GBH Openvault

Ten O'Clock News; African American Studies in college

02/27/1991

Carmen Fields reports on differing opinions of the African American studies program at Harvard University. Interviews with Harvard professors Harvey Mansfield and Orlando Patterson. Mansfield says that conservative scholars are excluded from the African American studies program at Harvard. He adds that the program is too political and not concerned enough with the study of the African American experience. Mansfield calls African American studies an "advocacy major" which promotes a certain point of view. Patterson notes that many academic departments are too political. He adds that history and English departments also often teach history from only one perspective. Patterson says that African American studies offers an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of one area of life. Patterson discusses his concerns over the lack of African American scholars entering academia. Fields's report is accompanied by footage of the Harvard campus and footage of students in a class taught by Derrick Bell at the Harvard Law School.


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Series
Ten O'Clock News
Title

African American Studies in college

Series Description

NIGHTLY NEWS WITH CHRISTOPHER LYDON AND CARMEN FIELDS Began January 1976. Replaced evening news show EVENING COMPASS. Original host: Steve Nevas. Other anchors, Christopher Lydon (1977-91) and Gail Harris (1983). In 1980 - hour long. Ended in 1991.

(PREDECESSORS: Louis Lyons began news operations at WGBH in 1952. The News at 10 began in 1966. The Reporters premiered in 1970. The Evening Compass started in 1974.) Series release date: 1/1976

Duration

00:04:11

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Subjects
African American students
Universities and colleges
Harvard University
African Americans -- Study and teaching
Bell, Derrick A.
Locations
Cambridge (Mass.)
Genres
News Report
Topics
News
Contributors
Fields, Carmen (Reporter)
Bell, Derrick A. (Speaker)
Citation
Chicago: “Ten O'Clock News; African American Studies in college,” 02/27/1991, GBH Archives, accessed July 27, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DE9FE1ED2D7C481A85ABA5AD4DB8ABF3.
MLA: “Ten O'Clock News; African American Studies in college.” 02/27/1991. GBH Archives. Web. July 27, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DE9FE1ED2D7C481A85ABA5AD4DB8ABF3>.
APA: Ten O'Clock News; African American Studies in college. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DE9FE1ED2D7C481A85ABA5AD4DB8ABF3
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