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Columbia professor tells history of college

Delbanco discusses education’s evolution

As they neared days of sunbathing and relaxation, students and faculty took in an extra lecture Thursday on what they would be leaving for one week — college.

Addressing a crowd of more than 50 in Dey Hall, Andrew Delbanco, director of American studies at Columbia University, spoke on the history and common issues surrounding higher education.

The lecture marked the third of four events in the Critical Speakers series organized by the English department. The series will conclude April 11 when UNC graduate Cary Wolfe speaks on animal studies and biopolitics.

Delbanco said higher education’s goals have changed significantly since Harvard University — then Harvard College — was established in the 17th century.

Delbanco said college was originally intended to disseminate knowledge and was highly religious in nature. At first, the primary reason to attend university was to learn how to better read and understand the Bible, he said.

But in the late 19th century colleges began to pursue new knowledge, a theme Delbanco said has continued into present-day education.

He said Johns Hopkins University first shifted the collegiate focus toward research and discovery — and other universities soon followed suit.

He said college is also more central to today’s society than in the past, and college degrees have replaced high school diplomas as the means to enter the middle class.

“I enjoyed the lucid and honest analysis of the origins of college in the 17th and 18th centuries,” said first-year Nathan Tilley.

Delbanco also spoke on the flaws of the modern day college education.

He highlighted issues including the benefits and drawbacks of the core curriculum, the shortcomings of online assignments and the problem of Ph.D. students not receiving enough teaching experience.

“All branches of knowledge are connected together,” he said, in support of the core curriculum.

Graduate students Harry Thomas and Meredith Farmer said they found the final issue especially interesting, because they struggle to find time to learn how to teach undergraduates.

Though the issues have changed with the times, Delbanco said some common threads have carried throughout the history of higher education.

He said college has always been a place that forms citizens, molds students’ beliefs and teaches them how to formulate arguments.

Delbanco added that college has consistently allowed students to learn from large lectures and from one-on-one interactions with classmates.

“College is where you learn how to think and how to choose,” he said.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.

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