Columbia University pledged to revamp Mideast offerings. Students of the subject say fragmented courses fall short.
New president Jennifer Mnookin took the helm of Columbia University July 1, vowing to chart a steady course following a tumultuous Gaza War protest movement and Trump administration threats to pull funding that led the…
Assessment
Columbia University’s promised overhaul of Middle East studies faces skepticism from students who already take the courses and find them disorganized and insufficient. The reform pledge was made under intense pressure from the Trump administration’s funding threats and demands to reshape the department. How the new president’s leadership will reconcile academic integrity with political coercion remains an open question.