A Case Study of Three Approaches

Abstract

This article will examine three interdisciplinary courses in the Lakeland College curriculum. Recently I par ticipated in either the course planning, evaluation or instruc tion in the following areas: a thematic analysis of the question of man's freedom of choice, an historical over view of world civilizations and a topical investigation of the European Holocaust. Two of these courses ran one semester and each was team-taught either in the Social Science Division (World Civilization) or with members of the Humanities Division (Holocaust and Understanding of Human Nature). I will focus my interpretation of what interdisciplinary social science courses can mean for stu dents and teachers by analyzing the content and exit expectations of each course. The history department has offered a two-semester course on World Civilization which serves as the social science divisional literacy requirement. Students in the Natural Science and Humanities Divisions must pass this course as partial fulfillment of the college's basic curricu lum. Although I have not coordinated the course, I have occasionally lectured in it and have helped evaluate it for our division. Its problems are obvious and result mostly from the fact that it is the only required interdisciplinary course in the social sciences. Each department, therefore, feels shortchanged; each is certain that a literate graduate of the college should master more material in its particular subject area than is currently included in World Civiliza tion. While guest lecturers have provided a partial outlet, no member of the Social Science Division is altogether pleased with what we have created. Perhaps the single