Professors incorporate events into classes

By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The terrorist attacks that struck the nation Sept. 11 have
changed many things in American society, including education.

While UCLA has already launched a series of seminars focusing on
the issues related to these events, many professors have started to
incorporate them into their classes.

Deborah Larson, professor of political science, said she will
incorporate the events into her class on foreign relations with the
United States, which is offered twice a year.

“The focus of the class will remain the same,” she
said. “I think people are just figuring out the implications
themselves, and it’s hard for professors to be instant
pundits on the subject.”

Larson, who said she had an overwhelming amount of students
enroll in her class, will have her students write a research paper
on an issue relevant to the attacks.

She added that she will continue to correlate current events
with events from the nation’s history.

“History has lessons to teach us today,” Larson
said, noting this is what she told her students the first day.

For example, Larson plans to discuss how the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution from the Vietnam War might compare to President George
W. Bush’s current actions in the “war on
terrorism.”

Mark McGurl, assistant professor of English, said while the
discussion in his lecture for his American literature class might
change, the syllabus will not.

“In the first few classes I’ll point out connections
one could point out,” he said. “It’s a matter of
being conscious; what we will study is connected to a broader
historical context.”

McGurl said he will draw out examples from World War I and how
its horror and violence had an influence on American culture.

While some professors may allow the terrorist attacks to
influence the topics discussed in their classes, others will not
allow news of the terrorist attacks to affect the subject
matter.

“Last year’s presidential elections were a nice
topic to dwell upon, but the events that happened on Sept. 11 are
just not a normal operation of American government,” said
Thomas Schwartz, professor of political science.

His introductory class on American politics will continue to
focus on issues relevant to the way the government is run, he
said.

Because the terrorists are attempting to disrupt the way things
are run in the country, Schwartz said, not focusing on the issue
will make a strong statement.

But Schwartz said he will devote Thursday, Yom Kippur ““ a
day on which not all of his students will attend class because of
the Jewish holiday ““ to discuss how the government will face
a crisis like this.