Peter Shulman, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of History

Dear Colleagues:

Through much of the 19th century, college curricula were typically standard: all students taking more or less the same courses that university leaders deemed worth knowing.

Beginning towards the end of that century, American colleges increasingly replaced this fixed system with electives and majors, carving out a smaller space for common requirements. Institutions focused on technical education in the sciences and engineering developed their own versions of this system, which held as the norm through the 20th century and beyond.

So what should all students today learn in common?

What required courses or subjects, if any, should organize undergraduate curricula? Do we encourage breadth or depth? Lectures or experiences? Large classes or small? The answers to these questions will reflect the purposes we have for college education this century: career development? The cultivation of character? Civic responsibility? They might also reflect economic and social pressures on the university, and who gets to make these decisions.

Professor Shulman has been participating in the ongoing process at CWRU towards introducing – for the first time – a GER common to all undergraduates.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Dr. Peter Shulman studies technology, science, and American politics in the 19th and 20th centuries, with special interests in the history of energy, environmental history, communication and transportation, the history of intelligence, and the history of American foreign relations. He teaches courses in the history of technology, energy and the environment, historical methods, and contemporary history. His current book project is a history of ideas about intelligence in twentieth century America.

Prof. Shulman currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of History, certifying major and minor declaration forms and reviewing requests for transfer and study abroad credit.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

November 15: Will We Ever Have Paris? The U.S. and the International Politics of Climate Change. With Matthew Hodgetts, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science.

November 22: The (New?) Israeli Government. With Peter J. Haas, Abba Hillel Silver Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies.

November 29: Thanksgiving break

December 6: Papers Please: Challenging Citizenship in the United States. With Cassandra Burke Robertson, John Deaver Drinko – Baker Hostetler Professor of Law and Director, Center for Professional Ethics.