WHY EVERY COLLEGE HAS A COURSE CALLED CHEMISTRY I JOHN
D. CLARK, Tm UNIVERSITY OF Naw MEXICO, ALBUQUERQUE, NEWMEXICO
The syllabus hrewith presented is an outline which t h author wed for a one-hour talk to about 350 freshmen who were registered in an orientation course at The University of New Mexico. A bibliografihy of interesting, nontechnical references is included. At The University of New Mexico, following freshman week and continuing for a semester, the freshman class listens to a lecture once each week on the subject of some field of study of fundamental importance to mankind, does supplemental reading, and then takes a quiz. Men from departments of chemistry in any of our institutions may be called upon at any t i e for orientation lectures, and the syllabus here printed may be useful to those who have suddenly to perform the service of presenting the field of chemistry to a class of freshmen. Syllabus The universel interest of the passing generation i n the coming generation. The desire of older men that younger men shall have the benefit of all human experience previous to the time the latter become adults: 1. The mast useful habits 2. The most h e l ~ f uknowledae l 3. The most wholesome attitudes, ideals, and finally 4. Abilities t o reflect and reason, that the coming adult may be better able t o adapt himself to the ever-changing situations of life. The alder generation (which incidentally generously denies itself many luxuries and often some necessities, that the younger may have a fair, full start in life) entrusts a great part of this passing-on precess to experienced specialists: we call them educators. After years of observation and reflection, these educators realize that, for the good of the coming individual (and society), they must stress these habits, skills, knowledges, ideals, and abilities to reflect toward: 1. Securing better health far the individual and for communities 2. Improving conditions of family life 3. Makmg it easier for the individual to earn a living, and making economic life of the community better 4. Having a better civic life for the coming generation 5. Securing more recreation for the future and mare satisfactory ways of using recreation time 6. Development of ethical character. The educators, with full consent of those who pay the bills, have placed Chemistry I in the freshman course of nearly every college. Your speaker's task is t o justify this in your eyes. In other words, he must convince you that a knowledge of chemistry is necessary to sanitation and medicine (health). that chemistry has a place in the household (home), that applied chemistry produces wealth (vocation), that social, civic, and governmental adjustments are very much dependent upon what chemists are doing (civic life), that there is considerable correlation between the amount and kind of recreation we have, or may have, and the applica290
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tions of chemistry (recreation), and tbat in some way the work of a chemistry c o r n can help to develop desirable human traits (ethical character).
How has chemistry giua us better health? The importance of health ( I ) Old conditions of pestilence (2) Superstitions concerning disease (3) Work of the chemist, Pasteur (4) Modern community sanitation (5) Modem synthetic medicines (6) Modem clinics and sanitaria (7) (Chemistry universally a required subject for all health work and for every branch of medicine.)
What has chemistry done for, and to, the home? The appropriative age of man - The adaptive age of man The neative age of man Shelter: Synthetic roofing, artifiaal lumber, plastics, cements, paints, lacquers, modem alloys (8) Food: Soils, fertilizers, crops, nutriments, vitamins, cold storage, modern labor-saving devices Clothing: Leather, textiles, dyes The great disturbance to old-fashioned home life from the factory system. (Chemistry universally required for all work in home economics, dietetics, nursing, and in every sort of an agricultural course.)
How has chemistry provided vocations (9)? This topic a u l d be the subject of a five-hour course. We must be brief. 17,000 members of the American Chemical Societv. Prabablv 25.000 chemists in the United states. No industw of anv . size,. todav, .. is without its chemists and its chemical research staff. (Chemistry universally required for courses in architecture, biology, every branch of engineering, geology, pharmacy, and physics. Most lawyers regret that they have not studied some chemistry.) Has chemistry improved civic life? Yes. Land, water, and air transportation and communication (10). Thanks to sanitation there are no limits to size of communities. Yes. (?) The revolution in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. "Overproduction," etc. (Very unfortunately all who direct civic affairseditors, politicians, statesmen, executives, legislators, and jurists-are not required to take a course in chemistry as a part of their college work. They live in a world where everything is affected by same chemical process, yet their judgments, often made in chemical ignorance. affect us all civically.) Has chmistry given us more or better recreation ( l l ) ? Its gift t o art and literature The great time-saving processes The shortening working period Thimgs which used to be for the rich and now within easy reach of the poor
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FEBRUAKY. 1931
Can a study of chemistry deuelop character? The spirit of science The methods of science "In science the most absolute and unsparing honesty is a prime requisite." E-TT BID (12).
E.
The sheer joy of intellectual satisfaction. The chemistry of the heavenly bodies (13) The chemistry of earth processes (14) The chemistty of ourselves (15).
Bibliography* (1) Importance of health. Green, R. L. Chemistry in Health Public Health in the U. S. Moore, H. H. (2) Old conditions of gestilence. Encyclopedia Brittanica Plague Manzoni The Betrothed (a navel) (3) Superstitions concerning disease. Magnus, Hugo Superstitions in Medicine 4 Work of Pastnrr Hallock and Turner Louis Pastenr Holmes Louis Pastew Vallery-Radot Life of Pastenr (5) Modern community sanitation. Baskerville Municipal Chemistry The Policing of Civic Life in the Stieglitz (editor) Laboratory. A chapter in Chemistry in Medicine ( 6 ) Modern synthetic medicines. Barger Some Applications of Organic Chemistry to Biology and Medicine Deming In the Realm of Carbon Fuller The Story of Drugs Recent Advances in Chemistry in Marriott Relation to Medicinal Practice Stieglitz Chemistry and Recent Progress in Medicine Chemistry in Medicine Stieglitz (editor) (7) Modern clinics and ranitoria. Potteuger Tuberculosis and How to Combat It Health Centers, Clinics, and HosDavis pitals (8) Chemistry in the home. Chemistry in the Home Firth Chemistry and the Home Hawe and Turner
The author, Notre Dame, Indiana Harper & Bros.
Funk Heath Saunders Doubleday McGraw-Hill
Chemical Foundation
McGraw-Hill Wiley Century Masby Williams and Wilkins Chemical Foundation Mosby Saunden Constable Scribner
* Compiled by the author and Wilma Loy Shelton. Librarian, U. of New Mexico.
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(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14) (15)
Chemistry Applied to Home and Community Chemistry in the Service of Man Findlay Suell Elementary Household Chemistry Chemistry i n industry. Tilden Chemical Discovery and Invention in the Twentieth Century Howe Chemistry in Industry, 2 vols. Boyd G a s o l i n t W h a t Everyone Should Know About It Little The Handwriting on the Wall Deming I n the Realm of Carbon FameU What Price Progress? The Story of Materials in the SerBeery vice of Man Chemirtry i n civic life. Baske~lle Municipal Chemistry Smith Chemistry in America Cushman Chemistry and Civilization Howe Chemistry in the World's Work Chemistry i n duily life. Cook Chemistry in Everyday Life Emery, and others Chemistry in Everyday Life Glasstone Chemistry in Daily Life Darrow The Story of Chemistry Science and character. Reid Introduction to Organic Research Chemistry of the heavenly bodies. Carey Chemistry of the Cosmos Hoff Chemistry in Space Chemistry of earth processes. Clarke Data of Geochemistry C h m i s t r y of living. Chamberlain Chemistry in Agriculture Sherman Chemistry of Food and Nutrition
Lippincott Longmans, Green MacmiUan
Dutton Chemical Foundation Stokes Little, Brown Wiley Putnam Appleton McGraw-Hill Appleton Dutton Van Nostrand Van Nostrand Lyons and Camahan Dutton Bobbs-Merrill Van Nostrand Llewellyn Oxford Govt. Printing Office Chemical Foundation Macmillan
