Mira Ho-Chen ‘26 and Juna Brothers ‘28
Last Friday, the syllabus for the next semester of the Humanities (HUM) Sequence was published. The course aims to give first-year students a taste of some of the greatest works of writing in the Western canon, from ancient philosophy to contemporary fiction. To the surprise of some, the spot typically reserved for one Black author (chosen randomly via online generator) was replaced by Colleen Hoover, an author with blonde highlights and millennial Instagram captions.
Following the Trump Administration’s ban on DEI programming, HUM faculty no longer felt the need to teach authors of color. “I was so tired of pretending this entire sequence isn’t just a White guy highlight reel,” faculty member Claudia Little stated, “and teaching writers like Morrison and Fanon kinda ruin our uncritical embrace of empire.” Granted, the last time HUM taught Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, they only assigned the acknowledgements. “The rest of the book threatened to change our worldview, so we didn’t feel comfortable teaching it,” Little remarked.
“We feel that Hoover offers a perspective that is most valuable given the current times,” HUM sequence spokesperson James Murray said. “We always try to have a section dedicated to popular culture. You know, Shakespeare, Breugel, Cervantes…and now Colleen.”
This choice marks a key divergence––for the past three years, students had read American abolitionist Fredrick Douglass’ My Bondage and My Freedom. Not everyone is a fan of this change. Gina Hollins, associate professor of English, briefly fought against this decision.
“For a while the faculty were worried because if we cut Douglass then there wouldn’t be any opportunities to say the N-word,” Hollins said. “But then we realized that if we put To Kill a Mockingbird on the syllabus then we could have another White author and also say the N-word.” Hollins is White, but informed us that she’s “a little bit Portuguese,” which, in her eyes, allows her to “say all slurs, even the gay ones.”
The Tiger spoke to several HUM students. Most were indifferent about the decision––they were only concerned about how many pages of Hoover they were assigned to not read and then pretend to know everything about in precept.
Former HUM student Kennedie Johnson was surprised to learn that Douglass was a prolific writer, as well as a Black man. Professors had redacted every reference to race in the book in pursuit of a colorblind education.
“I just thought it was a story about a guy moving from his small town to make it as a writer in the big city,” Johnson said.
The Humanities Council convened a special research colloquium on Hoover’s work the day after the new syllabus was released. Several “BookTok” influencers gave testimony. Despite being present for this event, Johnson left with no idea who Hoover is.
“They kept saying things like how Colleen Hoover is a key figure in the ‘modern canon,’” Johnson said. “I thought they meant she was a member of Cannon Club. Was she an athlete?” The Tiger contacted Hoover’s representation, who declined to comment. But they sent a free copy of It Starts With Us, the sequel to It Ends With Us, and a themed coloring book. We also reached out to Douglass for input, but didn’t hear anything back.
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