What is so important about psychologv that it should be part of every student's g m a l education? is a question that l e d to redesign of an introductory course.
Reconstructing Introductory Psycholou David G. WinteT
Introductory social science courses are often orphans in the liberal arts curriculum. It was not always so. In the halcyon days of general education after World War 11, we are told, students were introduced to political science and economic theory through the fabric of history and philosophy. They learned psychology in the broader context of sociology and anthropology. However, the rise of departmental autonomy and professionalism eroded this interdisciplinary synthesis. The introductory course became a narrowly defined introduction to the undergraduate major program. Perhaps unconsciously, many social science faculty even thought of the introductory course as the first step toward an advanced degree and a career in the relevant discipline. Ironically, the very popularity of the social sciences and their perceived career relevance exacerbated these trends. Students flocked to social science courses to prepare for helping careers or for law school. As enrollments flourished, social science departments felt little need to attract more students by offering the imaginative, broad-based introductory courses in the liberal arts tradition that other, less popular departments developed.
All these general trends are especially true of psychology. Just when student concerns were leading to increased psychology course enrollments in the 1 %Os, the breakdown of earlier interdisciplinary K. 1. Spcar (Ed.). R j u d i q Id&-C a u z e ~ New Directions for Teaching and Learning. w . 20. . %an Francism: Jauy-Bass. k t m b c r 1984.