History & Literature to Social Relations

History and Literature

Number of Concentrators: 118.

1952 Commencement Honors: Cum, 20; Magna, 12; Summa, 1.

Long considered the aristocrat of concentrations, History and Literature still holds its scholarly head above the onslaught of group tutorial. Limiting enrollment to a flexible 50 per class, it demands added work, offers near-individual tutorial, and is consistently high in honors percentages. In fact, it is a field that presumes candidacy for honors.

The additional work comes with the special oral examinations. The Bible, Shakespear, Homer, Thucydides and language proficiency all come under departmental purview, and all must take general exams at the end of the junior year to quality for honors.

Latitude

But the stellar list of tutors and officials, plus the extreme latitude in course selection more than compensates the devoted student for his extra time. Actually, practically any course given by any professor can count toward the eight course requirement. The department stresses hand-tailored programs.

In the days before group tutorial, History and Literature was the only field offering tutorial for all, and even now boasts a well oiled and eminently successful system. With small groups and usually dedicated tutors, there are few complaints. But the assignments are generally quite stiff, and poor preparation is made doubly awkward by the scorn of fellow tutees, most of whom have not only done both the assigned and suggested work, but have read voluminous commentary for free.

Specialization

Once inside the field, each man chooses a special country or period of study, and bases his courses on his choice. The favorite is the Modern Period in two European countries plus America. Then the concentrator leans either to the side of History or Literature, and is ready to begin an arduous three years of intellectual fun. By the time he has taken his qualifying exams, and is ensconced in Senior Tutorial for credit, the honors candidate has nothing to worry about but a March 1st thesis deadline.

Obviously, this is no field for anyone wanting little more than a cocktail knowledge of his concentration. Even non-honors men must purchase their shorn degrees with a 10,000 word essay, also due March 1st. Anyone graduating with a History and Literature diploma has spent several hours wondering if it was worth the effort, and the usual answer is an overwhelming yes.

History and Science

Number of Concentrators: 9.

1952 Honors: Magna, 1.

An ideal field for future doctors and engineers, or for those interested simply in a broad general education background, is History and Science, a relative newcomer to fields of concentration.

Since five science courses are required, concentrators, can, with careful course selection, easily go into engineering, medicine and other scientific fields. The four required history courses balance any overemphasis of science.

A coordination of the two field comes in the History of Science courses taught by I. Bernard Cohen and Thomas S. Kuhn, associate professors of History of Science. Kuhn heads the group history tutorial meetings held during the sophomore and junior years.

Individual history tutorial for credit is required in the senior year. All concentrators must be honors candidates. A thesis is required, and special examinations in history are given.

Linguistics

Number of Concentrators: 14

1952 Commencement Honors: Cum, 3; magna, 0; Summa, 0.

Linguistics is far from a specialized field, says Professor Joshua Whatmough, head of the Linguistics Department, and the nation's highest authority in his field. Apart from the pleasure derived from reading the world's great literature in its original form, there are the practical benefits to be realized in the ever-increasing "Inter-communication theory." In the fields of symbolism and telegraph operation there are many opportunities for one with a wide command of languages.

Linguistics offers a wide range of possible combinations to honors students. Before concentrating in this field it is necessary to take two courses with the label Linguistics, two courses in any language, and two more in any related course. Most men with an interest in Linguistics take more courses in the related fields.

Mathematics

1952 Commencement Concentrators: 77.

Honors: Cum in General Studies, 5; Cum, 3; Magna, 3; Summa, 1.

Mathematics combines insight into the physical sciences with the traditional values of a liberal education.

With no laboratory demands, math concentrators find time to take courses in the humanities and other fields. But because mathematics is abstract and symbolic, it requires, in addition to a logical mind, an ability for formal manipulation and a measure of imagination.

These abilities are absolutely necessary in advanced courses, and students should not be misled by easy success in Math. 1 or 2. Courses become increasingly abstract, and the emphasis is less on formula solving, more on logical thinking. Only those receiving honor grades in the elementary courses should consider concentrating in his field.

Concentration Requirements

Concentrators must take a minimum of four courses in the Department, and two other courses which have mathematical prerequisites. Especially recommended are courses in Physics, Applied Science, and Astronomy. Only one of these courses may be of freshman level. Physics 1, a freshman courses with no math prerequisites, may be included if passed with an honor grade.

Freshmen planning concentration in this field who are now taking Math 1 should take Math 2 next year, while those currently enrolled in Math. 2 should take Math. 105 and 106.

With Math. 105 and 106 under his belt, the student is then prepared to take most of the courses in the Department. This is perhaps unfortunate, since many in the field, especially those out for honors, tend to over concentrate. The faculty has attempted to discourage this, urging students to get as wide a liberal arts background as possible before they go on to graduate school, as most concentrators do. The Department especially recommends a reading knowledge of French or German, preferably both.

Honors Program

Requirements for an honors degree are hardly more stringent than for non-honors. The honors candidate must take an additional course in math and write a thesis.

The thesis requirement is not the bugaboo that popular opinion has it, since new results are not expected. Rather, it represents an assimilation of reading in a branch of mathematics, with some theorems derived from the reading. And while no generals are required, honors candidates must take a special examination in the subject of their thesis.

Tutorial in mathematics is not obligatory, though honors concentrators usually take advantage of the opportunity of studying under the Department's outstanding mathematicians. Sophomores may also pursue some topic of special interest in individual tutorial.

Music

Number of Concentrators in 1952: 45 (30 Harvard, 15 Radcliffe).

1952 Commencement Honors: Magna, 1; Cum, 4.

Concentration requirements have been eased, but Music still remains one of the smallest and toughest fields open to the undergraduate.

Assignments, especially in the elementary courses, are long, exacting, and regular. But whatever temptation the department may offer the lazy student to concentrate elsewhere is made up by its informal atmosphere. Students have the opportunity to work actively with some of the top composers and musicologists in the country.

Today the field is no longer oriented to the professional musician and specialist. Under department head Randall Thompson, a concerted effort is being made to attract students who are still unsure of their field of concentration. Much of the technical barbed-wire once felt to surround the field has been removed.

To concentrate, a student must show instrumental ability, but not necessarily on the piano. A basic piano ability is required of all concentrators, but the department no longer considers itself to be a haven for future Paderewskis.

Music History

Principal lightening of the specific concentration load has come in the field of music history. Of the six courses required for concentrators, the four in theory must still be taken by all. But concentrators can choose two in music history from a group of several. The theory courses cover a year of orchestration, two years of harmony, and a year of counterpoint.

There are no generals, orals, or junior year exams. Only a thesis is necessary for honors candidates.

Perhaps the outstanding attraction of the department is the opportunity for informal contact between teacher and student without the formal machinery of tutorial. Because there is a faculty member for every fifth concentrator, the faculty does not offer tutorial until the senior year.

The department boasts men like Walter H. Piston and Thompson, two of the top four or five composers in the country, and Otto J. Gombosi and Stephen D. Tuttle, two of the nation's top musicologists.

Archibald T. Davison is an institution in Music I, one of the most popular courses in the College, and normally taken before the advanced music history courses. G. Wallace Woodworth, world-renowned conductor of the Glee Club, will teach a course in the symphony as one of the middle group history courses next year.

Philosophy

Number of Concentrators: 60.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum, 5; magna, 4; summa, none.

Philosophy is a valuable department for those preparing for professions stressing analysis or argument, such as law and education. In addition, the department can make an interesting concentration for those looking merely for a liberal education.

Concentrators are required to take at least six full courses in Philosophy. Of these, only two may be elementary. Another two may be in related fields. These may include political theory, theory of art, religion, psychology, and sociology.

Candidates for honors may concentrate in one of a number of combined courses: Philosophy and Classics, Philosophy and English, Philosophy and Mathematics, Philosophy and Government, and Philosophy and History.

Required Courses

There are no required courses. However the General Examination system rather determines a student's schedule. Each concentrator is required to take three three-hour generals, one of which is in modern philosophy.

For his systematic exam, a student may choose among Metaphysics, Ethics, and Logic. In the ancient and modern philosophy exams he has a choice of a long list of authors on whom he will be intensively examined--one in each period.

The same requirements apply to both honors and regular candidates for the degree, with the exception of a thesis required of honors candidates. Tutorial is provided for all honors candidates in or above Group III in the Junior and Senior Years. Group III sophomores may have one term of tutorial.

There is no set order in which courses must be taken. Most students take either the extremely popular Philosophy 1 or 2 and 3 as an introductory course, depending on whether they want an historical or systematic approach. Other important and popular courses are 152, 130, and 164.

Willard V. O. Quino, chairman of the department, has recommended Philosophy 1a and 1b as beginning courses for concentrators. He also recommended that every concentrator take Philosophy 140, Deductive Logic.

Many Vacancies

Several new men and visiting lecturers will fill in next year for three of the faculty on leaves of absence. Morton G. White will spend next year at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Quine has been named Eastman Visiting Professor at Oxford next year. Clarence I. Lewis '06, who has been called one of the greatest philosophers in America, is retiring this year.

Henry D. Aiken will return in the spring term from a year as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan.

Physics

Number of Concentrators: 105.

1952 Commencement Honors: summa, 6; magna, 5; cum, 9.

If you don't love mathematics, don't major in physics.

These remarks preface this article every year, but their truth is reaffirmed with each freshman class. For unless the prospective physicist has full comprehension of all of his required mathematics courses, he will almost certainly find theoretical physics completely beyond his grasp.

The physic concentrator here is allowed the most freedom of any science concentrator. For besides the necessary courses in mathematics and the beginning course in physics he is free to select four advanced half courses in physics and two more in physics or a related field to round out his concentration requirements. For honors he must take one more course in Physics or in Applied Science and an additional half course in Physics or a "related field."

Under new department regulations, Physics 11, the introductory course assuming a knowledge of calculus that raced through physics in two semesters has been extended to three terms, and will be both more intensive and more extensive. The new course, to be called Physics 12, will, with the fourth semester occupied by Physics 111, atomic physics, constitute a firm, high-level introduction to the field.

Basic Courses

The average concentrator will now take Mathematics 1 and probably Chemistry 1 or 2 in his freshman year. As a sophomore, he will take Mathematics 2 and Physics 12a and 12b. Then, in the fall term of his junior year, he must take Physics 12c.

His junior year advanced courses might include Mathematics 1050a and Physics 131 in the fall term and Physics 111 and 132 in the spring. Physics 131, a more rigorous mathematical treatment of direct current electrical phenomena and magnetism, is one of the most difficult courses in the department.

Premature Specialization

Many concentrators plan to skip basic courses like Physics 111, and go directly into more advanced courses that assume these as pre-requisites. Department Chairman Kenneth T. Bainbridge says that this is in most cases unwise.

Bainbridge also cautions against premature specialization. "Some people think they can skip thermodynamics and load their programs with electronics, for instance. This just is not true. Sooner or later, the loss will hurt him, and he will be forced to make up his missed courses."

Physical Sciences

Present Number Concentrating: 51.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum, 1; magna, 0; summa, 0.

Physical Sciences, the hybrid field which lets its concentrators dabble in the fields of chemistry, physics, and mathematics is designed for two types of students. The first is the person who has a sincere interest in either physics or chemistry, but lacks the ability to puzzle out the complex mathematical formulas of physics, or the patience to spend his spring afternoons sweating over a steam bath in the chem lab. The second type is the student who wants to get a diversified scientific education in preparation for a career in industry or law.

For either student the field proves quite satisfactory. The requirements for concentration seem numerous, but actually for anyone even vaguely interested in physics or chemistry they are essential, and in the end, rather enjoyable courses, in mathematics, Physical Science concentrators are required to take Math 1a, 1b, and 2a. In the field of bunsen burners and test tubes, concentrators must take either Chem 1 or Chem 2. And in physics the equivalent of Physics 11 is necessary.

Physics a Problem

The physics requirement will pose a few problems for students entering the field next year. If they have taken Physics 11 during their freshman year, or have taken 11a during this spring term and plan to take 11b next fall they can relax as far as the physics requirement is concerned. But students who have not taken any Physics will have to take the now three term Physics 12 to be initiated next fall. Students planning to concentrate in Physical Sciences who have taken Physics 1 during their freshman year will have to take two terms of Physics 12 without the laboratory sessions or satisfy the requirement, since the old course Physics 10 which applied mathematics to the principles of Physics 1 has been discontinued.

After these basic requirements have been filled the concentrator can go on to take advanced courses in any department of the physical sciences--Applied Sciences, Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, Mineralogy, Mathematics, and Physics. Certain courses in Architectural Sciences, some upper group Natural Science Gen. Ed. courses, and Philosophy 140 may also be offered for concentration. Fourteen half courses are required in all.

ROTC Credit

The field is a choice plum for people in any one of the ROTC programs since the third and fourth year courses in either Military, Naval or Air Science may be offered toward fulfillment of the concentration requirements.

There is no tutorial in Physical Sciences; students are assigned tutors by C. Harold Berry Professor of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics and chairman of the field. Honors higher than cum laude are not usually recommended. A degree with honors is given to concentrators who have maintained better than B average in the courses they offer for concentration.

Psychology

Number of Concentrators: 30.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum, 3; magna, 0; summa, 0.

The prospective psychoanalyst should not concentrate in Psychology. Seven years ago the department broke with the Social Relations Department and moved out of Emerson Hall in order to teach a course in experimental science without the philosophical frills. The concentrator in Psychology emerges from his course of study with basic training in laboratory research work, and normally goes on to complete his studies in graduate psychology courses.

Pigeons and Rats

The department's laboratories now line the basement of Memorial Hall, where experiments to see just how neurotic a rat or a pigeon can get, take up most of the students' time. The laboratories and their facilities are open to all concentrators in the department, and most start experimenting with their own animals in their junior year.

Concentrators must complete 12 half courses, eight of which must be in the department or chosen from certain acceptable Soc. Rel. courses. The other four may be taken in Psychology, but because of the emphasis on laboratory research, students are encouraged to pick these in related fields like Mathematics, Physics, Biology, or Chemistry.

Because of the small enrollment in the department, there is no tutorial. But because of the nature of the work and the small classes, students get ample personal contact with their instructors despite this.

Introductory Courses

Usually the concentrator will start with Psychology 1, the elementary course, taught in the fall term by Professor Edwin G. Boring. In the spring term following this, he takes Psychology 105, the introductory laboratory course. Natural Sciences 114, Human Behavior, can also be offered as preparation for Psychology 105.

Early in his program the concentrator should take a course in psychological statistics. The department recommends Social Sciences 122, Principles of Statistical Inference.

At the end of his Senior year the concentrator must pass two written examinations, one on Psychology in general, and one on Special Topics in Psychology. Candidates for honors must also present a thesis based on some original work, and undergo an oral examination on the range of material covered in the thesis.

Since most of the concentrators in Psychology are primarily concerned with learning basic training in laboratory research work, the number of students out for honors is usually small. Last year only three cum laudes were awarded to seniors. No magnas or summas were given in the field last year.

Romance Languages and Literatures

Number of Concentrators: 97.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum 3; magna, 3; summa, 1.

The prospect of a year at the Sorbonne is often enough to lure many language students into concentration in Romance Languages and Literatures. The Faculty decided several years ago that students in this field could spend their junior year abroad with a language study group. The prospective traveler must meet only three requirements: he must be a candidate for honors, he must at least be in Group III, and he must scrape together the necessary cash.

But there is more attraction in the department than a year of travel. Chairman of Romance Languages, Herbert Dieckmann, is famed for his study in Eighteenth Century French literature, and his teaching staff is expert and specialized.

Requirements

Requirements in the field are quite stiff. The non-honors men must take 6 full courses. Two of these can be in the wide range of related areas, English, comparative literature, or history. The same requirements are expected of honors concentrators, with the addition of two years in a second Romance language and a 10,000 word thesis.

Though no sophomore tutorial is given, there is individual honors tutorial for the juniors remaining in Cambridge and for seniors. This allows a greater freedom and individual choice for the students, the department feels, than would a more uniform program. The elementary oral language courses, "B" and "D" were recently eliminated by Faculty vote. This action does not mean that the department is abandoning the oral program. The courses will soon be replaced with more intensive elementary courses and there are many oral courses on the advanced level.

Sanskrit and Indian Studies

Number of Concentrators: 1.

1952 Commencement Honors: None.

Working with one of the oldest languages in existence, the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies is trying to modernize its curricula. Department Chairman Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls admits, however, that this aim has not yet been effectively reached.

The Department's main objective is still to give prospective concentrators a knowledge of Sanskrit, a difficult language which is the basis for many modern tongues.

Concentrators must take at least three courses in Sanskrit, one in Indian Studies, and two in related fields. Candidates for honors have only one additional task, an oral examination on the field, taken in the second half of the senior year.

Semitic Languages

Number of Concentrators: 0.

1952 Honors: None.

Semitic Languages is a department limited in appeal and manpower. But its men rank "as high as any in the field," Robert H. Pfeiffer, head of the department, says describing the men who with him.

Pfeiffer, Harry A. Wolfson, Littaner Professor of Semitic Languages, and Professor William Thomson, Jewett Professor of Arabic teach Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Assyrian, and Syriac.

No thesis is required in the field; general examinations are given at the discretion of the professors.

Archaeology, ancient history, religion, and teaching are the main fields concentrators go into.

Slavic Languages

Number of Concentrators: 20.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum, 2; magna, 1.

Although Polish, Czechoslovakian, Serbo-Bulgarian, and Ukrainian are taught, in the department, the main emphasis in Slavic Languages and Literature is in Russian, lingual and literary.

The field, difficult because of the unfamiliarity of the languages, is perhaps even harder because most concentrators don't get into the field until their junior year. "Most sophomores are too occupied with required courses to enter the field," Horace G. Lunt, assistant professor in the department noted.

Concentrators find it much more, than a difficult language study, though. The general examination tests mainly a knowledge of Russian literature, with emphasis on the better-known writers--Tolstoi, Dostoevski, Pushkin. Theses, required only of honors candidates, generally are written on similar topics.

Social Relations

Number of Concentrators: 278.

1952 Commencement Honors: cum, 25; magna, 12; summa, 1.

Social Relations is probably the most liberal major in the liberal arts. The six courses required for concentration can be scattered in many fields, while only three half-courses must be in one specific area. Next year, the department plans to increase this flexibility, and also to cut down overlapping in courses, which has been the field's big drawback.

The Department of Social Relations was cut to three areas: Sociology, Social and Personal Psychology, and Social Anthropology. Concentrators must take four of their six required courses in these fields, and may fill in with courses in the Departments of Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Philosophy, and Psychology.

One other change, designed to improve the field and raise the quality of the courses is the strengthening its psychology wing. Courses from the Psychology Department are being offered in this field of Social Relations.

Normally, a Social Relations major will take basic courses in the three areas of the Department early in their programs, and then decide on one special branch for specialized training. In order to enable students to get a good background in the department during the first two years, Social Relations 1 has been reduced to a half year. It is no longer a prerequisite for advanced courses, although the department recommends it as an introduction to the field.

Honors

For honors candidates, Social Relations is an ideal major. The only additions to the normal requirements are that a student take a half-course in statistics and submit a thesis before the end of his senior year.

Tutorial in Social Relations emphasizes the flexibility which characterizes the field. Sophomore tutorial is run in groups of about six and meets for one hour each week. These sessions will cover a list of key books on Social Relations, designed to impart a familiarity with the field as a whole.

Junior tutorial is run on the same basis, except that it is broken up into specialized and general groups. In the fall, a list of specialized topics is drawn up and concentrators can choose the one they are most interested in. Otherwise, they are assigned to general groups.

Both sophomore and junior tutorial students are given either "Honor", "Pass", or "Fail" for their work. Although tutorial does not count for credit at this stage, these marks are recorded.

Tutorial

The only tutorial course offered in the senior year is Social Relations 99. Individual Tutorial for Honors Candidates. This is a two-term course and one full credit is given, as well as concentration credit. In exceptional cases, second term juniors may take this course.

For a while, Social Relations was known as a glorious gut, and if attracted many "free-ride boys". The Department has been struggling to cut down this excess enrollment and now reports that the "free riders" are a thing of the past.