ABSTRACT
Campus culture being what it is these days, Donald Kagans 1990 speech to incoming freshmen at Yale College was amazingly controversial: he said the study of Western civilization ought to be common and central. Kagan, then dean of the college, said that the West's flaws--including war, slavery, exclusion of women--were common to other civilizations, but its achievements have been unique, including great emphasis on law, equality, liberty, and conscience. Yale had many courses in Western thought and culture, of course, but the idea was to offer an integrated program as an option to just picking cafeteria-style among individual courses. Yale gave up $20 million in funding, and perhaps another $20 million in lost donations from disillusioned alumni, according to one source. Losing that much money in one failed adventure may well cost President Levin his job. It's a reminder of how far the modern university president will go these days to avoid hurting the feelings of the campus left.
