A Forced Reckoning
A Forced Reckoning
Case Overview
In this fictional case set at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, five Harvard students discuss an elective history of science lecture highlighting the University’s involvement with the development of racial pseudo-science. One student is particularly rattled by the lecture and his ignorance on the topic; he wonders why all students aren’t required to learn this material. Some of his peers question whether mandatory teaching about a university’s history would be wise, equitable, or inclusive. As the students talk, they wrestle with questions about identity, history, choice, responsibility, and the aims of a university education.
The case brings up different viewpoints around a central question: What responsibility does a university have to teach its historical ties to slavery and the legacy of those ties, and what are our personal responsibilities to learn this history?
You can find and download the full case study or the reader theater's script below.
Key Questions You Will Explore
- Why is it important to grapple with the role that slavery played at higher education institutions and the legacies of slavery that persist to this day? Who should be doing this grappling, and how?
- How can institutions balance the value of teaching students the truth about difficult institutional and national history with the potential harm such difficult history can cause?
- What are institutions' responsibilities in responding to the lasting history of injustice? How, if at all, do individuals in these institutions share that responsibility?
Hear from the Experts
Why is this issue a real dilemma? Watch short video commentaries to explore the complexities, challenges, and values at stake in this case.
As you watch each video, consider the following questions:
- What resonates with you in this video?
- What questions does this video raise for you?
- How does this video impact your understanding of the dilemmas in the case?
On Building Coalitions
Sara Bleich, Vice Provost for Special Projects at Harvard University, answers the question: Who should be involved in the process of uncovering and spreading knowledge about histories and legacies of enslavement?
On International Student Perspectives
Julia Chaffers, alum of Princeton University, answers the question: What was your experience as an international student from the U.S. learning about University College London (UCL)'s institutional entanglement with slavery and its legacies?
On Pursuing the Truth
Vincent Brown, Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University, answers the question: What are different stakeholders' responsibilities to learn about institutional ties to slavery and its legacies?
Additional Resources
- For more information about the life and legacy of Louis Agassiz, see this biography from the Harvard Crimson (redirect).
- If you want to know more about Harvard University’s international population and global engagement, this resource shares demographic information about Harvard’s global work (redirect).
- To consider potential limitations of mandatory history education from a different context, try finding parallels in Germany’s mandatory Holocaust education (redirect).
- For a sense of what coursework about institutional ties to enslavement and the legacies of slavery might look like, read about two courses at the University of Virginia: “Slavery and its Legacies at UVA (redirect) and “The Aftermath of Slavery at UVA" (redirect).
- Two historians offer their perspective on the ways that new laws governing history education in U.S. K-12 schools might impact learning about the legacies of enslavement at the university level (redirect).
- To learn about how a growing number of universities globally are engaging with the legacy of slavery at their institutions, check out the Universities Studying Slavery consortium (redirect).
Case Reflection Questions
- How much do you know about historical ties to slavery at your own institution?
- Do you feel it’s your personal responsibility to learn about this topic or about other historical injustices perpetrated by your school?
- How much agency do you feel in addressing untaught histories?
Are You Hoping to Lead People Through This Learning Pathway?
The Pathway Facilitation Guide provides comprehensive information and guidance for teaching and learning with this learning pathway:
- guidance on customizing your pathway
- best practices for normative case discussions
- detailed protocols for each case
- discussion questions for different audiences
- extension activities for personalized learning
Want facilitation materials and guidance just for this one case? Download the Case Facilitation Guide!
What's Next? Exploring the Other Cases in this Pathway
This pathway contains four additional case studies and supporting materials that explore dilemmas related to institutional entanglement with slavery and the legacies of that entanglement. Click on each case below to learn more.
A committee at a fictional college revisits their decision to rename an administrative building in the face of new understanding of the founder’s ties to slavery. Students and activists are demanding more sweeping changes, including renaming the entire college to address systemic racism, while some faculty and alumni emphasize preserving tradition and legacy.
What responsibilities do universities have to reconsider whom they memorialize, and how should they weigh different stakeholder perspectives?
In this fictional case, a group of literature professors weighs the historical and literary value of canonical texts like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn against the potential harm such books may cause students, as well as the value of diversifying the literary canon with postcolonial texts.
How, if at all, should historical context be taken into account as institutions and individual instructors choose which texts and thinkers to expose students to? How should instructors think about including figures with problematic legacies?
Set at Harvard University, this nonfiction case examines the iconography of figures who both served as champions of justice and equity and advocates for expulsion and oppression. These figures have ignited complex discussions as faculty, staff, students, and campus leaders try to determine whether, and if so, how these leaders should be memorialized in the visual culture of the campus.
With an institutional commitment to truth and a more diverse student body, what are the tradeoffs to consider when revisiting monuments for complex historical figures?
In this fictional case set at Harvard College, an African American college student with South African and Zimbabwean ancestry grapples with whether to apply for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, knowing that its creator and primary funder spread white supremacy and imperialism across the African continent.
Should Cecil Rhodes’s historical legacy impact her decision—and if so, in what direction?
Learning about a topic like the legacy of slavery can be overwhelming. Community Care Resources are available for members of the Harvard community seeking support for mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being.
Want to Learn More?
EdEthics | Legacies and Lessons Video Playlist
Watch our full series of expert commentaries on grappling with complex history in higher education, featuring alumni, scholars, and institutional leaders.
Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative
Explore the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative and their work.
Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Report
Read the 2022 Report of the Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery.
