2008 Woodie Awards
Benefit of the doubt
Nicholas Wheeler
Issue date: 9/25/02 Section: Commentary
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Do you like sampling “dishes?”
That was the job of the entire freshman class on Sept. 14 to sample the “dish” — namely, a book — prepared for them by one Turkish chef, the author Orhan Pamuk, to use his literary analogy.
All incoming members of the Class of 2006 were required to read his recent novel My Name Is Red, a piece of historical fiction set in 16th century Istanbul revolving around the murder of a miniaturist at the Sultan’s court. Students wrote short analyses of the book, attended Mr. Pamuk’s lecture in Gaston Hall, and discussed in small groups the subjects raised in his work.
According to Dr. Serafina Hager, Fellowship Secretary in the Office of the Provost and coordinator of the freshman academic workshop, the program’s mission was two-fold: “To introduce to our incoming students authors and works that reflect cultures different from our own” and to “engage them in the life of ‘the university.’”
These goals are certainly worthy ones, though the workshop does seem to have inspired (as perhaps it ought) various degrees of positive and negative responses in its participants. It has also managed (frighteningly) to elicit no response at all in too many.
“Diversity” is a compelling mission, if it means genuine human diversity, the diversity of thoughts and ideas (as opposed to the superficial “diversity” of race and ethnicity that some see as a viable substitute). And, indeed, it is to the realm of the intellect that Dr. Hager made her appeal: “A university has the responsibility to create an environment that leads to inquiry, pushes us to explore, discover and look at the world through a different lens.”
Many students did get this message from the program. Liana Del Papa, an arts and sciences freshman, said that “though the reader can’t take Orhan Pamuk’s words as an historically accurate text, [the book] can be insightful about Islamic culture.”
That was the job of the entire freshman class on Sept. 14 to sample the “dish” — namely, a book — prepared for them by one Turkish chef, the author Orhan Pamuk, to use his literary analogy.
All incoming members of the Class of 2006 were required to read his recent novel My Name Is Red, a piece of historical fiction set in 16th century Istanbul revolving around the murder of a miniaturist at the Sultan’s court. Students wrote short analyses of the book, attended Mr. Pamuk’s lecture in Gaston Hall, and discussed in small groups the subjects raised in his work.
According to Dr. Serafina Hager, Fellowship Secretary in the Office of the Provost and coordinator of the freshman academic workshop, the program’s mission was two-fold: “To introduce to our incoming students authors and works that reflect cultures different from our own” and to “engage them in the life of ‘the university.’”
These goals are certainly worthy ones, though the workshop does seem to have inspired (as perhaps it ought) various degrees of positive and negative responses in its participants. It has also managed (frighteningly) to elicit no response at all in too many.
“Diversity” is a compelling mission, if it means genuine human diversity, the diversity of thoughts and ideas (as opposed to the superficial “diversity” of race and ethnicity that some see as a viable substitute). And, indeed, it is to the realm of the intellect that Dr. Hager made her appeal: “A university has the responsibility to create an environment that leads to inquiry, pushes us to explore, discover and look at the world through a different lens.”
Many students did get this message from the program. Liana Del Papa, an arts and sciences freshman, said that “though the reader can’t take Orhan Pamuk’s words as an historically accurate text, [the book] can be insightful about Islamic culture.”