New data from the Open Syllabus Project indicates that Edward Said’s Orientalism and Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto are the two most frequently assigned texts in university courses, when excluding conventional textbooks and writing guides. This finding, highlighted in a recent tweet by Steve McGuire, underscores the enduring academic prominence of these influential works across higher education curricula.
The Open Syllabus Project is a non-profit initiative that collects and analyzes millions of university syllabi from institutions worldwide. Its extensive database, which includes over 9 million English-language syllabi from 140 countries, provides empirical insights into what is being taught in college classrooms. The project utilizes machine learning to extract citations and metadata, offering a unique quantitative perspective on academic trends and the intellectual landscape of higher education.
Edward Said's Orientalism, published in 1978, critically examines the Western scholarly and artistic tradition of representing the Middle East and Asia. Said's seminal work introduced the concept of "Orientalism" as a discourse of power, arguing that Western representations of the "Orient" have historically served to justify colonial and imperial ambitions. The book significantly influenced the fields of postcolonial studies, literary theory, cultural studies, and human geography, prompting a re-evaluation of knowledge production and its relationship to power.
Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto, co-authored with Friedrich Engels and first published in 1848, is a foundational text in political theory and sociology. It outlines the theory of class struggle and the problems of capitalism, advocating for a communist society. Despite its age, the Manifesto remains a critical text for understanding historical materialism, political economy, and various social movements, making it a staple in courses ranging from history and political science to sociology and philosophy.
The consistent high ranking of Orientalism and The Communist Manifesto suggests their continued relevance in fostering critical thinking and providing frameworks for analyzing power structures, societal dynamics, and historical narratives. Their frequent assignment, even when excluding common instructional materials, highlights their role as essential intellectual tools for engaging with complex global issues and theoretical debates within the humanities and social sciences.