What's best for Am Civ? Depends who you ask

Editor's note: To add perspective to the planned elimination of three SAS departments, The Daily Pennsylvanian offers a closer look at each department. Today: American Civilization Isolating the study of American Civilization can be a challenge in itself. Inherently interdisciplinary in nature, it is not simply the study of history or a look at culture, anthropology or archaeology. Only by combining these areas and adding a methodological approach to the field can one understand the nature of American Civilization, faculty say. "It is essentially the study of a multi-cultural, complex society in all of its historical and contemporary manifestations," Am Civ Undergraduate Chairperson Melvyn Hammarberg said recently. The American Civilization Department could be eliminated, though, if the University's Board of Trustees approves School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Steven's recommendations to cut three of SAS's 28 departments. To faculty in the department, a field pioneered at the University could see its doom if the cuts are approved, despite Stevens' assurances to the contrary. Stevens maintains that the Am Civ curriculum could be taught more efficiently – and without sacrificing quality – as an interdisciplinary program rather than in an individual department. · Hammarberg, an associate professor, said Am Civ has a long and fulfilling history at the University, beginning in 1937. The second oldest Am Civ program in the country, the department is known nationally for its approach to the field, which centers on material culture – the physical aspects of the society. Murray Murphey, chairperson of the Am Civ Department, pioneered the approach, which he said replaces an earlier history and arts and letters approach. Called the "Penn Approach," the University's model is drawn more from anthropology than from history, arts or letters. "We took the study of the culture, in the anthropological sense of the term, as our primary objective," Murphey said last night. "We had this holistic approach from the very start and over the years, we were the primary department in the country that espoused that approach. "We have developed an ethnographic approach to the study of the culture, both historical and contemporary." Many Am Civ students praise their department, which has come under fire by University officials in recent years. "[Am Civ] is a study of how people relate to one another and how they interact with their environment, as opposed to a 'here's what happened' viewpoint that history classes tend to take," College junior Seth Weinberg said. "Primarily it allows for a lot of diversification," he said. "You select your concentration and you can get an immense amount of help and attention when it is required. The resources are phenomenal in terms of professor accessibility." American Civilization Honors Society Co-President Jill Kotner agreed, saying the strength of the department lies in its size and in the accessibility of the three remaining faculty members. · SAS Associate Dean Richard Beeman, who chaired the 1987 internal review committee that looked at Am Civ, said last night that at most universities, first-rate American studies programs are programs – not departments. "There are lots of good models that we can build on," he said. "I am one hundred percent convinced that one does not need a department to have a wonderful program at Penn." In 1987, he recommended that the department be put into an "academic receivership," taking control of the department out of the hands of its own faculty. The strength of the Am Civ Department at the University, he said, can only be found in faculty across departments. But, Beeman added, the department is not strong as it stands, despite its innovation. "This is a department with a very, very distinguished and distinctive tradition," he said. "It is a department which has carved out a very distinctive niche for itself, but I don't believe the department in its present situation is well positioned to continue that record of distinciton." Stevens plans to reposition the department by replacing it with an interdisciplinary program, much like International Relations and Biological Basis for Behavior. But, Hammarberg said that by the administration's own account, his department is the most efficient. With 700 to 900 students enrolling in Am Civ courses every year, Hammarberg said the department has the highest enrollment per faculty member in SAS. "We're doing more with less resources than anyone else," he said. "We are in that sense the most efficient." Murphey said if the administration is serious about a program, it has to have the resources to make it function. College junior Weinberg said the department's ranking as one of the top two programs in the country is an asset to the University. "This lends credibility to a degree obtained from the department," he said. "Once the department is dissolved, those degrees are going to be worth a dime less."

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