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\F1\CMay 30, 1981












Dean Joseph L. Subbiondo
College of Humanities
Dean's Office
Bannan Hall, #226




Dear Dean Subbiondo:

\JI hereby withdraw my proposal for a \F3Computing and Culture\F1 course
at Santa Clara University. The atmosphere and attitudes generated by this proposed
course have become increasingly destructive and irrational.
Over the last six months, I have watched quite patiently as inactivity 
and indecision played counterpoint to personal and professional innuendo.

I consider my professional and personal time  valuable; 
I take time from my business to  teach and design courses 
because I enjoy teaching and
because I feel I can offer unique perspectives  on computing 
education.
I take both my personal and professional reputation very seriously; and I take
the content of my courses very seriously. I have watched quietly as the content
of EECS129 --the precursor to the \F3Computing and Culture\F1 proposal-- 
was disected and analyzed; unfortunately, this autopsy was done mainly
without benefit of facts and completely without discussions
 with me --the generalizations and speculations 
that reached my ears made it difficult
for me to recognize the cadaver!

Unfortunately,
a similar pattern has developed with the current
proposal: statements are made about 
its content, positions are taken on it, and alas, decisions are made about its
worthiness, all without consulting me or the benefit of advice from
people willing to make informed judgements.
In the current situation, the decision to postpone the matter is the correct
one; I wish to take a further step: withdraw the proposal completely.

I do this not because I have lost interest;  indeed I am trying to get it
adpoted at another local university. Even before the merger, 
I felt that such a course was important for
Santa Clara; since the merger, such a course has, I feel, become of utmost
importance.
Furthermore, I felt that it was important
that faculty with stronger backgrounds than mine in the non-technical
disciplines play an integral part  in the formation of the course for 
humanities students; that is 
why the February literacy proposal began with a summer workshop, with the
Humanities faculty playing the major role in developing the course.

In fact, the importance of this course is the reason for withdrawing it from
consideration at this time. 
The literature is filled with discussions by  reasonable and concerned
people addressing the split between the arts and sciences --its origins;
its real and potential harm to society. The proposed course was a serious attempt to
address the issues and  bridge the gap (still today
I am most willing to discuss  and defend validity and substance
of the technical 
 and, yes, even philosophical positions espoused in my work.)
The last six months at Santa Clara  have shown that my work 
 threatens to widen --not narrow-- the 
scientific/humanistic gap at the adminstrative level of this
University. 
If the gap is to be narrowed in the general community of Santa Clara 
University (or
anywhere else) it must be done in a spirit of cooperation. That spirit, alas,
has not been apparent to me in the birthing of EECS129 or the current \F3Computing
and Culture\F1 controversy.

Until such time as   content  and issues can be discussed rationally,
until a cooperative spirit exists, there is no hope for meaningful dialog.
Until that time I withdraw \F3Computing and Culture\F1 from consideration at
the University of Santa Clara.
\.
\←L\→S\←R\-L\/'2;\+L\→L

Yours sincerely,


John R. Allen, Lecturer 
EECS Department

\←S\→L

CC: 
    Dr. D. Siljak
    Dr. R. Parden
    Fr. P. Locatelli
    Mr. G. Alexanderson
    Dr. R. Yarborough