Points out the need for improving the nation's higher education curricula. Offers reasons for supporting a core curriculum and describes difficulties in developing such a program. Provides a summary of the National Endowment for the Humanities' report "50 Hours: A Core Curriculum for College Students." (KO)

Presents a dialogue between National Endowment for the Humanities chairman, Lynne V. Cheney, and Modern Language Association president, Catharine R. Stimpson. Presents their views on literary criticism, teaching and research, feminism, the future of the humanities, and the search for enduring values in a pluralistic society. Examines the idea of a…

Reports on five National Endowment for the Humanities seminars held in Texas to exchange ideas concerning a law mandating a core curriculum in the state's college and university system. Questions centered on the ramifications for the curriculum, selection of courses for revision, and the role of the humanities in such a curriculum. (KO)

Examines the history of curriculum development at Brooklyn College (New York) in order to show that a coherent general education requirement is most likely to address the problem of student diversity. Suggests this core curriculum can be replicated at other institutions. Emphasizes the need for sustained faculty development. (KO)

Traces Asian studies' infusion into the curriculum at Columbia University. Attributes the program's development to Wm. Theodore de Bary's influence, including his translating and editing of primary sources. States his work continues to serve as basic texts in Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Buddhist traditions. Discusses his views on scholarship,…

Describes incorporating the classics into the elementary school curricula in a number of public and private schools. Argues bringing classical literature and ancient history to the classroom benefits and challenges students. Presents class projects that successfully apply the classics to critical thinking, creative writing, cultural diversity,…

History professor Lawrence W. Levine defends multicultural education and the concept of extending fields of study beyond the western canon. He notes that the very idea of western civilization is barely 50 years old. Includes a number of salient points concerning immigration, language, and culture. (MJP)