1930s > Contemporary Civilization - B
Rexford Tugwell and CC-B
Rexford Tugwell arrived at Columbia in 1921. An economics prodigy who believed strongly in industrial planning and investment in public infrastructure, Tugwell was put in charge of undergraduate economics instruction and became a zealous advocate of CC, especially its expansion into a second year (CC-B). Along with Horace Taylor and others in the economics department, Tugwell produced most of CC-B's early texts and classroom materials and also introduced a truly novel feature: CC field trips.
Throughout the 1930s, every Columbia student was required to go on at least six field trips to receive a passing grade for CC-B. Tugwell's hope was that universities like Columbia would train the sorts of experts that New Deal agencies would require. By the mid-1930s, Columbia was running dozens of field trips to major civic and industrial sites in and around New York.. A full list of CC-B field trips is on the adjacent poster.
