Kenneth E. Kolb and Max A. Taylor Bradley University Peoria. IL 61625 I Keeping Chemistry Relevant During the late 60's and early 70's many non-traditional survey chemistry courses for the non-science major started appearing in college curricula. Often these courses were begun because science was under attack as the cause of pollution. hlmn (.uur$e$ II:~ as their major objective to provide ~tudenrs u,ith infortn;~tlon so thw mirl~t lwtrer ~~nrlerstat~d and 3u- preciate the variety of factors that contribute to environ- mental problems. This major emphasis on environment and pollution has gradually shifted to a broader concern about the world's resources, not only air and water, but also energy sources, minerals, and food. There is also more emphasis on chemicals and health. The early courses have either broadened their objectives or they are disappearing. Some who are abandoning these nontraditional courses say that such courses are no longer relevant and are not needed. From our own ex- perience in teaching one such course since 1968 to several thousand students, we are convinced that non-traditional courses continue to be needed for the broad spectrum non- science university major. One of the ways to keep our course relevant is by regular use of articles and news items from newspapers and magazines. We call them "squibs." Course Content Tnhle 1 list.; the topits that make up our "('hem~itry and Civilizuti<m" cOIlTrP.'~he first four ircmi rwhich deal u,ith the nature of science, e1enlent.i nnd compoundi, atomic, and or- canic chemistry, form the hacklrme oirh(,course, and i,tl~er topics are covered as optional modules, the selection often varying from one semester to the next. In many cases current items in the news media determine the topics that are covered in a given semester. In the late 1960's, air and water pollution were usually taken up as individual topics for study, while today we are more likely to choose a topic such as energy re- sources (oil, gas, and nuclear fuels) including the environ- mental impact as just part of the whole picture. Another trend in our course content over the years has been an increasing emphasis on the relationship between chemicals and human health. We are also spending more time discussing how chemistw relates to societv and the roles olaved bv individual scientists. Some of the topics we cover ddnoi act;ally appear in our basic course outline but come out of our discussion of various news squibs. Current "Squibs" For the past six years squibs from the printed news media have been a major part of our course. Their use began as an occasional reference to a news article concerning chemistry, hut by the early 70's they had become a standard item. Each class period is now begun with 3 or 4 news squibs. Presentation of this material takes about a third of the class period, and it makes up a third of the course examinations. Usually there is no problem in finding good articles each week. Local newspapers can serve as a source, and larger pa- pers such as the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times have science and environmental editors who contribute very useful articles: however. chemistrv-related articles can be found in almost any section of a newspaper. The Wall Street Journal. whose maior objective is to cover business. routinelv carries excellent ariicleshn science that are well-written, in-. formational, and accurate. Science News, a readily available source, does a fine job of summarizing a great diversity of science topics in convenient capsule form. 20 1 Journal of Chemical Education