Protest the Revised CCAR Proposal

As open-minded members of the University of Pennsylvania community, we acknowledge the pressures and demands to prepare for an increasingly interconnected world. However, we feel it would be remiss of the University faculty and administration to ignore the long and difficult legacy of inter-racial and socio-cultural relations that have resulted in the rich cultural diversity within our own borders. Thus, the proposal issued by the Committee on Undergraduate Education is inadequate and fails to act in accordance with expectations outlined by President Gutmanns Penn Compact and the Mission of the College of Arts and Sciences itself. The Cross-Cultural Analysis Requirement (CCAR) proposal calls for the study of socio-cultural systems outside of the United States, whereas the Penn Compact explicitly charges the University community to engage locally and globally. Furthermore, in its Mission, the College seeks to thrive on the diversity of scholars and students whose interests it sustains and whose intellectual goals it unites, while safeguarding the enduring purpose of education as the liberation of the mind from ignorance, superstition, and prejudice. We fully recognize the value of the proposed CCAR; however, we strongly believe that such aims would be better addressed with a curriculum that reflects the complexity of an ever-changing society by also including the United States and its rich culture as a source of focus within the requirement.

The Sub-Committee on CCARs blatant disregard of a domestic component implicitly devalues students past efforts to inspire change within the curriculum, the myriad of experiences within the United States, the legitimacy of areas of study that focus on domestic cultural issues and the faculty and scholars who have dedicated their academic careers to teaching and researching such fields. The widespread ambiguity and inconsistencies in communication on this important issue is highly problematic to an institution that prides itself on promoting the informed exercise of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

We urge you to recognize the shortcomings of the proposed Cross-Cultural Analysis Requirement at the SAS Faculty meeting on Thursday, December 8th, 2005. Vocalize and act in adherence with the necessity of having a United States focused component to complement the global perspective, so that we may continue this crucial dialogue as a community.