Not long ago, four members of the Columbia University Multicultural Affairs Advisory Board wrote a letter of complaint to the university alleging that the study of classic works of Western civilization — specifically, the Metamorphoses — was insensitive and made many of the students feel “unsafe.” So please add reading Ovid to the growing list of potential triggers, -isms, and phobias that could rattle the brittle psyche of a college student. Even the act of grading — sometimes known as “grade shaming” — can leave young people feeling distressed.
The news that there are students unable to handle the Western canon at one of the leading universities in the country sparked a new round of think pieces contemplating the question: Is this the most sensitive — and least intellectually curious — generation ever? And if so, what does it mean?
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