Course Reductions in Spring Term Show Effect of War

With casualties in every field, Harvard's offerings for the spring term present a problem to all but the dilettante. Well-recommended courses are still being given, but the number in each subject is greatly reduced from the halcyon days of the thick, red-covered catalogue. Anyone following a strictly defined line of study is faced with a paucity of courses which may force him into individual research.

The classics have naturally been especially hard hit by the war. In contrast to the 18 courses listed (without brackets) in the 1940-41 catalogue, only three will begin in the spring of 1944. A popular course here is Professor Werner W. Jaeger's Greek 10, "Man and Society in Greek Thought," which considers the main representatives of Greek literature and philosophy from Home to Aristotle.

History and Government

The principal difficulty in the social sciences is that only a few courses will begin in the spring term, although a great many will be continued from the winter term. History 1 will not be given for the first time in many years, and of the 22 courses which are offered in history, only nine will start in the spring term.

Notable additions here are Professor Frederick Merk's History 62a, "The History of the Westward Movement to 1840," and Dr. Oscar Handlin's History 66, "The Immigrant in American History." The latter "deals with the origin and development of national groups in the United States from the Revolution to the present with particular emphasis on the problems arising out of the contact of diverse cultures."

Professor Merle Fainsod's Government 12, "Party Government in the United States," has been added to the list of government courses, perhaps as a concession to election year. In response to popular demand, Government 1a is being offered again. But where 30 courses in government were given in 1940-41, only 10 are listed for the spring of 1944, and four of those are continuations of courses started in the winter term.

Economics and English

The most noticeable contrast between the total number of courses offered and those that will begin in the spring term is in the Economics Department, where out of 30 courses listed, only six will begin in March. Additions to this group include Economics 41a, "Money, Banking, and Commercial Crises" (Professor Wil- liams), which is recommended to government concentrators, and Dr. Richard M. Goodwin's Economics 46, "Introduction to Mathematical Business Cycle Theory." Economics 4a, 81b, and 181b have been dropped from the spring term program.

Nine courses will be given by the English Department, with only four, including English A, beginning in March. Professor George W. Sherburn's English 40a, "English Literature from 1700 to 1740," Professor F. O. Matthiessen's English 80a, "Criticism of Poetry," and traditional snap course English 35a, "The English Bible: The Old Testament" (Professor James M. Munn), will also be given in the spring term, for graduates and undergraduates.

The Chemistry Department offers ten courses for the spring term, and only one of them, a graduate course, completes something already begun. No changes were made over the catalogue listings in this field. Physics Ba, "Elementary Physics for Beginners--Mechanics, Heat, and Sound," heads the list of additions to the natural sciences. The Physics Department offers only five undergraduate courses beginning in March, and one of these concludes the work of the preceding term. Biology 24, "Animal Histology" (Professor Alden B. Dawson) has been added to the other six undergraduate courses, all starting courses, listed in that department.

The natural sciences departments have been reduced as severely as most other departments, but except for the Mathematics Departments, which offers only four beginning courses for undergraduates, they have managed to start more of their courses in the spring term.

New Psych Courses

The Psychology Department has added four courses to their spring term list, although these additions were not on the course-addition signs posted throughout the College last week. All of them are primarily for graduates:

Phychology 133. Diagnosis of Personality (only course previously announced). Lectures, required reading, and reports. Monday, 4 to 6 o'clock. Dr. White. A survey of methods employed in understanding personality as a whole; case histories, personal documents, measurement of interests, sentiments and values; interpretation of imaginative productions.

Psychology 233a. Diagnosis of Personality: Laboratory, Demonstration, practice, and reports. Tuesday, 2 to 5 o'clock and three other hours to be arranged Dr. Horn and associates. Practice in the administration and interpretation of the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Tests, and in other projective and autobiographical methods. Open only to students who have taken or are taking Psychology 133.

Psychology 140. Psychological Tests and Measurements. Lectures, demonstrations, reading, and reports. Mon., Wed., Fri., at 11 o'clock. A survey of tests of ability and achievement, including the Theory of test construction and methods, and problems of administration, scoring and interpretation.

Psychology 140a. Psychological Tests and Measurements: Laboratory, Demonstration, practice, and reports. Wednesday, 3 to 5 o'clock, and four additional hours to be arranged. Supervised practice in giving selected tests of ability, including the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler-Belevue tests of intelligence. Open only to students who are taking Psychology 140, or who have had equivalent preparation