got tired of it for a number of reasons.
“First, people kept moving the course away from the great books and toward their own specialized interests,” Webb said. “Second, the course became too political. Some people want to use C&T to score political points, set student thinking straight, or instill some particular moral point of view.” Webb also said the course has never dealt positively or constructively with Christianity. He tried to add some theological texts while co-chairing the course, but says these works were immediately removed after he left the position. “Even today, you would get the impression from C&T that Christian missionaries were evil people,” Webb added, “which is a comical caricature, not worth taking seriously, but that is what the course teaches.”
Student opinions of the course tend to be much more diverse compared to those of the faculty. Those who view the course in a negative light say that, for one thing, the course is way too costly.
“You have to buy the many different books as well as the huge binder. It costs a whole lot, and it’s for a class that I didn’t even choose to take,” Sophomore Nick Woehler said.
Apart from the financial burden of C&T, Woehler and other students claim that the different cultures studied have only reinforced their previously held stereotypes. Also, a number of individuals express dissatisfaction with how much participation is factored into the final grade.
“The majority of the guys in my class didn’t even read the texts,” one junior said, wishing to speak in anonymity. “They just made up stuff in discussion, and that took away chances for participation from me and the few others who actually read the works. I wish tests and papers accounted for more of the total grade, because those can actually show whether or not a student has sufficiently studied the texts.”
Other students, however, think more positively of the course.
“Once you’ve had it, you realize it’s not that bad at all,” Junior Patrick Smith said. “C&T can be challenging, but rewarding in the end, because it exposes you to many different and diverse strains of intellectual discourse.” He also added that he especially enjoyed reading works by Karl Marx, whom he refers to as a God among men. “I enjoyed reading Marx if for no other reason just to see that there is another way in this world,” he said.
Several current sophomores share Smith’s favorable view of the course. “It’s fun to listen to the other guy’s in class, and compare their views to your own,” says Jeff Iwamuro ’09. “There’s lots of reading and some units are a little odd, but overall it’s been very interesting and a great learning experience.”
There is no doubt that C&T will continue to provide the Wabash campus with many more discussions and debates. It has impacted both students and faculty, and will continue to do so in coming years.