“New Schools,” taught by D. Graham Burnett (History, History of Science) and Jeff Dolven (English), surveys experiments in para- and counter-institutional higher education over the last century, from Black Mountain to Outer Coast to Deep Springs. Why do experimental schools arise, flourish, fossilize, fail? What are the epistemic, social, and political implications of departures from pedagogical norms? How have new kinds of teaching and learning drawn on (and contributed to) new understandings of nature and culture? We approach these innovative schools as historians, critics, teachers, and students; we will study their records and test their methods. The seminar responds both to the contemporary crisis of opportunity in higher education and to the perpetual call for new ways to teach and learn. This is the SYLLABUS from which we launched. For a dive into the stuff of the course, consider our course discussion thread, which documents each session.