A Very Special Education

To: Mary-Ann Milford, Provost
Mills College

I see that Mills has posted a course offering called "Controversies in Archeology" (Anth 180 :01 :ST) as a "Special Topic" for the Fall. The course description's opening sentences certainly give one a taste of the scholarly delights to come: "Did ancient astronauts build the pyramids?…How true are stories of Atlantis, of Troy, of the Bible?" I am heartily glad to see that the critical methods of late-night cable television programming are no longer being shunned in the classroom, at least at Mills. In truth, before seeing your course offering, I had been worried that the right wing was the only force in American society brave enough to challenge the assumptions of the scientific establishment and the so-called "experts" that dismiss out of hand alternative theories such as Creationism and alien landing strips in Peru. Mills shows itself to be an intellectual leader by recognizing the validity of these important controversies, just as President Bush recognizes that the controversy over Intelligent Design has two sides, each of which deserve our attention and respect. I realize that some might say that ascribing to aliens the accomplishments of ancient Egypt or South America could be considered insulting to the cultures that think their ancestors created them, but why should their sentimental feelings be an impediment to true scientific inquiry? This is a very special educational topic, indeed.