A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Professor Padilla Ríos took ‘Legacies of the Ancient World’ as an undergraduate. He took ‘Western Traditions’ and ‘Challenges of Modernity.’ The Maroon-News regrets the error.
Associate Professor of English Javier Padilla Ríos ’10 teaches the same Core Curriculum requirements he once took as a Colgate University undergraduate, but the classes now look dramatically different. Where he once studied classes called ‘Western Traditions’ and ‘Challenges of Modernity,’ his students now explore texts from across different cultures and time periods.
Colgate’s Core Curriculum is the heart of its academics. It’s a trademark of the university’s liberal arts motto and something every student is exposed to during their time here. Intended to expose students to diverse fields of study and creative inquiries, the 2025-2026 Core Curriculum consists of three main course areas: a core science course, a core communities course and Core Conversations.
Padilla Ríos attended Colgate for his undergraduate degree and went on to Princeton University for his master’s degree and Ph.D. Now, he teaches Core Conversations. When asked about his experience teaching the course, Padilla Ríos shared an appreciation for interacting with students across disciplines.
“I really do enjoy teaching it because I get to interact with students who are not just English majors,” Padilla Ríos said. “I like seeing how students who are not into the humanities have insights that might not be available to people who just focus on the humanities.”
Core Conversations is centered around a discussion of five main texts, intending to promote a range of conversations by focusing on past literature and aiming to look towards the present. The content blends cultures and time periods, exposing students to a range of content. As Padilla Ríos expressed, the course brings together students across majors and interests to blend different perspectives, sparking strong conversation.
Core Conversions is relatively new to Colgate and was not part of the curriculum in Padilla Ríos’ time here. During his time as a student, the course looked quite different.
“[The courses were] Challenges of Modernity and Legacies [of the Ancient World], and you can see how dated those terms sound,” Padilla Ríos said. “I thought that they were really important, perhaps, for the time. But the problem with Western tradition specifically is that it was a lack of focus on others […] from the rest of the world.”
The current version of this course, Core Conversations, has been developed with this lack of focus in mind and presents a more well-rounded and modern variation of the classes offered in the professor’s time here.
The addition of the Core Conversations course is just one of many changes Colgate has made in the recent past. Padilla Ríos recognizes these changes, as well as the growth Colgate has endured in recent times.
“ I think the departments themselves have become more diverse, in terms of hiring people from diverse backgrounds [and] hiring professors from diverse backgrounds,” Padilla Ríos said.
Improvements such as this one, along with others, eventually brought Padilla Ríos back as a professor.
“It just seems that as a school that has continued on this upward trajectory,” Padilla Ríos said.
Colgate has not stopped growing and learning. For students taking Core Conversations this semester, the course represents Colgate’s commitment to exposing students to voices and ideas beyond the Western canon — something Padilla Ríos wishes he had experienced as an undergraduate.
