"Materials of Civilization" Course Featured in Chronicle of Higher Education

• I-course

The University of Maryland's revamped general education curriculum, including its innovative I-Series courses, is the subject of a new story in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Among other classes, Chronicle reporter Dan Berrett and photographer Joey Pulone visited ENMA 150: Materials of Civilization, taught by Department of Materials Science and Engineering professor and Chair Robert M. Briber.

ENMA 150, which explores the relationship between advances in materials and advances in civilization, is one of a number of courses designed to expose non-science majors to the roles of science, engineering, math and technology in historical and contemporary events. Like all I-courses, its goal is to engage students in topics outside of their majors, making requirements often viewed as painful necessities more relevant, and placing these subjects in the greater context of students' lives.

"They learn a bunch of science and physics," Briber says of his course in the story, "but it's not dry Physics 101."

Read "At U. of Maryland, an Effort to Make Introductory Courses Extraordinary" online at The Chronicle of Higher Education »

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Published December 18, 2012