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Get your degree in Activism (by the Bay, but you knew that already)
Edited for brevity (and reduced nausea).San Franciscoâs New College of California is offering something for the socially conscious this fall that theyâd never get marching in the streets: a college degree in activism. For $5,500 to $6,000 a semester, the 32-year-old Mission District school is offering bachelorâs and masterâs humanities degrees with a concentration in "activism and social change." While schools from Vermont to Santa Cruz boast versions of do-gooding curricula, degrees in activism are hard to come by. "Students can shape their own (activist) program at other schools," said Michael Baer, senior vice president at the American Council on Education and former provost at Northeastern University. "But to have it all together -- the theoretical and the practical -- under one roof and labeled as such is somewhat rare." Almost as rare is New Collegeâs eclectic lineup of activist instructors, a progressive all-star team that includes tree-sitting environmentalist Julia "Butterfly" Hill, "ecofeminist witch" and author Starhawk and San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly. Baer called the program instructors at the 800-student school accomplished and "as competent as any youâd see at a similar-sized school. The difference is, at at a larger school, youâd be exposed to wider array of different perspectives." But New College wears its progressive stripes proudly -- Hill once delivered a commencement address via cell phone from her tree perch in the Humboldt County wilderness -- so school officials said it was unlikely that conservative instructors would be on hand. Itâs high time to counter with the University of Rantburg, if you ask me... Posted by: Dar 2003-08-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17560 |