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

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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guide-post, he meets a fit rebuke as some more c weather-worn directions areful scholar points how dim or vague, how out-of-date, his As we cannot say all we would of the present material equipment of our library, its I .l apartments and furnishings, we shall take the privilege of youth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

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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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iv I A - 5 r ff, 1- '.l'a 'fi' DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. Until the middle of the nineteenth century even the best American colleges usually provided for instruction in history by adding such work to the duties of a professor teach- ing some other subject, such as Latin or philosophy. American history and the political and social sciences had no place in the college curriculum. In fact, it is only within the last fifteen or twenty years that American history has been regarded by educators either as a part of a liberal education or as a subject worthy of scientific treatment. The idea of old pedagogy was that la liberal education could be obtained only from a study of the classics, and that strength of mind and purpose could only come from a detailed study of mathematics. The tendency in modern pedagogy is toward recognizing a similar or equal value for purposes of training and instruction in nearly all branches of human knowledge. With the advent of the modern sciences came the scientific spirit and the laboratory method. Gradually one branch of the instruction after another came under the scientific in- Huence, much to the advantage of its treatment in the class l'00l'l1. History and the politi- cal and social sciences are the latest subjects to receive scientific treatment, and are now demanding a place in the educational curriculum commensurate with their importance. The scientific study of history and the political sciences has now obtained a substantial foothold in the universities and colleges and is beginning to make some impression upon second- ary education. At the present time, highly specialized work in these fields is offered in the leading American colleges and universities- Separate schools of history and political science are organized in the larger institutions. The courses in history and political science in our own college are of necessity lim- ited in number and the work is quite largely elementary, yet the endeavor is made to so direct the work that the best disciplinary and culture results may be obtained, and that students may be better fitted for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. History is a subject unequalled for its opportunities of comparison, and therefore for training the judgment. The collection and classification of historical material and the criticism and interpretation of the same which follows make demands upon the mind fully as exacting as are made by chemistry or botany or any other of the natural sciences- From the standpoint of the social welfare, history and the political sciences prepare the student to deal with the present problems of society and politics. There are troublesome' problems involved in the conditions of life to-day. We must face them. In our great experiment in democracy we are proceeding upon the theory that the average man is not only patriotic and honest. but that he is a political expert. If our democratic institutions are to endure we must have a desire on the part of intelligent people to bear the responsibilities of organ- ized society. There is a call for greater intelligence on the part of the citizens than was ever required before. To fit for the responsibilties of the present, to combat the political pessimism of the day, nothing is more helpful than an ancquaintance with history and the allied political sciences. It corrects halfway views of human affairs and leads to rational conservatism, toleration and broad-mindedness. It arouses the interests of men in the duties and opportunities of citizenship. In the required courses in history as given at this college certain definite results are aimed at. It is expected that the student should have CID a clear outline of the period coveredg C2D a knowledge of the principal original sources, and some training in the use of original records, because it is a primary necessity in history to know the truth, and this implies that every student should see for himself how history is writteng C35 train- ing in handling secondary work with discrimination and ability to make an abstract ofthe substances of what he has read in good Englishg C4J a knowledge of how to make an out- lineg Q51 knowledge of how to use bibliographical aids and ability to take notes intelli- gently and last Q61 how to study two successive historical maps and explain the changes that have taken place. The work is so planned that the student may, if he desires, pursue a fairly continuous line of historical study in ancient and modern European, English and American history and in .American municipal, state and national government and inter- national law. 32