South Dakota State College - Jack Rabbit Yearbook (Brookings, SD)

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O DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. ENGLISH LITERATURE. The required courses of this department have, as far as possible, been outlined in accordance with the report of the Committee on Entrance Requirements and Courses of Study made to the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experi- ment Stations. In the preparatory department the courses of study seek to give, besides an acquaint- ance with a few English classics, a practical knowledge of grammar and elementary rhetoric. In the college department the required courses aim to give much of the work required for entrance to most colleges, and some of the work usually given in the Fresh- man and Sophomore years. The elective courses are arranged chiefly for those students whose major work is in English. These courses include the history of the English language and its litera- ture, also a study of the various types of prose and verse. Courses are given in Greek and Latin literature Cin Englishj Chaucer and the history of the English languageg the Elizabethan Dramag XVIII Literatureg XIX Poetry, and XIX Prose. In most of the required courses the student has kept before his mind those prin- ciples which he can utilize in composition. He is led to embody in his own writings the qualities of clearness, force and beauty in the writings of the best authors. The laws of thought association, which he discovers by analysis of paragraphs and compositions of good writers, he is required to exemplify in paragraphs and compositions of his own. Much remains to be done in this department before it becomes what it should be. At present the college courses in English are so disconnected and so scattered through- out the entire curriculum that it is impossible to obtain the best results. In conformity with the curricula of most colleges, the required courses in English should come chiefly in the Freshman and Sophomore years, instead of chiefly in the Junior and Senior years, as at present. The requirements in English for the degree of bachelor of science should, the depart- ment believes, be considerably increased. At least as many courses should be required of all candidates for graduation from the S. D. A. C. as are required from the best high schools in this state. . These changes, it is hoped, will soon be made in order that the work of the depart- ment may be more efficient. THE LIBRARY. Even in a teclmical school the library holds, and should hold, an important place- This is true at the South Dakota Agricultural College. To the department of history and literature the library serves, of course, as laboratory. To the laboratories of the chemist, the agronomist, the botanist, it serves as an important adjunct. The selection of books is entrusted to the librarian and to the heads of departments, who co-operate with the librarian in getting the best books really useful to the student or most suggestive to the instructor. Always the aim is to open to the student, as he advances in his investigations, a still wider vision. The library should not only meet the present needs of the inquirer, but should also hint at the broad world of knowledge and speculation into which the student is taking his first steps. The librarian regards his desk as a bureau of infor- mation at which he stands a living sign-board, as it were, pointing the way now to a volume of statistics, now to records of research and exploration, or to carefully elaborated theories, to a beguiling essay, or distracting story. Alike for the careful investigator and the casual reader does he point the impartial finger to the way of knowledge-as best he can. Beneath the sign-board exterior there lurks, however, the secret hope that for some he may add allurement to the paths of learning. If he feels at times that his visitors have need 30

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r 9 fbi, producing beef for his own and neighbor's table looks very carefully after the feeding of his herd, understands the relative value of different food materials and studies how he may give them in a proper proportion, or as he expresses it, give a balanced ration. These matters are of great importance to the cattle owners and we End them discussed in their papers and conventions. How many mothers give as much time or thought, or have as definite a notion of the proper food for the members of their own families? This sug- gests a wrong emphasis somewhere and no one would question the attitude of the cattle owners. f Some people exist in this world, some live, some live more efficient lives than others. We are not enjoying our full privilege until we lead the most efficient life. How important a factor the home becomes in producing this efficiency, and how responsible the home maker, is a question which will bear thought. Unless we can differentiate between housekeeper and home maker it is not strange that we ask what college girls are study- ing in a course of home economics. With the thought of the importance of the home as a social unit the attempt has been made to make such a selection from the college curriculum as will render a woman intelligent on general matters, and at the same time, for the sphere which is peculiarly hers, give her the freedom and assurance which comes from a knowledge of the forces with which she is to deal. RUTH A- WARDALL, A. B. M. Emri-I THORNBER, B. s Preceptress, Professor of Domestic Science Aggigfqnt in Domestic Science 29

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of the blacksmith's help in deciphering what is written on the guide-post, he meets a fit rebuke as some more c weather-worn directions areful scholar points how dim or vague, how out-of-date, his As we cannot say all we would of the present material equipment of our library, its I .l apartments and furnishings, we shall take the privilege of youth to dream dreams an see visions of the future. In dream the library of the South Dakota Agricultural College is a noble building of simple yet dignified outline, quite in harmony with the purpose for which ' ' ' ' A to it was designed. The main entrance by a few descending steps of stone gives access lecture rooms occupied by the departments of history and hteratureg by an equal num- ber of aseendin steps to the reading room and librarian's office. Here the arrangement S of lights, the fit proportions of the hall, the balconies and alcovcs with their hint of seclusion, all tend to produce an atmosphere of order and quietg the air, savory of books, ' ' ' - . l-.' f is the best inducement to study, and research. 'lhe attendants desk, nem thc racts or newspapers and magazines, commands the entrances to the book stock and the librar- ian's office. XVithin the stack, accommodations are afforded to professors and others making ex- tended studies. Here, too, special facilities are granted those preparing for debates or other student centers. Above the reading room and stacks cozily sheltered immediately beneath ' ' ' b l l't . s ities as the roof are two charming halls, these haxe beeen furnished y tie ierary oce their own homes. Such are some of the details marked by the eye of the dreamer. Until his dreams are realized it behooves us all, librarian and faculty and stu- dents together to make the best use of our restricted quarters and limited resources, testi- fying by the use we make of our present facilities our fitness for larger and better things. ELMER K. EYERLY, A. M. WILLIAM H. POWERS, M. A. Professor of English Literature Librarian and Associate Professor of Eng'ish 31