There is always something that is happening in the world, from celebrity deaths to tense foreign relations. The opportunity to discuss these events are led by none other than Professor Ralph Young.
Professor Young is an instructor in the history department, where he teaches a plethora of classes to students to help enrich their understanding of history and then fall in love with the information. One of his biggest accomplishments was the creation of his teach-in, Dissent in America.
The teach-in was first started as an Honors class in 2002 where Professor Young and his students discussed different topics that connected to how Americans view the constructs of the world around us. During one of these discussions, Young realized that the class went overtime so he gave the opportunity for the class to continue. And out of the 20 students that attended the class, eighteen stayed to continue the conversation.
Because of the exhilarating passion that these students held, Professor Young then built a discussion after class on Fridays to allow for deeper discussions on the topics that interested his students. From there onwards, every Friday, there was a new topic to discuss and dig into.
“And then the students loved it and they volunteered right away,” Young said. “One student wanted to do a discussion of the Iraq war resolution since it had just passed. He wanted to teach by comparing that Iraq war resolution with the Tonkin Gulf resolution, which was what Johnson used to justify the Vietnam War. And so that’s how they got started.”
In a world filled with different ideas and interpretations in history, it can be hard to discuss all of these in a timely manner, which is why Dissent in America became the teach-in that is known and loved by many to help the student body become passionate about the way history has shaped the world around us.
Within the 452 meetings that have occurred over the 23 years, students, faculty and professors around the world have been able to lead discussions about an abundance of topics that foster enthusiasm and broaden historical engagement beyond standard class topics students can study at Temple University. There has been no stone left unturned with topics consisting of the Iraq War, climate change, elections, local health, immigration, racism, Israel-Palestine, Ukraine conflict and so much more
“This is the world you guys are inheriting, and if you kind of understand where it’s all coming from, in some ways nothing is new under the sun, but in some ways each, each new topic needs to be addressed and thought about and so that we just don’t have knee-jerk reactions to what’s going on in the world, but try to understand them in their context,” Young said.
Young’s mission throughout any class or discussion he steps into is to help students feel excited to learn more about society and how it impacts others. He even stated that through these discussions, he learns new topics he hadn’t considered. If the next generation forgets what our ancestors once went through then connect to the current events of today.
Ralph Young gave students a place to express their interest in history and how it connects to the rest of the world. There is nothing but excitement when students are able to attend his next teach-in, no matter the topic, for a way to connect with the history of the spaces we occupy.