At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a 4-year project was undertaken to restructure the sophomore elective course in social science for natural science and engineering students. The restructured course emphasized an objective, rigorous, and exact approach to social phenomena. Readings were designed to carry the student step by step from…

Analyzes methods of teaching American social history and the merits of new (narrative) versus old (analytic) methodologies. Using college syllabi as models, the article concludes that historians must remain storytellers to be effective. (TRS)