Noting that approval of his plan to include smaller, seminar-style courses in the Core would be "a shot heard round the country, if not the world," Marquand Professor of English Lawrence Buell began to defend a motion he admitted was likely to fail. The motion met unanimous opposition within the Faculty Council last week.
Buell began by nothing that "in my entire career, I have never played Don Quixote, at least not knowingly: that is, press a cause that looked certain to fail."
Buell's critics included Professor of History Mark Kishlansky, who said he was sorry to be the hydroelectric plant to Buell's Don Quixote.
Kishlansky read calculations predicting that adopting Buell's plan would require 451 senior Faculty to teach in the Core every other year. Current senior Faculty number 409.
Buell said he feared that without the chance to encounter professors up close, students could be "socialized irretrievably into a culture of avoidance and (at worst) passive consumerism."
Ellen Fitzpatrick, associate professor of history, compared speaking against smaller classes to speaking against lower taxes.
But Fitzpatrick opposed Buell's proposal on the basis that its small size would exclude many undergraduates.
The motion, expected to fail over-whelmingly, was rejected only after a voice vote proved inconclusive and the resulting head count totaled 45 for, 86 against.
"You could say, 'How could anyone vote against smaller classes?'" Knowles said after the meeting. "But we must ask how to use our resources most effectively."
Other Proposals
Gregory Nagy, Jones professor of classical Greek literature and professor of comparative literature, and Michael E. Hasselmo '84, Loeb professor of the social sciences, both made motions which were sent to the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) for study and a December report.
Nagy called for a review of the foreign language requirement, while Hasselmo proposed reducing the number of overall undergraduate requirements.
The EPC is an advisory group of Faculty members who will weigh the proposals in consultation with the Committee on Undergraduate Education, which includes undergraduates. The resulting report will be presented to the Faculty Council for consideration at the end of this calendar year.
Baird Professor of Science Gary J. Feldman rose to make a motion eliminating the current bypasses given for science Core courses for Advanced Placement test credit, but withdrew it after a short speech.
Feldman said that he was satisfied that his proposal would be reviewed in other forums, and thanked the Faculty for its indulgence in allowing the motion to be heard