1998 WILLIAM CLYDE DEVANE LECTURES
Presented by Gaddis Smith, the Larned Professor of History
Unless otherwise indicated, the lectures will take place Mondays
at 4:30 p.m. in
Battell Chapel, corner of Elm and College streets. The talks are free and
open to the public. Smith's syllabus for the series follows:
Sept. 7 -- "Contexts and Questions." An overview of the interweaving of external events and conditions with changes at Yale. Who taught what to whom, and why? Who paid? Who governed and had a voice in decisions? How did the research aspects develop? What were the primary stated purposes of Yale and what were the tensions among them?
Sept. 14 -- "Centennial Overlap." A discussion of how characteristics of the 19th century lingered well into the 20th century, while some 20th-century characteristics were foreshadowed before 1901. The interaction of Yale and the nation and world from the 1890s to 1914.
Sept. 21 -- "The Great War and Its Extended Consequences."
The
crucial impact of World War I on the 20th century. Why was Yale a leader
in preparing students for military service? The role of the federal
government. The memorialization of those who died as the "fortunate" who
fulfilled the ultimate purpose of Yale. The impact of the war on
reorganizing the University and expanding the curriculum.
Because of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, this lecture will be held in Rm. 114 of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, corner of Grove and Prospect streets. To accommodate those who cannot attend due to the religious holiday, the talk will be repeated at a time and place to be announced.
Sept. 28 -- "Two Nations, Two Yales." The "two nations" refer to the contrast between the extravagance of the 1920s and the economic collapse of the Depression, and to embattled political conservativism versus radical perspectives. The "two Yales" reflected the national schism while also being divided between the opulent romanticism of the new residential colleges and a determination to become a major research university.
Oct. 5 -- "Encompassing the World." Emphasis on the continuum between the nation's and Yale's response to World War II and the Cold War. Case studies of how the curriculum and research agendas were affected by the prolonged period of international violence and insecurity.
Oct. 12 -- "President A. Whitney Griswold: Idealistic Reactionary, 1950-63." President Griswold's efforts to return Yale to earlier ideals, to preserve independence from external forces, to reject applied research and vocational training, and proclaim the primacy of humanistic studies.
(Tuesday) Oct. 20 -- "Race, Gender, and the New Yale." How and why did Yale change from an almost all-male, white, Protestant institution to a university with today's diverse student body and faculty? The pressures for change and the opposition.
Oct. 26 -- "Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression." The complicated connections between civil liberties nationally and within the academy with particular attention to tenure and the sponsorship of controversial speakers. Case studies will deal with the five types of opinion which led to almost all the challenges to freedom of expression: sex, race, religion, politics and money.
Nov. 2 -- "The Expansion of Science and Medicine." Contrast of the miniscule scale of science and medicine in the early decades of the century with the late 20th century. Crucial impact of federal government funding. Perennial difficulty of defining the place of science in the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum.
Nov. 9 -- "Social Commitment and Institutional Survival." Throughout the century there has been conflict between the ivory tower ideal of pure, detached scholarship and a sense of obligation to apply university resources to solving problems afflicting mankind. After looking at earlier examples such as the Institute of Human Relations, the lecture will focus on the combination of social commitment and concern for survival in the turbulent era of racial conflict at home and the Vietnam war abroad.
Nov. 16 -- "Troubles After the Storm." The storms of the 1960s reached a climax with May Day 1970 and then dissipated rapidly, leaving Yale committed beyond its means. This lecture will explore the difficulties in the 1970s into the early 1990s of implementing new commitments while trying to balance a budget.
Nov. 23 -- No Classes. Thanksgiving week.
Nov. 30 -- "New Haven and Yale." What did each ask of the other and with what results? How were the city's prospects aided or hindered by the action of the University and vice versa? Analysis of the long process by which both entities came to realize that each was essential to the well-being of the other.
Dec. 7 -- "Toward the Fourth Century." Commentary on how
recent developments and controversies reflect themes from the entire
century.
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