The Month
WITH THE observance of Dartmouth Night in near and distant towns and cities—wherever two or more alumni got together for the purpose—the month just past was a significant one. On the 14th of the month the rededication of Dartmouth Hall and the celebration of the 40th annual Dartmouth Night combined to give alumni and undergraduates a common interest in a College event. Both groups were, in a way, united in the celebrations, even though separated by great distances. A spiritual bond, best dramatized by the three-score or more telegraphic messages received from alumni groups, is an impressive factor in the annual exercises.
FEBRUARY is in many ways the most varied and interesting month of the academic year in Hanover. In its first days there is the culmination of the first semester's work and the end of midyear examinations. The winter sports season reaches its height on the successive week-ends of the month, beginning with the gaiety and color of Winter Carnival. The return of more and more alumni for the Washington's Birthday week-end in recent years has made the Alumni Carnival an annual feature of the month. And throughout this season of the year there is emphasis on classroom and library activity, with good attendance at the full schedule of public lectures and discussions of questions of general or special interest.
ALTHOUGH AN OBSERVER in Hanover discovers some genuine faculty interest in the new required freshman course, Social Science 1 and 2, there is not the concern or enthusiasm about this curriculum change that there would be if it were of a more sweeping or radical nature. In his article in this issue of the MAGAZINE the dean of the faculty, E. Gordon Bill, points out the great value and promise of the "topical majors," whereby a student may cut across departmental lines in the pursuit of learning in his major subject. He will be given a real opportunity finally to integrate his knowledge in the last year of his course.
Dean Bill is convincing in his arguments that there is a recognized need and place at Dartmouth for survey courses in the sciences. The social sciences are moving in the direction of correlating the studies of their several fields, namely, History, Economics, Sociology, and Political Science. Whether or not similar action in the departments of instruction in the sciences would give as much promise of success will doubtless be the subject of much future discussion and debate.
AS PROFESSOR L. B. RICHARDSON pointed out in his remarks during the Dartmouth Night exercises in Webster Hall, it used to be possible to measure what the knowledge of graduates was. When the curriculum was confined to Latin, Greek, Theology, Philosophy, and Mathematics the teachers knew when a student finished his course that he had acquired a certain amount of knowledge in those subjects. It is surely more difficult, if not impossible, to measure in any comparable degree the mastery of students in the courses they have studied in this, and recent, college generations. Exponents of the educational theory that master courses designed to survey and coordinate fields of study, whether in the sciences or social sciences, are essential in the Dartmouth curriculum have strong arguments on their side. If specialized knowledge is desired it may well come after college. In the college of liberal arts the emphasis should be on a well-rounded course. Some would go so far as to say that every graduate should have a good understanding of all three principal divisions of courses of study—the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences—even though the student may concentrate in one department for his honors work and his major.
In contrast to the evil of too great specialization in the four-year liberal arts course there is, of course, the danger of spreading the student's time so thin that he has little or nothing in the end.
AN EXCELLENT piece of work has L been done in the field of coordination, with a revamping of existing publications of the College together with the creation of some new descriptive material. The Bulletin of the College has been revised in its 10 annual numbers or editions to conform to a single style of typography. The contents of each of the issues have been carefully examined, rewritten, and relocated in the Bulletin number which promises to give the most effective presentation and distribution to the material. Alumni who are on the mailing list for the Catalogue of former years have by now received the very attractive and complete publications that are taking its place. Others who are interested are invited to apply to the Registrar's Office for copies of the new 116-page illustrated book ADescription of Dartmouth College. Copies will be sent without charge to alumni for their own use or to anyone else who would like to have a complete story of Dartmouth.
THE RECENT Winter Carnival was particularly notable for the increased number of persons, male and female, who travelled around to the various ski events on skis. There seemed to be just as many visitors as ever but interest in skiing, and ideal weather for the sport, may have been responsible for the fairly decorous nature of the festivities. At least there has been a growing emphasis on the outdoor aspects of Carnival in recent years, and somewhat less of the boisterous spirit of Mardi Gras. The ski tow out at Oak Hill (near Mel Adams Cabin) played a major role in providing enthusiasts with a place to glide up hill as well as slide down.
PROFESSOR WEST and his collaborators, the chairmen of several departments of the faculty, have put a good deal of time and thought on the pages of "Hanover Browsing" which will be found in this issue of the MAGAZINE. Not since the old "alumni reading lists" were published ten and more years ago has there been any concerted effort made to give alumni information about what is being read and recommended in various departments of the College. Everyone concerned in this project is doubtless willing enough to carry it on in the future if
our readers really want to know what the best current books may be in several fields of special interest.
