Folklore study, too often misunderstood and maligned in the academic world, is pursued by a relatively small number of scholars (fewer than 100 people in this country have a doctorate in folklore). However, at least 170 American colleges and universities offer popular folklore courses, 71 percent of which are part of the English department…

During the great increase in college enrollments of the 1950's and 1960's, many linguists saw opportunities for expanding the prominence and practice of linguistics by starting a linguistics program where there had been none before. New linguistics programs can no longer be justified in view of the current job market. The number of linguists being…

This document reports on a conference designed to investigate new directions in Asian studies in undergraduate education in the 1970's. Discussed were: the language and area studies implications for teaching asian Studies at the undergraduate level; future needs for materials in Asian studies; what an area studies program should be at an…

A study determined how including significant amounts of writing in varied forms for different audiences throughout a four-year baccalaureate program in nursing affected professional practice. Subjects were graduating seniors and practicing nurses from a writing intensive baccalaureate program (College A) and graduating seniors and nurses from a…

This paper provides a suggested teaching model enabling students to conduct extensive, hands-on survey research as the basis of part or all of a political science class. The model emphasizes active student learning and development of applied skills. The components of this model can be modified for use in a broad array of undergraduate political…

Many teaching methods investigated in higher education have been examined by social work educators, except for mastery learning. Mastery learning is a behavioral teaching method used successfully in higher education. Achievement is held constant and time allowed is varied, rather than holding time constant and allowing student achievement to vary.…

In a national climate of moving the media research course from the undergraduate to graduate levels, this paper analyzes an innovative, easily replicative, and significantly successful new modality--implemented at an open-enrollment university in the Deep South--that may point the way to prevent termination of this essential course to…

Responds to Graeme Decarie's recommendation to teach processes in introductory history by citing E. D. Hirsch's argument that a general body of knowledge is necessary for intelligent discourse. Argues that an understanding of historical chronology must be developed in the introductory history course. (LS)

At the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges, Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College, charged that students are not required to devote adequate time to general education. Changing the way the major is organized, he said, is difficult because change goes against in-grained traditions and structures. (MLW)

At the time of the founding of the Association of American Colleges in 1915, the role of the four-year, residential, undergraduate college in American higher education was being challenged by the expansion of the state universities. In some regions of the country, leaders of the undergraduate colleges, whether denominational or independent, saw…

An undergraduate student offers reflections and observations on college course syllabi. Since the syllabus is the student's guide through the course, it should be clearly organized allowing students to find information quickly. It should outline the expectations that students and instructor will have during the course. In addition a syllabus must…

A study assessed the status of the undergraduate general communication theory course at small and large colleges. Questionnaires were mailed to 261 programs in the United States listing a communication theory course in their catalogues. A total of 62 questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 24%. Results indicated: (1) a clear…

This paper addresses issues surrounding the ideal of community in American undergraduate education and the challenge of multiculturalism in the context of a feminist interpretation of the pragmatism of John Dewey. A contradictory relationship is seen to exist between higher education's definition of community and multiculturalism; and this paper's…

In response to the need for research methods training in the public relations undergraduate curriculum, this paper identifies the range of possible formats for a public relations research methods course (analyzing strengths and weaknesses for each) and recommends a hybrid format. The paper then identifies and compares different goals for research…

Undergraduate introductory sociology courses should actively engage students in learning the concepts, theories, and research methods that comprise the core knowledge of the discipline. The course should introduce the social theorists Durkheim, Marx, Mead, and Weber. Social concepts of the human group, social system, and social organization;…