Hugo Bedau just can't get enough of Tufts.
Bedau, the Fletcher professor of philosophy, retired 18 months ago but is back on campus this spring to teach his now-famous course, which is based on his 1964 book, The Death Penalty in America.
The course focuses on the imbalances, irregularities, and assorted controversies that concern the institution of capital punishment in America. At the beginning of each class, students receive a question sheet that addresses their readings from the previous night - the textbook for the class is the newest edition of Bedau's book. The questions provide the direction for class discussion.
It is the only class Bedau has approached in this manner, but he finds the format effective, given the subject. "I don't want the students to skew their reading in order to cater to my interests," he said. "I want them to read and make their own judgments about what's interesting."
Bedau also takes pains to provide his class with the most current information available, particularly if it is newer then the most recent edition of his book.
"[The last edition] is now about five years old and I want students to have much more up-to-date information. I mean, [the book] is good background, and we need to know what happened... years ago, but we also need to know what happened last year," he said.
Most of Bedau's students enter the course equipped with strong feelings toward the death penalty. Even those whose convictions are firmly in place flock to register for the class. Sophomore Alison Clarke, though strongly against capital punishment, took the class to find information to bolster her stance. "I wanted to learn about the different arguments for and against and learn how to better argue my position," she said.
The class, along with others that address human rights, philosophy law, and punishment, is offered by the philosophy department solely through Bedau - nobody else wants to teach it, according to the semi-retired professor. Though he tries his best to continue the classes, the rigors of instruction are taking their toll. "The hardest part about teaching... is correcting student papers. That's the most demanding, the most exhausting, the most irritating - but it has to be done," he said.
The death penalty and its implications piqued Bedau's interest when he was an instructor at Princeton in the 1950s. He began lecturing on the subject - but not to his college students.
"[I spoke to] church groups and the rotary club and whoever would invite me to talk on the subject," he recalled.
Eventually, Bedau realized that no books were available that contained sufficient information and a diverse portrayal of capital punishment. He decided to write the definitive work, and the rest - as they say - is history.
Today, Bedau is recognized as one of the country's leading academics in the study of the death penalty. He credits The Death Penalty in America for his reputation. "Once that book was published, then of course I became an authority, and I've been coasting on that ever since," he said.
According to Bedau, the United States Supreme Court has even, on occasion, referred to his book for information.
Even as a nationally regarded authority, Bedau prefers to oppose the death penalty in a strictly scholarly manner, through his writings, classes, and lectures. He has visited death row and met with families of victims and inmates, but refrains from other avenues of personal involvement. "I'm not a touchy-feely person really, and so I try to exploit my opportunities and talents as an educator," he said.
Bedau has taught the course for the past six years, since its beginnings as an Experimental College offering. It came under the wing of the philosophy department when the department heads noted the enduring popularity of the class.
And, although Bedau still enjoys teaching - he taught at Tufts' in Talloires last summer after first coming out of retirement - he has a research program in London that occupies much of his time. The project involves transcribing the 200 year-old work of the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham at University College London. But with thousands of Americans on death row, and the death penalty in the forefront of American public discourse and political debate, Bedau often can't help but be involved with today's pressing issues.
