CORRELATION CONFUSION

In a strange step backwards, the Division of History-Government-Economics is applying an old and useless method of correlation to take the place of the examinations abandoned last spring. They are demanding that seniors in the fields of government and economics, and not in history, take one full advanced course inside the division but outside their field of concentration. It remains a mystery why the division considers that a single advanced course in addition to the regular requirements can by itself solve the thorny problem of correlation.

The present ruling is founded on a false principle. It assumes that a man taking courses in a subject remotely connected with his own field of concentration will automatically correlate the two fields. In a majority of cases this is impossible without the extra impetus of tutorial, examinations, or written papers combining both subjects. Without such assistance he is very apt to consider the courses merely as two completely unrelated entities. Evidently the division thinks it has solved the problem of correlation by making sure that a concentrator understands one of two particular methods outside his field. Actually he is only placed in a position where correlation might be possible; he has been given the tools but not the chance to use them.

Last year it was decided to discontinue the correlation exams. Although considered unsuccessful, they had at least demanded a general knowledge of social sciences and some ability in combining the material of two different fields, which is more than can be said for the compulsory advanced course. The fact that History concentrators are spared suggests that the course was decided upon, not as a final settlement of the problem but just as some kind of a substitute for an exam which the student was no longer forced to take.

As long as the plans for broader fields of concentration remain in the embryonic stage, a satisfactory solution is difficult. It is rather too much to hope that sufficiently versatile tutors can be found to shoulder the burden of correlation in History-Government-Economies, much as they would be appreciated. Therefore, the best plan would be for the division to require a short thesis of all its concentrators in the spring of Junior year on any topic which combines their field of concentration with another, whether inside the actual division or not. This freedom is important, frequently government might be combined with sociology or philosophy for example, far better than with economics or history. But even if the choice of fields were limited, such a paper would present the concentrators with the opportunity to use the tools of correlation which have been so painfully manufactured for them.