Of the Top 25 [colleges], ACTA reports, “only two require an economics course. Only three require a survey in U.S. history. Only five require a survey course in literature.” Amherst College, Grinnell College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, and Vassar College have open curricula with no requirements. Bates College, Bowdoin College, Haverford College, Oberlin College, Smith College, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College do not require undergraduates to study literature, American history, the principles of American politics, or economics.What I find particularly amazing is that, when a sizable portion of higher education budgets are dedicated to the practice and personnel required to promote "diversity" [please forgive the quotation marks, but the strict definition of that word seems to alter from campus to campus], the expectation for mastery of a language other than English has evaporated. Frankly, having learned [and mostly forgotten] five different languages during the course of my life, I can't think of a better way to experience multiculturalism than to learn a language different from one's own.
The result, other than a spiritual gormlessness, is a social attitude mentioned in earlier postings here, here, and here. Actually, in a number of places.
[Warning: The source from which the above material is quoted is one deemed conservative. The earlier morning post was from a socialist source. As I have said before and will again, the best way to learn is to consult a variety of perspectives and attitudes and form your own opinion. If you can bear only to read periodicals and web 'zines that reflect your established point of view, please skip this posting.]