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As
long as there has been an Oberlin, Oberlinians have been changing
the world. As an institution and as a community, Oberlin is characterized
by a heady spirit of idealism. Do Oberlinians arrive with the conviction
that a single person's efforts can have far-reaching effects, or
does Oberlin instill this idealism in them? Most likely it is a
combination of the two, one reinforcing the other. This spirit of
idealism, this sense of conviction, unites the many different individuals
in the Oberlin community. Student's vision and progressive thinking
allows them to seize every opportunity as a learning experience.
Oberlin's progressive heritage reaches far back. In 1841, three
women graduates were the first women in America to receive bachelor's
degrees. Similarly, Oberlin decided to admit blacks in 1835, and
by 1900 nearly half of all the black college graduates in the country
- 128 to be exact - had graduated from Oberlin. Today, Oberlin's
chapter of the Bonner Scholars Program provides scholarship funds
to first generation and low-income students.
Programs focusing on cultural diversity have been part of Oberlin's
new-student orientations since the early 1980's. Students are required
to take at least nine credit hours in courses that deal with cultural
diversity. Faculty members incorporate the environment, the experience
of minorities and women, and other new areas into current courses,
as well as developing new courses in these areas.
Freshman and sophomore colloquia are interdisciplinary, seminar
style courses in which enrollment is limited to 15 students. Recent
colloquia included "The Religious Thought of Mahatama Gandhi,"
"The Personal is Political: Representations of Activist Women
in American History," "The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,"
and "Explaining Social Power."
More than 350 students particpated in a year-long planning process
with architects to ensure that Oberlin's new Center for Environmental
Studies would not only house environmental studies courses, but
would itself embody the principles of environmentally sustainable
architecture. The building is powered by sunlight and causes no
discharge or disposal of toxic materials.
For members of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA),
cooperative houses and dining rooms are as much a statement of political
conviction as they are place to live and eat. Members emphasize
the democratic nature of decision making in the four room-and-board
co-ops and four board-only co-ops. Room and board costs are up to
30% less in the co-op. Co-ops purchase food from local family farms
and send work crews every week to help in harvesting on the farms.
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Environmental
Studies
Economics
Politics
Law & Society
Latin American Studies
Anthropology
Third World Studies
East Asian Studies
Women's Studies
Sociology
Religion
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