I've been thinking quite a bit about Andrew Delbanco's words the other night at the Italian Academy, and I can't help but feel that he's sort of right in addressing what he sees as threats to the Core—actually, he's totally right. Underclassmen, particularly, would do well to heed his warnings.
On Monday evening, the Mendelson Family Professor of American Studies addressed an audience of roughly one hundred people, and he let it be known at the outset of his speech that his words would not be gentle. Talking specifically about the Core, Delbanco said that "bloated class size ... threatens to erode the distinction between the discussion and the lecture." More broadly, the college runs the risk of losing relevance if we fail to recognize this.
