The American education system, from kindergarten through the end of graduate school, unequivocally has a multitude of flaws. One of the most glaring of these flaws is the Eurocentric nature of the taught curriculum. In recent years, criticisms that many universities’ core curriculum is too Eurocentric have arisen. What the critics fail to realize, however, is that the problem of a Eurocentric curriculum is present from the very first days of kindergarten. If the educational system of America truly wants to make change in their curriculum, the process must begin at the primary school level. I believe that by introducing a more non-Eurocentric curriculum at a young age, students will grow to appreciate the works of other cultures and may be more inclined to take non-Eurocentric courses in the future. In addition, universities should focus on hiring diverse staff and professors. With a more diverse staff, you will introduce more professors who will be more willing to teach this new curriculum and make people of color feel like they belong through representation. It will be an uphill battle, but with the right adjustments, change will slowly come.

A Broken Curriculum

            There are a multitude of reasons why most Universities’ core curriculum should be revised to be less Eurocentric. For one, focusing almost exclusively on Eurocentric content may indirectly result in the production of a community that is supremacist towards the white, male, European experience. This supremacy arises  because by only covering material that is Eurocentric, educational institutions are indirectly stating that only these Eurocentric works are important to American History and to every students’ education, while all other perspectives are not important for students to learn about,  implying that white European students therefore have an innate richer academic history and are more accustomed to the traditions of higher level education. This preference for European content will of course inevitably cause people of color and other minorities to feel out of place at university. Many calls for reform have been made at top tier universities such as Columbia. The problem of a Eurocentric curriculum has not only been endemic in America, but has been a huge problem in nations such as Canada and the United Kingdom. Many Universities such as Reed College have reformed their core curriculum to become less Eurocentric; however, a handful of universities are yet to reform their curriculum thus far.

The Bible, a Eurocentric text often taught at higher level institutions.

But Why?

            A big reason that reform has been slow thus far is that professors simply do not want to change their curriculum that they teach. Professors teach curriculum that they personally find interesting or material that is a part of their field of expertise, so forcing them to teach a new curriculum that they may or may not feel confident teaching will not always sit well with staff. This should come to no surprise to anyone. Most professors have been educated at American primary and secondary schools. As I mentioned before, these institutions have historically taught Eurocentric content. As a result, most of these American raised professors will only be comfortable teaching Eurocentric content as this is what they have been taught. In addition, the process of changing the curriculum itself is daunting. For many schools, changing its curriculum can have serious implications outside of the academic realm. For example, a school changing its curriculum may cause the student body to prefer new classes over others. This in turn forces schools to reallocate resources between the departments, which may make some professors feel uneasy. For example, the introduction of a new Arabic class may cause a science professor to lose funding as the Arabic class may draw more students into the foreign language department. Further, reallocating resources adds administrative work for already busy schools. Simply, a lot of schools just are not willing to make the commitment to change yet. I theorize this sentiment may rise with the introduction of the Covid-19 crisis. As already struggling universities continue to bleed money, one of the last things on the administrators’ minds will be making classes less Eurocentric. Nonetheless, I believe it is important for colleges to work towards curriculum reform.