At Reed College in Oregon, where I work, a group of students began protesting the required first-year humanities course a year ago. Those who felt able to do so lectured surrounded by those signs for the better part of a year. Instead of walking around or standing at the lectern, as I typically do, I sat as I tried to teach students how to read the poetry of Sappho. At Reed and nationwide, we have largely stayed silent, probably hoping that this extremist moment in campus politics eventually peters out. It means students should read in good faith and try to understand the texts’ distance, their strangeness, from our historical moment.

Source: Washington Post October 28, 2017 00:22 UTC