The synthesis of more perspectives would provide students with a breadth and depth of insight to analyze the ways in which phenomena like imperialism, racism, and white supremacy have molded both the narrowed educational scope provided by the College and the ways in which students interact with this information. Moreover, integrating these voices into curricula lessens the feeling of tokenism attributed to students who belong to these specific groups. Instead of often being asked to represent an entire ethnic or racial group, the weight of cultural and ethnic representation can be shifted off of their shoulders and onto syllabi.
THE NEED FOR ETHNIC STUDIES
When discussing curriculum, one omission is particularly glaring: Harvard does not have an Ethnic Studies program. The discipline got its start at San Francisco State University in the late 1960s, but Harvard has woefully lagged behind. Since 1972, students and faculty have worked on various proposals to bring Ethnic Studies to campus, but the efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Indeed, Harvard falls far behind many of its peer institutions.
It is disappointing that a place hailed as one of the premier universities in the world would lack a robust Ethnic Studies program. The Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights offers a secondary degree, with the option to choose a track in Latinx Studies, but it cannot hire ladder faculty. History and Literature recently announced that concentrators would be able to choose to do an Ethnic Studies track as well. While this reflects decades of student activism and is a welcome addition, it is ultimately inadequate. Like the EMR secondary, the track within History and Literature cannot add professors and the requisite courses.
The push for a strong, institutionalized Ethnic Studies program, ideally in the form of a department, is closely tied to the need for a more diverse faculty and curriculum. Being a discipline largely concerned with issues of race and ethnicity, an Ethnic Studies department would inherently fill existing gaps in the curriculum with challenging and culturally competent courses. In 2015, 66% of recipients of Ethnic Studies degrees in the United States were women. The majority of individuals who received degrees in Ethnic Studies were black or Latino. By having a fully fledged department with the ability to hire tenure track faculty and conduct groundbreaking research, issues of faculty and curriculum diversity would be greatly improved.
Students coming from historically underrepresented backgrounds should not have to bear the unwelcome onus of teaching their experiences to their peers. Through the broadening of the perspectives of both faculty and curricula, all students would be offered the opportunity to learn in a manner that incorporated diverse thought and celebrated a variety of experience.
Faculty and curriculum diversity are inextricably tied. Harvard could lessen the burden on students from underrepresented minority backgrounds while offering a broader education to their peers of privileged backgrounds. The entire student body would benefit, and Harvard would be better positioned to realize its promise of an expansive liberal arts education. The University has both the means and the ability to achieve these goals; all it needs is recognition of the needs of its students and a true commitment to diversification.