Brown University, located in Providence, R.I., has approved the creation of a course thats specifically focused on exploring conservative values. The course, Modern Conservatism in America, is being offered for the spring 2011 semester. When considering universities important role in providing well-rounded education based on critical thought grounded in questioning pre-conceived notions and philosophies, this course is a needed and important contribution to Brown Universitys curriculum. Educational leaders at USF need to consider making such a course a reality at USF. Theres a long-standing stereotype that college professors are a more liberal representation of the populace than other occupational groups. New research presented in the New York Times last month reinforced this idea. The sociological study found that, much in the same way nursing is dominated by women because the occupation is gendered typed, with many men considering it a womens profession professors, journalists, artists, social workers and therapist all tend to be liberal while law enforcement, dentistry, farming, medicine and military professions are dominated by conservatives, a reflection of the ideological camps choice of professions. In conjunction with many liberals choosing to become professors who may be unwilling or unable to provide their left-leaning ideologies with balanced, conservative counter points, offering courses that present either all ideologies or just liberal ones can complete a package that offers a biased vision of the ideological spectrum. For example, the course World Ideologies offers USF Tampa students a chance to learn the total ideological spectrum, from reactionary to radical. However, there does not seem to be any courses that specialize in conservative thought alone. There are, however, courses at USF Tampa that spend an entire semester focusing on leftist ideologies, such as Philosophy of Marxism.

Though it may not be outright, burying one ideology underneath a mass of a conflicting ones makes a suggestion as to which is more relevant and, subsequently, correct.