Who Is Teaching the History of Chemistry? Kenneth G. Everett Stetson University, DeLand, FL 32720
Will S. DeLoachl University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington. NC 28403
A number of eloquent appeals for more history of chemistry in the undergraduate curriculum have appeared in this Journal over the years (1-9). These articles have uniformly advocated the value of such instruction to chemistry majors. A recurrent theme is that in revealing the human drama and vitality that have marked the development of chemistry, instruction in its history forms a refreshing and salutary counterpoise to the stiff, intense presentations of modern theorv and nractice found in most chemistrv courses today. As 1hde (6)'has suggested, a chemistry curr&ulum devoid of historical perspective may produce "chemical technologists", hut cannot give us "educated chemists"; "technologists". althouah entirely competent and thoroughly skilled in using the chemicaltechniques now in fashion, lack a certain breadth and maturity of view, a proper awareness of and respect for the labors of predecessors, and not least, that special affection for a field that derives from an acquaintance with its nast. Historical material has traditionally been introduced into the colleee chemistrv curriculum in two wavs: (1) the brief historica! notes and commentaries includedjn most general chemistry texts (and to a lesser extent in advanced texts), and (2) formal courses in the history of chemistry. Regarding the former, i t is interesting and perhaps surprising to observe that despite their swollen content and overgrown sizes, most current general chemistry texts have retained some historical material. In fact, a 1938 study by Dunbar (lo), extended by our own analysis of 12 standard texts published from 1938 to the present, reveals no significant change in recent decades in either the nature or frequency of appearance of historical materials. Unfortunatelv. thoueh. the history incorporated into standard texts usually takis the form of very brief, often anecdotal accounts that are interjected as disjointed fragments into the rest of the material; so, a sense of the historical connection. orderiua. and motion of events that made for the evolutionof one d&overy from another is lareelv l o s t a s well as the distinction between hizh points a n i l k , between the more and the less signifiraA. And it hardly need benddrd that this mode of presentation usually runduces hoth students and tearhrrs to view historiral rommenrarv as digressive and largely insignifirant t u the overall goals of a modern general chemistry course and therefore likely to be glossed over. Formal courses in the historv of chemistrv overcome these prohlrms, hut the kind of advorncy that would make u r h courses generally viable is larking. The guidelines rirculated to ACS approved dq~artmentsby the Committee on Professional Tminine. -. for instance. state that "It is imoonant that beginning and subsequent courses in chemistryincorporate historical perspective as well as reference to current developments in chemistry" (11); however, they extend neither sanction nor support to independent, formal courses in the h~storyof chem/siry.And it r&mot he argued thnl this position is contrarv. t~ prevailinr sentiment in most of today's . chemistry departments. ~~
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' Current address: 115 Northlake Drive, Apt. 210-8,Orange City,
FL 32763
Notwithstanding this situation, some schools continue to offer courses devoted specifically t o the history of chemistry. On rare occasions such courses are offered by history departments a t universities with graduate programs in the history of science, but primarily they are found in chemistry departments. I t was the goal of the present study to determine the nature and extent of currenthistory of chemistry offerings in ACS-approved departments and to gain some sense of the trends in this area. The investieation was conducted in two staees. First. the (:ataloys of a l k s t all (99.1wrlschools on the mist rrrent list of ACS-approved departments (12)were searrhrd for course offerings in the history of chrmistry. Secund, questionnaires rrquestine additional information were distrihured to all departments listing such courses. Results and Discussion
Of the 579 schools on the ACS-approved list, the current (1986-1987) cataloes of 574 were available in files (13)a t our disposal. thorough search of these yielded 55 chemistry denartments that listed courses devoted fullv or in laree Dart to'the history of chemistry. The courses fail into t h k e d i s tinct cagetories: (1) courses intended primarily to satisfy general education requirements of nonscience majors [13 (24%) were of this type]; (2) courses designed primarily for chemistry majors and dealing exclusively with the history of chemistry [37 (67%)); and (3) courses meant primarily for chemistry majors but combining instruction in the history of chemistry with a study of the chemical literature and information retrieval [5(9%)]. Table 1 summarizes some of the catalog information relating to these courses. Only three courses of the total were listed as requirements for the chemistry major, and all were of the combined history and literature type (at Millsaps College, Wilkes College, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmineton). .. . Moreover.. onlv. two courses ostensihlv carried any lnbomtorv w r k : the course entitled "Alchemy", offered at Cnllerr of the Holy Cross (Massachusetts). nnd the "History of khemistry" course taught a t the university of Delaware. The latter course. interestinelv, has students reproduce historic experiments. Of 55 questionnaires mailed, 45 (82%) were returned. Some of the results appear in Table 2, which displays the text and reference materials used in courses for which that information was supplied. Several commentators expressed dissatisfaction with the few textbooks in print, and claimed to relv heavilv. (in . a few cases. exclusivelv) .. w.o n reserve library collections and instructor-generated notes. Other auestionnaire results annear in Table 3. concernina which a number of observation; may be made. First, an; nerhans not unexoectedlv. the orofiles of students hv rank Hud major in the ;ariouscateg&ies of courses show plainly that negligible numbers of chemistry majors enroll in the courses directed to nonscience majors. The reason, according to comments from several schools, is twofold. On the one hand, some of these courses expressly forbid enrollment of science majors; and on the other, when enrollment is indeed permitted, the courses count only as electives, not toward Volume 64
Number 12
December 1987
991
Table 1.
Categories and Descriptions of History of Chemistry Courses in ACS-Approved Departments
Type of Course (number found)
Average Semester Hoursa
RepresentativeTitles
Prerequisites
History of Chemistry for Nanscience Majors (13)
Foundations of Chemistry Highlights in the History of Chemistry History and Philosophy of Chemistry Great Chemical Discoveries Alchemy
3.0 (varying from 2 to 4)
none (11) jr. Standing (1) 1 yr. college science (1)
History of Chemistry for Chemistry Majors (37)
History of Chemistry History and Philosophy of Chemistry Dsvelopment of Modern Chemistry Topics in the History of Chemistry Historical Perspectives in Chemistry
2.5 (varying from 1 to 3)
none (6)
Courses Combining Chemical Literature and History (5)
History and Literature of Chemistry Chemical Information Retrieval Chemical Literature
2.4 (varying from 1 to 4)
consent of Instructor (2) 1 yr. 98". chem. (6) 12 h of chem. (2) 1 sem. org. chem. (2) 1 yr. org, chem. (6) 16 h of chem. (2) jr. or sr, standing in chem. (6) sr. standing in chem. (2) graduate standing (3) 15 h in chem. (1) jr. standing in chem. (2) sr. standing in chem. (2)
'Quaiier hours adjusted to semester hovn by a ratio of 3 to 2.
Table 2.
Text and Reference Materials Used In Historv of Chemistw Courses In ACS-Amroved DeDartments Numbel Reporting Usea
Swrcs Materiels Used Textbooks: Ihde. The Development of Modern Chemistry Leicester. The Historical Backgmund of Chemistry Jaffe. Crucibles: The Storv of Chemistrv
"Books and articles on reserve in library" Notes generated by instructor
Other:
7 5
' B w ~ s r e p m d only once are nM included
Table 3.
Type of Course (number responding to questionnaire) History of Chemislry for Nonscience Majors (11) History 01 Chemistry for Chemistry Majors (31) Courses Combining Chemical Literature
Enrollment Data for History 01 Chemistry Courses In ACS-Approved Departments
Average Number,of Students Enrolled
Frequency of M f e r h g once per alternate less year years frequently
(%)
Types and Distribution of StUdents Non-Chem. Sr. majors Fr. Soph. Jr. 1%) (%) (%) (%) ( % )
Grad. (%)
20
8
1
3
1
99
22
24
28
26
0
12
12
7
10
81
19
2
2
26
62
8
12
2
0
1
90
10
0
25
25
40
10
the requirements for a chemistry major; and in the words of a t v ~ i c a lcommentator. "the demands of existine reauiremints leave our majors with no time for such an eiecti;e". Also pertaining to the student ~ r o f i l edata it should he noted that although a fair number'of graduate students are shown to enroll in history of chemistry courses, many, if not most, of these are not griduate students in chemistry. Both the University of Illinois at Chicago and California State University a t Los Angeles, for example, report their courses to he especially popular with high school and community college chemistry teachers seeking graduate degrees in education. Louisiana State University a t Baton Rouge and East992
Chem. majors
Journal of Chemical Education
ern Illinois University relate that their courses have enrolled hieh school teachers exclusivelv. 'The data on average numbers of students enrolled in courses designed for chemistry majors, and comprising exclusively history of chemistry (Table 3, second row), deserve closer scrutiny as well. At the 31 schools offering such courses and responding to our questionnaire, enrollment has averaged about nine undergraduate chemistry majors per course (nonmajors and graduate students deducted), which, since these courses are not required anywhere for the major, would seem to speak well for their appeal. But when viewed against the total numbers of chemistry majors graduated by
these schools, the figures appear less flattering. Schools teaching the courses less frequently than in alternate years usually did not denote their exact timing; however, using the data for those courses specifically designated as once per year or alternate year offerings, a revealing calculation can he made. According to the list of ACS-approved departments (12). the 19 schools reporting courses on an every- or alternate-year basis graduaied an average of 33 chemistry maiors oer school in 1985 (certified and noncertified, BS or BA), while, if enrollments in alternate year courses are normalized to a per-year basis and nonchemistry majors and graduate students are deducted, history of chemistry enrollments for the same schools average only seven per school or nhout 20% of all undereraduate maiors. A further consideration concerns the type of chemistry maior. certified or noncertified. takine the course. Though ourdq"estionnaire did not address this point, volunteered comments clearly indicate the complexion of affairs. Instructors at the University of Arkansas campuses a t Fayetteville and Little Rock, a t the University of Wisconsin a t Madison, and a t the University of South Florida, for instance, described their courses as populated overwhelmingly by noncertified majors-mainly because, in the words of the instructor a t South Florida, although certified majors "sometimes"take the course, "their course requirements are already quite heavy". Apparently the same situation obtains st the Universitv of Mississiooi. .. . from which i t is reported that, " ~ e g r e t f u l fthe ~ requirement [of history of chemistry for the BS major] was abandoned in favor of other technical courses, most of which were recommended by the ACS." Other facultv comments disclose perhaps the most significant and melancholy aspect of the situation. Of the 31 schools iust discussed, which offer courses for majors and returned questionnaires, five informed us of recent decisions to drop the offering from their future catalogs, while six more, although continuing to list the courses, reported them not to have been taught within a t least the last five years. Comments tendered in explanation included: "insufficient interest", "insufficient enrollment", "the faculty member who taught the course retired", "I would teach it again if we could fit it into a crowded offering." I t appears, then, that of the 31 courses, l1 (35%) are now either officially or unoffi. cially dead. And others are portrayed as in imminent danger-as at the University of South Dakota, whose teacher writes with particular poignancy ~~~
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Frankly, as agoodcourse,offered for wellover 50 years, the future is in doubt. If new moves to increase registration numbers (to ten) .. . pass, the course will not make. Such is the modern age . . .
Since there is a practical upper limit to the amount of chemistrv a student can take. the relentless infusion of new material has nweiiarily mean1 t11e displacement oi
