“Beloved” by Toni Morrison and “My Bondage and My Freedom” by Frederick Douglass are back on the syllabus for the spring semester of the Western Humanities (HUM) Sequence, following their removal last spring. These works are just two of several changes made, demonstrating how the syllabus can vary significantly each year based on the professors teaching the course.
Slavic Languages and Literature Professor Michael Wachtel currently serves as the HUM sequence coordinator. He also served as the course coordinator last spring.
Wachtel explained that while some items on the syllabus do not change each semester, some are modified at the discretion of the professors teaching in a given semester. “Let’s say each semester that there are 10 things that just aren’t going to change — that they’re undeniably important and someone has to do them,” he said.
“The people who are teaching it changed, so they had specific things they thought were really important [for the syllabus].” According to Wachtel, Dean of the College Michael Gordin — one of the HUM professors this semester — wanted to teach Frederick Douglass, so it was added back to the syllabus.
Wachtel further clarified that he did not have sole discretion over what is taught, telling the ‘Prince,’ “I am the coordinator of the course, but I do not impose my iron will on the course.”
Anastasia Rudyak ’28, who is currently in the class, attended the dinner for HUM students where the spring syllabus was announced. “I was happy about most of the choices. I really like that they had books that I had already read, including ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Beloved,’” she told the ‘Prince.’
“I’m happy [Morrison and Douglass] are back on so that I can now reread them with a more knowledgeable view,” she continued.
Elizabeth Johnstone ’28 also expressed excitement about the syllabus. “Morrison is surely a powerhouse in American Literature,” she wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’ “It’s even more amazing to see her alongside European authors considered staples of the general Western canon. Especially with her relationship to Princeton, I think it’s going to be a really special experience getting to study her work at Princeton.”
Johnstone also expressed her excitement that Mahatma Gandhi is on the syllabus this semester. “Since we’re in a Western literature course, thinking about the implications of colonialism and imperialism, especially as we read into the 20th century, is really important to keep in mind,” she said.
Sofiia Shapovalova ’26, a symposiarch for HUM, agreed. “I think Gandhi is a wonderful addition. That’s a region that I don’t think we’re hearing from much in terms of where the writers [from the syllabus] are coming from,” she said. A symposiarch is a junior who has taken the HUM sequence and now serves as a mentor to those in the course. This paid position is supplemented by around 50 HUM mentors, who are unpaid.
“I don’t envy the course coordinator’s job. It’s really tough. There are always questions about what the canon is. I’m just happy to be able to read a selection of all of this literature,” Johnstone said.
Philosophy professor Sarah McGrath, one of the professors this spring, also reflected on the syllabus. She first taught the course in Spring 2023, when she decided to include two contemporary philosophers on the syllabus: Peter Singer and Judith Jarvis Thomson.
“One of the things that I liked about being able to make that choice was it got a woman in the philosophy sequence,” McGrath said. However, she noted that she felt it was important to include a pre-20th century female philosopher, as well, and added Teresa of Avila this year.
“When I suggested doing Teresa, Professor Wachtel wrote me back immediately. He was super supportive,” McGrath said. She added that she appreciated how each of the pieces in the sequence are connected. For example, Martin Luther was taught the day before she taught Teresa of Avila.
“I would imagine that the person who’s planning the syllabus has that kind of thing in mind, and I think that they put a lot of thought into it. It’s cool to have Luther back to back with Teresa, and that had nothing to do with me. I’m given the syllabus, and clearly, Professor Wachtel is thinking this through pretty carefully,” McGrath said.
She continued, “On the one hand, being able to draw the connections is part of what’s great about the course. On the other hand, bringing in new voices poses challenges for us, to reflect and think about how these new voices connect.”
The other four professors either did not respond or declined to comment.
James Sowerby ’26, the head symposiarch for HUM, echoed this sentiment, explaining that there is a lot of continuity in the course because there are a lot of things that should be covered.
He told the ’Prince,’ “The biggest changes that they typically do, at least in my experience, are to better cater to the interests and strengths of the faculty.”
Hannah Gabelnick is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Buffalo, N.Y. and typically covers academic policy, institutional legacy, and health.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: A previous version of this article said that there were around 15 HUM mentors and that they were sophomores. In fact, there are around 50 and students from any year may be mentors. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.
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