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Fordham University

Fordham University's course descriptions average 65.9 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so Fordham University reads 1.6 points further right.

ShowCompared withDepartments

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)

Fordham University: 65.9 (likely range 64.9 to 66.9) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

3%Far left92–100

36%Left75–91

38%Center-left59–74

12%Center42–58

5%Center-right26–41

3%Right9–25

3%Far right0–8

519 plotted courses (the ones with a political subject). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right. Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes.

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Framing Subject

Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes. A course on slavery or the Holocaust lands far right and a course on Marx or the Soviet Union lands far left, whether the course praises, criticizes or simply describes it.

Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest-left subjects

ENGL 3641 · Slavery and American Fiction100

English & Comparative Literature

Historians have described slavery as "America's original sin," a period from which time will never fully distance us. Current events bear this out. This course will focus on fiction about slavery and the debate over abolition during the…

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HIST 3567 · A Global History of Communism100

History

Forty years after the Russian Revolution of 1917, approximately one-third of humanity found itself living under regimes directly inspired by Soviet communism. This course offers an extensive survey of the global spread of communism,…

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HIST 3918 · Cultural Revolution: China in Context100

History

Given the rise of contemporary China, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) might seem like an anomaly driven by Mao Zedong's cult of personality. This course will challenge this idea by exploring the broader trajectory of…

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Furthest-right subjects

AFAM 3148 · History of South Africa0

Ethnic & African American Studies

This course examines the history of South Africa from the Pre-European encounter to the Post-Apartheid era. Special emphasis will be given to nineteenth and twentieth century racial policies. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes…

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AFAM 3149 · South Africa Study Tour0

Ethnic & African American Studies

A three week study tour of South Africa, exploring the pre-Encourage Cape, the Mineral Revolution area, and the Apartheid High Veld.

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ENGL 3410 · Jane Austen in Context0

English & Comparative Literature

In this course we will read four of Jane Austen’s major novels, several scholarly essays about the novels, and a few primary texts by other authors. Our work will be guided by two overarching goals. One is to survey some of Austen’s opus…

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Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 64.9 to 66.9; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.

Fordham University by department (share of courses described from the left)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Ethnic & African American Studies	23.3%	86	view
Sociology	22.8%	114	view
Anthropology	17.4%	86	view
Women's & Gender Studies	14.3%	77	view
English & Comparative Literature	10.5%	572	view
Art & Art History	7.7%	142	view
History	7.1%	395	view
Religious Studies	5.7%	246	view
Political Science	4.1%	172	view
Economics	3.8%	130	view
Psychology	3.6%	139	view
Philosophy	1.5%	271	view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method

Name	Metric	Value	95% interval	n	scored
Fordham University	mean_bias_score	65.9	64.9 – 66.9	2,430	207
All 100 schools	mean_bias_score	67.5	67.4 – 67.7	124,290	10,124

Formula: SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval: normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot: gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats: Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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