Caroline Levine co-wrote an essay with Russ Castronovo for Inside Higher Ed about rethinking the academic calendar: "It's just one example of how the pandemic could open up opportunities to leave the well-trodden pathways of tradition in favor of smarter alternatives."
"Fearful that Thanksgiving 2020 will turn out to be a super-spreader event for COVID-19, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a host of other colleges have announced that they are suspending all in-person classes after the late November holiday. That might seem like a sensible one-time reaction to a serious public health crisis, but we think it should become the new normal. It’s one of many ways that the virus gives us a chance to revise our habits for the better.
"Thanksgiving break should have been rethought long ago. That’s because the typical rhythm of a fall semester -- attend classes for 12 weeks, rush home for a four-day break and return to campus to study frantically for two more weeks -- isn’t good for anyone. Not for the inhabitants of a warming planet, not for students battling emotional stress, not for faculty members concerned about learning outcomes."
Read the full article here.
Caroline Levine is David and Kathleen Ryan Professor of Humanities and chair of the English department at Cornell University. Russ Castronovo is director of the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
