Epidemiology As A Liberal Art
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Cited References
Summary
If an unlikely discipline such as epidemiology is found to have elements that qualify it for inclusion in a liberal arts curriculum, one must conclude that the previous boundaries of that curriculum have been at least partly artificial. This deduction is supported by the experience of the past 20 years, as newly heard voices -- of women and minorities, for example -- have brought new insights to traditional disciplines, and as newly recognized disciplines -- such as computing science and neurobiology -- have been found to fit in well beside their older siblings among the liberal arts.
Perhaps there is no subject that cannot be fit material for liberal arts study. But surely that does not mean that selection is unimportant in designing an undergraduate program. The perspective from which the discipline is taught is important. A skilled teacher not only introduces students to the content and methods of a discipline, but also fosters in those students an inclination to use those methods to go further. Under a good teacher, students progress from simply taking in knowledge to questioning assumptions and arguments (their own or others').
Another crucial consideration is how to assemble a course of study out of a wide variety of curricular offerings. Here, the principles of breadth and depth have great importance. The course of study should be sufficiently broad to expose students to good writing about the issues most important to our species and to give them some experience in the major forms of clear thinking. But once this is accomplished, a student should study deeply enough in one area to develop real competence. Such depth gives a student an important sense of the construction of human knowledge and how to add to it. It opens to students the possibility of intellectual leadership.
Whether or not epidemiology is included as a liberal art is probably unimportant. If it is included, however, it should be done with the clarity and rigor that have set a good liberal arts education apart as uniquely exciting and empowering. When epidemiology is taught in medical school, emphasis would be well placed on the methods of thinking that help us understand the unknown. Such an emphasis would highlight the intersection of the liberal arts and professional disciplines.
Next Page: Cited References