BATTLES AND SYMPHONIES

The extreme desirability of correlation in Freshman elementary courses was evidenced yesterday when Dr. Karpovich, History professor, lectured on the music and thought of the nineteenth century and brought something new into the thought processes of the students. For them it is now possible to study the music of the last century not as a constantly narrowing and more specialized field, but one in which each new detail broadens the significance of music in relation to the rest of contemporary human activity.

Elementary courses have bristled with problems for the University. It has often been felt that lack of correlation between different fields gives a restricted view to the student. For example, History concentrators who must take Economics A as a prerequisite, should be introduced to a new kind of thought, and be shown how Economics fits in with History. Instead, these men often struggle through Economics A and come out at the end of the year with little understanding of economic thought and a definite revulsion to economic theory. If a large number of people are prejudiced against Economics as opposed to History, one must conclude that the University has failed to show that they complement rather than supplement one another.

This is only one aspect of a much larger problem,--the whole question of coalescing, enlarging, and correlating various fields of study. This question is now under the deliberation of both the Student Council and University Hall. Regarding the more limited field of elementary survey courses, it is quite possible that some time in the near future Harvard may set up a system of introductory courses similar to those at Chicago and Columbia Universities. There, several fields are included under a few very broad topics such as the Humanities and the Physical Sciences.

Come what may, the various departments would do well to emulate the comparatively new and active Music division. It has at least attempted to correlate history with its elementary course by introducing men from the History Department to give historical background-lectures. Yesterday Professor Karpovich, correlating nineteenth century thought with nineteenth century music, did a magnificent job of a type almost unknown to Harvard.