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Description
This "Report on the Common Course" dated April 30 1954 sourced from the Bard College Archives documents the origins, design, and initial implementation of Bard College’s Common Course for freshmen, inaugurated in the 1952–53 academic year. The course emerged from President Case’s 1952 proposal for curricular innovation, informed by the Newman Committee’s finding that the college community lacked shared intellectual ground. After extensive faculty debate, a course emphasizing values, student interests, and fundamental human capacities was approved, with a director appointed to develop it collaboratively across divisions. Heinrich Blücher, named director, assembled an interdisciplinary staff and organized the course around the study of nine major original thinkers, each exemplifying a core creative human capacity. The course combined common lectures and materials with small seminars that evolved in response to student interests. Ongoing staff meetings and seminar visits supported coordination and evaluation, with the course subject to formal review by the Policy Committee at year’s end.
Publication Date
4-30-1954
Recommended Citation
Bard College, "Report on the Commmon Course" (1954). Related Materials. 6.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/blucher-related-materials/6