Otterbein's Integrative Studies Program: A Brief History

by Message from Lyle Barkhymer, IS Chairperson

It is safe to say that practically every institution of higher education in the United States has a core curriculum separate from the departmental majors and minors, and that the mission of the core courses is to complete your general education in the humanities, natural and social sciences, and fine arts. On some campuses, students must take a minimum number of required introductory courses in a variety of departments. At Otterbein College, however, we have established an Integrative Studies Program and intentionally developed specific, coordinated courses to accomplish the mission of the core curriculum. We believe the Otterbein College Integrative Studies Program is unique, innovative, and of especially high quality, and that it is a leading program on the American college scene.

Our program of Integrative Studies is the product of outstanding creative inspiration and hard work at the time of its development and implementation more than thirty years ago. It is also the product of intense evaluation, revision, and development that has occurred since then and that continues to take place year by year. We are proud of our program, not least because it has been honored by the Ohio Board of Regents and by the Association of American Colleges for its quality and innovation. Our surveys of alumni tell us that the longer they have been away from the campus and the further they have moved on in their lives, the more they appreciate the skills, knowledge, and values gained in the I.S. courses. Integrative Studies truly is education for living.

Our courses in Integrative Studies all deal with aspects of the question, "What does it mean to be a human being?" Each course you take in the program is like a different lens through which you see this subject. Sometimes the focus is sharp because the discipline is inherently people-centered, psychology, for example. Other courses look at the question from a different angle, and the focus is wider. But sharp or diffuse, narrow or wide, Human Nature is addressed in each course.

The Integrative Studies Program is administered by the chairperson in cooperation with department chairs all across the campus. That is because I.S. instructors are also members of a "home department" and thus model in their own lives a concurrent commitment to both liberal learning and depth of knowledge in a major discipline. The I.S. Advisory Committee meets biweekly. It is made up of 1) faculty representatives from among the I.S. instructors, 2) elected members from each curricular Division on campus, and 3) student volunteer members. If you have concerns about the I.S. Program and/or want to participate in its continuing work and programs, speak to a faculty or student member of the I.S. Advisory Committee. Better still, become a student member yourself and take part in this truly central aspect of the college life around you.

by Allison H. Prindle, IS Chairperson, 1984-1994

Students write, direct and act in a short play.

The Integrative Studies program began at Otterbein in 1968-69, at a time of significant change for the college. Majors were reorganized, the calendar moved from semesters to the quarter system, and distribution requirements were replaced by a core of 50 hours of general education courses, to be taken over four years by all students. To emphasize their centrality in the college curriculum, these courses were called the Common Courses, and were specifically designed for the core under the theme, "The Nature of Man." Dr. Harold Hancock, in his history of the college, said, "Future historians will look upon this transformation as a landmark in the academic life of the college."

In the years since, the original curricular design has been modified, new courses have been added, new focal points for study have emerged, a few course requirements have moved from the lower to the upper division, and some requirements have been added. In 1976 the program's theme became "Human Nature" and in 1980 the program's title became Integrative Studies. But, the fundamental, original structure has proven sound and enduring.

Lacey Speck, Class of '05

My life is full of questions. That is what I think Otterbein's Integrative Studies classes are for: to find answers. My IS classes get me thinking about the big issues in life, and have given me the opportunity to interact with students outside of my major. More.

Major disciplinary ways of knowing have been included from the beginning, in courses designed for all students: the natural sciences, the arts, the social sciences, and the humanities all developed Integrative Studies courses. At the program's center were a sequence of skills based courses in composition, under the thematic headings of The Individual and Society, Relationships and Dialogues, and The Dilemma of Existence. Among recent adjustments in the program noteworthy in the area of a new emphases was the emergence of a Non-Western cultures requirement (1991), now retitled the Global Studies requirement.

The change from Common Courses to Integrative Studies underlined the program's goal of making connections across disciplinary lines; we seek to integrate that breadth of knowledge earned by students in a liberal arts college. But the original title, Common Courses, also identifies a continuing and fundamental goal. The creators intended these courses to be the basis for cross-disciplinary conversations in the college as a whole: both students and faculty step out of their areas of specialization to engage in discussions of meaning and values, discussions that connect us all to the educated conversations of American culture. Our differences, questions, and knowledge can be integrated only "through dialogue," as the planners of this liberal arts core stated in 1967. To encourage these cross-disciplinary conversations, Integrative Studies annually sponsors an I.S. Festival of interdisciplinary programming, and its faculty and students participate in the college's required Common Book reading and events for freshmen.

Integrative Studies emphasizes that learning is a shared responsibility, that the disciplines are at the heart of knowledge but that each discipline has its limits, that the education person needs the flexibility of mind to negotiate and integrate different ways of knowing, and that the final goal of such a liberal arts core is for students to become independent, life-long learners, able to participate in the important conversations of their time.