Re: minor subjects [WAS: Alumnus]

In article <hrmoe2lirkj7pes2rjlipgljn755cic86l@xxxxxxx>,
Tony Cooper <tony_cooper213@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 22 Aug 2006 12:20:16 GMT, blmblm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blmblm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[ snip ]

Since you mentioned a BS in business, and something about journalism,
in previous posts, I tried finding requirements for those degrees at
IU's site, and came up with the following:

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ebulletin/iub/business/bachelor.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~bulletin/iub/journalism/baj.html

[ snip ]

Thanks, but what I was looking for was the class schedule a freshman
would be likely to have at Indiana University today. I'm curious to
see if the class schedule for a person who plans to major in
Journalism would be the same as the person who plans to major in
Business as it was in my day.

Well, what I was trying to get across in the part of my message
you didn't quote was that it's possible no such schedule exists:
I teach at a small liberal-arts-ish school, and as far as I know
there's no university-wide list of courses that should be taken by
first-year students. They're told that they must sign up for two
courses (a one-semester interdiscplinary-ish seminar, different
topics available, and a one-semester writing workshop), but other
than that, they get the list of graduation requirements and advice
about how to pick courses that will advance them toward whatever
goal they have in mind. Specific programs with more-than-usually
rigid requirements do have the kind of list you have in mind.
But there's nothing general. I suspect (though I'm not sure) the
same kind of thing might be true at IU, and if so, there would be
a good reason you couldn't find the list you were looking for. :-)?

There *are* some schools where all the first-years take pretty much
the same thing -- Caltech comes to mind, and I'm guessing MIT too --
but I think they may be the exceptions rather than the rule, these
days.

I wonder if part of the difference is that the "general education"
requirements have become more flexible since you were in school --
I mean, there might be very few courses that everyone has to take,
with all other requirements met by choosing from among a designated
set of possibilities?

My guess is that someone who knows something about the history
of educational institutions would be able to talk about changing
fashions in how best to achieve whatever is presented as the goal
("well-rounded individual"? "educated person"?), and that might
be relevant here. At the school where I teach, a few years ago
the definition of "common curriculum" was revamped, a process
that involved committees of faculty discussing and proposing and
revising for years. (I had no idea it would be so complicated,
but I guess if you want something on which you can get consensus,
maybe it is.) The result is -- well, as a techie (CS is my field)
I find the language a little nebulous and off-putting, but maybe
that's hard to avoid when the task is to turn the vague idea of
"educated person" into specific requirements.

--
B. L. Massingill
ObDisclaimer: I don't speak for my employers; they return the favor.
.

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