History of the Course

The course began in the 1990’s, and it was originally co-taught by Prof. Anne Hall and Prof. Larry Goldberg.  The idea was to have a “Great Books” course, but with an emphasis on the questions of human nature that were fundamental for politics.  It has always been a blend of philosophy, essays, history, and literature.  Dr. Hall and Dr. Goldberg insisted on addressing each student formally, calling them “Mister Wilson” or “Miss Riley.”  The students began to address each other this way outside of class, and began to gather for informal discussions.

After a few years the course expanded into a four-semester cycle — a year of Ancients, followed by a year of Moderns.  The amount of assigned reading was staggering, but students were richly rewarded with class discussions in which the deepest and most lasting questions were confronted unflinchingly.  The course had an official enrollment limit of 15, but every semester it was oversubscribed, with students even sitting on the floor the first day in order to get admitted to the class.  Often Dr. Goldberg would allow up to 30 students to take the course, never wanting to deny anyone an opportunity to engage with humanity’s greatest thinkers.  The course began to attract a significant number of future Rhodes and Marshall scholars, although the group remained a vibrant mix of majors including math, history, physics, English, and biology.  The course inspired students to go beyond their normal curriculum, and soon Dr. Goldberg was offering Greek reading groups and small-scale seminars on Shakespeare.

In 1999, Anne Hall moved to the University of Pennsylvania, and the course was jeopardized because Dr. Goldberg lacked permanent employment within a University Department.  An impassioned group of students and alumni petitioned the English Department and the Honors Program to find a way of maintaining the four-semester course series.  An arrangement was finally devised whereby Dr. Goldberg would work for the English Department in an Adjunct position, with an additional requirement of teaching Basic Composition (ENGL 10) each year, a fairly time-consuming burden.  Dr. Goldberg accepted the bargain and carried on teaching energetically, even offering gratis some courses that were above and beyond his billet.

In the early 2000’s, due to overwhelming student demand, the Honors course was expanded into a six semester series, and then an eight-semester series.  In the current eight-semester version, two courses in the sequence are offered simultaneously (course 1 and 5, then course 2 and 6, etc) so that students can get a taste of ancients and moderns at the same time.  Although the capacity was doubled, the demand also grew during this time, and the courses continue to have a waiting list each semester.

In 2008, the course lost the support of the English Department (Honors courses are usually funded by departments paying the salary of the instructor).  The Dean of the Honors College stepped in and graciously agreed to support the course indefinitely, in its popular eight-semester format — 2 courses in the fall and 2 courses in the spring.

But in 2011, a decision was made to cut the course by 50%, so that it would only be offered once in the fall and once in the spring.  The precipitating factor cited was the expected budget shortfall for the 2011-2012 academic year.  However, the public records show that Dr. Goldberg receives a salary of $7500 per course, so the cut from 4 to 2 courses per year represents a net savings of $15,000, which is surely minor in comparison to the entire Arts & Sciences budget, or even the entire Honors Program budget.  The students and alumni are puzzled and dismayed by this decision, since the UNC budget cuts were supposed to be handled in a way that least compromised the essential mission of the university:  education.  Moreover, the current generation of UNC Honors students are expecting and greatly anticipating the continuation of the course in its current format.  But most importantly, Dr. Goldberg has indicated that he is willing to teach gratis so long as students want to learn.  What more is there to say?

If you would like to express your support for the course, please post on the “Students Speak” page.  If you would like to help in efforts to make sure the course continues, please get in touch with us directly.