Wheaton College - Nike Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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a frog, but you may not know that there 1s a definite link between them in the Botany and Zoology departments—Bacteriology. This course, offered by the Botany department, correlates with both the study of medicine and the study of hygiene. It is an advanced course taught by Dr. Rice, the head of the department. Popular as ever are General Botany, taught by both Dr. Rice and Dr. Faull, and Plant Physiology. For seven suc- cessive years the Plant-Culture class has tak- en prizes at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's annual flower show. The green- house, under the care of Miss Hequembourg, is an interesting feature of the department's work. This year’s biggest problem is the reconstruction of the perennial gardens and the Arboretum, which were so beautiful before the hurricane. The fallen trees are being removed, and rows of spring-blooming bulbs planted in the bare stretches. Another task undertaken by the Botany department this last year was the making of a detailed map of the Arboretum, the surrounding land, and the trails—an extremely valuable piece of work. A further hallway opens into a lab where the uninitiate stands in amazement lost be- fore an array of test tubes and Bunsen burn- ers. Chemistry is explained by Professor Evans, Miss Marshall, and Miss Thompson, with time out for tea. You may be studying Organic or Theoretical, but you probably like tea in beakers with citric acid for lemon. Moreover, you are becoming, aware of the elements of which existence is made. Another turn and one enters a realm of diminishing returns. Listen carefully to Professor Jennings, Mrs. Hidy, and Dr. Schumpeter. The income tax becomes simple. Economics students can be spotted by their scanning of the stock market reports while they wait for buses to the Ford Assembly line. Sociology students on the other hand, are known by their quizzical look which questions whether you are reacting from your environment as they are. Miss Not- tingham and Dr. Cressey try to clarify the social relations of a community, to show the effects, both direct and indirect, of geogra- phy, and to differentiate the Contract and Organismic theories of society. In Economics you can find the theory of all business re- lations, while in Sociology you discover the classifications of all social relations. Both departments are fundamental to an under- standing of our world. Voices speaking in the best traditions of English prose lead us on into the labyrinth. The English tongue and English literature constitute a maze of their own. The depart- ment includes within its field English and American poetry, drama, prose writings, and instruction in elementary and advanced com- position. The practical work in the theatre has been of great interest this year. Indi- vidual members of the class in Dramatic Theory and Practice have designed theatres [16 ]

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Departments of Instruction V E came across an interesting booklet the other day called the Bulletin of Wheaton College. It set down the entirety of knowledge in the simplest possible terms—such-and- such a course given at such-and-such a time by so-and-so. The title of a single course— let us say the History of Western Civiliza- tion—suggests untold vistas of human thought and human endeavor. For this rea- son, we read the booklet from cover to cover, experiencing as we did so a curious frustra- tion. There is so much to know and under- stand; we have no time to follow all these threads through the labyrinthine halls of man’s accumulated wisdom. The most we can do is enter and stare and follow one thread briefly. Wheaton College is fortunate in having for the guides through this labyrinth men and women of unusually broad interests and of the rare qualities which inspire exploration. Under their names in the catalogue are mapped out the wisdoms of which they are possessed. Let us attempt to picture it. Civilization’s two great rivers, the East and the West, have flowed over many cen- turies of man’s existence, and we, going for- ward with these rivers, will confront the recurrent problems of the Florentines, the Venetians, the Orientals. To prepare today’s student for the art which she must evaluate tomorrow, the Art Department endeavors to enrich her background and experience and to sharpen her perception. Under Dr. Seaver, Dr. Neilson, Dr. van Ingen, Miss Randall, and Miss Lorentzen, the Department trains students in an increasing appreciation. Be- sides the more conventional historical and theoretical courses in painting and sculpture, Wheaton offers an experimental course— Elements of Composition in the Arts. This course, which ts listed in the catalogue for the first time this year, might be defined as pragmatic aesthetics—dealing with the arts so as to show their interrelationship, par- ticularly in criticism and appreciation. The basic similarities of the arts of music, paint- ing, sculpture, poetry, and the dance are surprisingly numerous. The course 1s still admittedly in the experimental stages, but the results so far have been extremely stimu- lating both to students and to faculty. To see things clearly and as a whole, to see that true art belongs not only to the past but that it also lives today in good advertis- ing and in animated cartoons, to see that it is related to life and is not a thing apart— these are the essentials which the Art De- partment endeavors to point out to its stu- dents in their journey through the laby- rinth. Down another hallway of the maze we find the world of plant and tree. You may know an amoeba from a pine and a fern from [15]

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and costumes, written and directed plays. The English department reluctantly said good-bye to Mr. Boas, head of the depart- ment, and Mrs. Boas when they sailed for Europe after midyears. During their ab- sence Mrs. Ballou has taken over their Junior and Senior Tutorial classes with Mr. Mat- thiessen and Mr. Houghton of Harvard University lecturing to the Juniors. The in- structors in the English department under Mr. Boas are Mrs. Boas, Miss Shepard, Mrs. Mackenzie, Mrs. Ballou, Dr. Sharp, Mr. Earle, Miss Tweedle, Miss Winslow, and Miss Rice. Another language in the labyrinth—Ger- man. With the increasing demand of the day for universality, we find a proportionate demand for study in foreign languages. This interest seems to be especially marked in the German department. Not only do we find courses in German grammar and in the liter- ature of the country, but there is also a course in the folklore and customs of Ger- many—Kulturkunde, a course conducted by Dr. Korsch. We find on campus a German club under the guidance of the department, which presents a Christmas party every year at which German carols are sung and kuchen are served. The members of the German de- partment are Professor Korsch, Miss Kramer, and Miss Crawford. Language, the tool of thought, has many of its roots in Greek and Latin. Understand- ing of these leads to a greater proficiency in and a finer appreciation of expression. The field of philology reveals much in respect to these great languages. Roman and Greek civilization, are divulged by their language and literature, which in turn reflect upon the language and literature of Europe. The civilization of Greece, a bulwark against the infringing Orient, is a mere phase in the long chain of events that have made up wes- tern civilization, and yet the things that are Greek are the touchstone of the ages. The study of the classics reveals other fields. History, politics, the thoughts and beliefs of men are disclosed to us. Once the language of all Europe, Latin is now the international tongue of science. The classics department, under Dr. Work, Dr. Lynn, and Dr. Eliza- beth Evans, views the past with an eye to understanding the present. Another turn in the maze and the ages are spread before our eyes. History is not only a political survey of the growth and decline of certain countries, but also deals with the cultural, economic, and social aspects of civilization. These broader differences in customs and habits often are responsible for the type of government and the political events of a nation. To understand present- day world events, it is necessary to observe those events and evolutionary stages which have gone before. History is not merely a sequence of past events. Factual history must be interpreted and given relationships in order to be seen with its full significance. [17]