The University

What is the purpose of the American university? If the university has a highest end, is it the pursuit of knowledge or social justice? To what degree are the goals of student learning and student activism compatible? (For example: how do the student attitudes required for one compare with the attitudes required for the other?). What is knowledge, and what are the institutional prerequisites for its pursuit? Is justice a form of knowledge? If so, should universities pursue it? We will examine such questions from a variety of perspectives—disciplinary, historical, and ideological. Instructor's permission required.