University of Chicago - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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U m THE HUMANITIES . . . CHAUCER . . . AMERICAN ENGLISH . . . BREASTED . . JAMES Bnmsrizn Chairnzaiz of the De- flll'flIlI'7lf of Oriental Lafzgzzayzfr and Lifera- t1zrc.f. In the fields of research, Humanity scholars were outstanding as leaders in the development of new disciplines and new techniques. While studies such as those by lVIanly, Nitze and Taylor were valuable contributions to special fields of knowledge, they also constituted type studies of tremendous precision which exerted a great influence on the methods of succeeding investigations by others. The Chaucer project, which was car- ried on simultaneously in both London and Chicago by a group headed by John lVIatthews lVIanly, was near completion. Careful, wisely directed research was making the new edition of the first great English poet undisputedly authoritative. The appearance of specimen pages of the new American-English Dictionary prepared by Sir William Craigie was evidence of the progress of another in- vestigation of similar magnitude. Co- ordination of individual activity in group enterprises was further demonstrated in the work of Ronald S. Crane and George Sherburn, who were engaged in the edit- ing of anthologies of the poetry and prose of the eighteenth century. The quality of undergraduate teach- ing in English was distinguished by the reorganization of the elementary courses under Nlrs. Flint, and by the popular- ity of Thornton Wilder as a lecturer. Mrs. Flint and assistants were primarily concerned with adopting the college courses to the spirit and method implicit in The New Plan. By experimentation in methods and through testing at vari- ous levels, courses suited t-0 the special interests and capabilities of different types of students were built up. The year saw the formal dedication and opening of the Oriental Institute- a building which above all else recog- nized the remarkable intellect and initi- ative of a single man, James Breasted. Raymond Fosdick at the dedication de- clared that, If there had been no Breasted there would have been no Ori- ental Institute, and without an Oriental Institute, the story of the rise of man would today be far less vivid and far less complete. It was in an attempt to salvage the remaining original evidence of human civilization in the east for the compilation of a new and fuller Pfistory of Civilization, that Breasted had field Joi-IN' M. MANLY I Distinguished Scrfvlce Profmsur of Enylzrhg Hrad of the Di'parl11zrnt Page I7

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THE HUMANITIES Goimor: LAING- D Dfan of the Hmnanzizcr Under the leadership of rotund Dean Gordon Jennings Laing, the Humanities Division developed new standards, new curricula designed to liberalize the new student's program of study. Funda- mental to this revised plan of study, how- ever, was the organization of a sound basic course in the College and the con- tinuance of advanced research with the view of furthering investigative tech- nique. Along all three of these lines the Division showed distinct progress. By adopting the system of comprehen- sive exams for all degrees, and by spread- ing the amount of required work among several related departments it became possible for the first time for the ad- vanced student to either specialize in a particular language with a broad inter- est in adjacent fields, or to spread his work out in a horizontal plane across all languages with the emphasis on liter- ary forms or philology. It thus became possible for an individual to take a doc- tor's degree in -a. field covering the gen- eral material covered by a number of departments, in contrast to the old plan under which work was definitely con- centrated in one department. This same broadened outlook charac- terized the College course as prepared by Professors Schevill, Keniston and Scott. Using the succession of the great civil- izations as a framework for the presenta- tion of the literature, art, philosophy, and religion which have contributed most conspicuously to the sh-aping of the con- temporary outlook on life, these men sought to provide a solid, liberal back- ground for further study. Swift Hari. ,xxu Boxu Cufwei. Page I6

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5 D 'GER'I'RUDE SMITH flsxofzatt' Professor of Greek THE HUMANITIES . . . HOMER . SALUDATO . . . CORINTH . . . expeditions working from the Black Sea to the Upper Nile. At the home Insti- tute, the tedious work of preparing the discoveries for study continued. Here, too, Edward Chiera carried on the task of compiling another great dictionary, The Babylonian-Assyrian dictionary. The Administration of Justice from Homer to Aristotle, by Professor R. J. Bonner and Miss Gertrude Smith, was the most important piece of work com- pleted by the Department of Greek in the last few years. Faced with the problem of reconciling an enormous amount of research with a slight en- dowment, the authors persevered and published their book after three years of work. Two projects of major importance in research were conducted by the Latin Department, but they will not be fin- ished until sometime in the future. Pro- fessor B. L. Ullman was abroad com- pleting his study of the works of Caluc- cio Saludato. Charles Beeson, of the Department spent last year in Rome as annual director of the American School of Classical Studies. At the same time he gathered material for his investiga- tion of the history and influence of Irish script. During the past year many members of the Art Department completed note- worthy projects. Not least among them are the first two volumes of Professor J. Pejoan's monumental work, Ifistory of Art. These volumes deal with the art of primitive peoples. Professor Franklin P. Johnson published The Sculpture of Corinth, the result of re- cent excavations in Greece conducted by the American school at Athens. Of major concern to Dr. Shapley and his Department during the year was the progress of the plans for the new art building to be built from funds given by lkiax Epstein. Although the needs of the young, growing department were pressing, construction of the building was delayed by controversy over the site. Page I8