Happy New Year – 2014!

Around the D wishes you all a Happy New Year. As befitting an archive, this first blog the new year/semester looks at some pieces of Davidson past.

In the last weeks of 2013, the  Archives received some wonderful additions to our manuscript collections. We are grateful for donors willing to share some of their family history and thereby extending our resources on Davidson history– and also providing some connections with Davidson future.

Manuscript Collection DC0341s, John Worthy McNeill, Notebook 1904

The notebook in this collection contains McNeill’s notes for 2 classes – Junior Bible and Psychology.  In 1904, there are two possible professors for the Bible class – John Shearer and Mark Sentelle, but only one for the Psychology class, Shearer.  While the college catalogs provide short descriptions of courses, notebooks like this one provide deeper insights into what was actually taught and how Davidson’s curriculum has evolved.

One quirk about this notebook is that the college catalog does not list any psychology classes in 1904. That won’t happen for another 6 years. The name used instead is Mental and Moral philosophy.

The 1904 course listing description says, “The study of Psychology and the History of Philosophy, occupies one-half of the year, not separately, but as far as possible jointly, so as to elucidate Psychology on an historical basis.”  Reading McNeill’s notes  reveals that Dr. Shearer focused primarily on philosophy  – even going so far as to say in Lecture # 1 The Utility of the Study of Philosophy:

The push of Philosophy is to discover the relation of things. Everything is of relative value. So Psychology is not valuable in every stage of education. Philosophy outranks all the other studies in the culture of a Liberal Education, dealing with the causes and relation of things and pursuing them into the higher realm.

110 years later, the relationship and content for  philosophy and psychology have expanded and both are equally important parts of a liberal education.

Manuscript Collection DC0342s, Andrew Watson Wilson, Collection 1872-73

This collection contains a hand-written copy and typescript of speech written by Wilson entitled Fortitude! Fortitude! along with his Eumenean Society and Davidson College diplomas.  Tradition has it that Davidson diplomas have not changed much over the years and therefore might not have much research value –but Wilson’s 1873 diploma provides graphic evidence for a change in Davidson’s fortunes compared to an 1871 diploma.

His speech, on the other hand, not only reveals the flowery rhetorical flourishes of the era (with references to “yonder dreary forest,”  “the shuddering moonbeam,” and ” blackened bones”  in the same sentence) but also to contemporary prejudices against Catholics andfor glorifying the Confederacy– making it a timely reminder of our need to critically reflect on our cultural heritage in all its forms.

 

Manuscript Collection DC0343s – Charles Harper Scrapbook, 1934-1936

The first page of this scrapbook has a clipping from a 1936 Davidsonian reflecting on the year’s events.  Some are very much of the era — A visit to campus by nationally recognized pastor Peter Marshall and reports of the Georgia – Watt ongoing water battles (something the current RLO hopes is a thing of the past).

Others point to today’s Davidson — the reference to the introduction of a new intercollegiate sport – soccer and Davidson’s being finally admitted to the Southern Conference along with  the Citadel, Wake Forest, William and Mary and the University of Richmond — by spring 2014, none of these teams will be part of the Southern Conference.

Another clipping refers to Gene McEver, a former Davidson coach who is being honored in 2014 for his contributions to youth baseball and the town of Davidson.

And as the college makes plans for the academic village, his scrapbook reminds of both of the staff who have served the college and small changes — like electric  lamps in dorm — which apparently got the college wide publicity for being the best lighted American campus. (Though now our energy-conscious students are promoting “Lights Out” weeks.)

Also included in the donation with Harper’s scrapbook was a copy of the April 5, 1962 edition of the Davidsonian.

A timely reminder that this spring marks the 100th anniversary of the student newspaper – the first issue being printed on April 1, 1914.

Around the D is looking forward to sharing more history and collections in 2014 and again offers thanks to all those who have contributed to the archives & special collections and to Davidson.