Plato's "Republic" in the Core Curriculum: Multiculturalism and the Canon Debate.

Plato's Republic is under fire right now. Stanford Uni versity's core curriculum students are no longer required to read Plato's Republic because it represents "anti-assimilationist movements"1 (Stone 1989, 362). A core curriculum is that re quired part of the undergraduate curriculum that transmits the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that any well-educated person should possess, regardless of future work. The writer in the Wall Street Journal who quoted the statement from the Stanford pro fessors in charge of the revised reading list expressed bewilder ment about the meaning of the phrase. However, given the shift in the Stanford reading list to numerous works by feminists and Marxists, it is evident that Plato's Republic is not "politically correct." That is, Plato's Republic does not contain the core values and beliefs deemed appropriate for the Stanford gradu ate.2 Let's explore some reasons behind that assessment.