Reflection on selected chapters by Frederick Rudolph

Chapter 1: The Colonial College

Rudolph summarizes the development of the first colonial colleges in the “new world” styled after the English colleges. They began with ties to the Christian churches of the region. The ideals of the Great Awakening, of spreading knowledge, was a mission of the new colleges. There began a rivalry of denominations of Christianity that affected the structure and focus of many of the new universities. Ties with state politics also affected the formation of colleges. It seems that as the states became more diverse, in the sense of different Christian denominations, colleges became more easily tied to secular forms of growth, especially with the aristocratic members of society. It is interesting to note that these colleges began with an aim to form the student into the ideal citizen in a way that this molding would be better to control society. Submitting to the English model (especially before the American Revolution) was beneficial to loyalty to England. Submitting to the ideals of the church allowed for a more docile (and elite) educated class. This is especially true considering farmers were not prone to send off their sons to college if they needed them to tend the crops. Residents a long distance away from colleges would also be dissuaded from attending a college. This is a lot different from today when some students will even commute a long distance, maybe even 2 hours) just for an hour of class. There is just something so important about learning and being educated by a prestigious institution. The ideal at the time was the “self-made” man, so education was not a priority, thus the concept of a college was not yet popularized.

Chapter 2: Legacy of the Revolution

The Reformation and the Renaissance inspired the first subjects covered in the colonial college. Latin and Greek were therefore key languages to learn in order to understand the classics, and even became entrance requirements. These languages were used as “living languages” in the study of “logic, rhetoric, metaphysics, astronomy, physics, and mathematics.” Now these languages are considered mostly dead, but the study of their modern representations are still considered important but not on the same level. As Latin and Greek were used for the study of other subject, you will not typically find a math class in the United States being taught in Italian or Modern Greek. I believe that study abroad is a great way to exercise this skill that will also broaden the perspective of the student in creating that “whole person.”

As mathematics and the natural sciences grew in credibility in the colleges, the church began to feel nervous. In the last chapter, Rudolph describes a system that could create a controlled class of educated people. Now that the rise of empirical thought emerges, more attention is given to evidence or what “is” instead of what theoretically “ought,” leading the way to alternative logic.

During the revolution, these college institutions suffered the scars of battle in the forms of fire to the buildings but also in the revolutionary thinking that penetrated learning. After the American Revolution, more attention was given to France, their revolution, and their teaching styles. Thoughts of independence and “free thinking” filled their heads, making strides in the college as well as governmental system.

Chapter 3: The College Movement

Colleges were becoming a more vital part of the community. Fiscally, having a college in the community would bring in residents and money from tuition, which would help the community grow. There was also a romantic notion of progress affiliated with the building of a college. It was a tangible, visible way of knowing that that town was becoming something more. Today there is still a prestige of having a college in your community, albeit some nuisances. When the University of California, San Diego was first being built, the residents of La Jolla were up in arms, alleging that this new university would bring down the value of their properties. La Jolla is still considered one of the richest neighborhoods of California, and UCSD is continuing to expand its prestige as one of the top ranking research universities in the United States.

New colleges were springing up in every state, in the New England style. The idea of progress in the East was spreading to the West, but I believe there must have been a juxtaposition of ideals when this occurred. The needs of the West could not have been the same as those of the East, so the college curriculum could not have been exactly the same. What was similar was that desire for progress, so the student would learn to focus their efforts on working hard and become the citizen that could accomplish anything if done with dutiful study and attention.

Chapter 4: The Religious Life

The religious college was able to rise in the 19th century because of its internal organization with its ability to more easily collect funds. An increased need for missionaries spurned the creation of denominational colleges. There was a greater revival and urge to Christianize the world for the sake of progress. The student had to devote a majority of their time to religious practices to display a greater devotion to someone other than oneself. Students, though, were mostly annoyed by the religious routine. A movement was made to make religious activity more spontaneous and interactive. This is a realization that affects the creation of future programming for the denominational university. It seems that activities are now centered on what the student wants, rather than focusing on what the clergy thought they needed. Youth organizations began to form. Some of these took it upon themselves to act as stoolpigeons of sinners. They were taking the moral law into their own hands. These may have signaled the beginnings of brotherhood systems with sufficient internal governance able to exclude certain people and test their entrance. Something like fraternities?

Chapter 7: The Extracurriculum

Students became wary of the routine that focused on piety and discipline. There grew a competition between the goal of having a good life in this world and preparing for the next one. Student organizations were able to address these concerns in a more immediate manner. The first organizations to form were debate clubs and literary societies. These groups were welcomer than their latter counterparts because they still affiliated themselves with the furthering of educational values. They were controversial in that students were beginning to make their own decisions and questioning the dogma fed to them. They were supplementing the traditional learning style of merely memorizing the material. I find that memorization is still utilized in secondary schools and viewed as a masterly form of education. I doubt it fosters much comprehension of the material; neither does it elicit critical thought. Perhaps it is easier to promote discipline in an individual than encourage one to think critically.

Literary societies gave way to the Greek-letter Fraternities. These groups were able to thrive with their greater sense of loyalty, partially influenced by Freemason values and practices. This secretive nature made it difficult for college officials to disband these groups, especially since they did not know what these organizations were. Extracurricular groups were not supplementing the curriculum. Literary societies were phased out as their duties were being phased into the mainstream curriculum and services. Extracurricular groups were also at odds with Christian society, which advocated preparation for the next world. Fraternities institutionalized the joys of the current world (even the vices) and promoted success in worldly ventures.

The Gymnasium and competitive athletics also came about as a need expressed by students but greatly influenced by German immigrants who relayed the gymnasium movement in Europe. Christian colleges adapted to this movement by viewing the body as a temple of God that could benefit from special attention. Colleges would also adapt to competitive athletics, especially if they won. Like today, a winning team brings prestige to the college, in effect, more monetary contributions. Still important is the care in making sure that football is not the only reason for the university.

Chapter 18: The Rise of Football

Football at the American university was an adaptation of English rugby, which in turn was a bastardization of soccer. At first it was seen as a frivolous physical activity that caused harm to the body. Later it would become a symbol of strength and community building, fostering the old Evangelical ideal of selflessness. This was at odds with the new feeling that football was a sport that espoused the importance of the individual, especially with the advent of the football hero. Not coming from a football driven university or even high school, I find it odd to place any person on such a high pedestal. I found other ways to feel like a part of the community. This was easier to do in high school as I was in the musical community. It was harder in college as I was more involved in the intellectual community. At UCSD, there was a certain loyalty or pride to the individual college within the university, but that varied among the six colleges.

The popularity of football grew very quickly and was the biggest fundraiser for the university. As was quickly discussed in the chapter on extracurriculars, the winning of games came with the benefit of credibility for an institution, thus gaining more funding. Thus, games had to be won. Rudolph states that “ America had no psychology for failure” because it had just won the Revolutionary War and progressed very quickly thereafter. With this emphasis on winning, players soon became instruments and lost the sense of fun in the game. Other students who wanted to participate as non-spectators found the fun they needed in forming intramural teams. It’s funny how football came from a want of the students. Ownership was then transferred to the administrative level. It reminds me never to take my job so seriously that I take the enjoyment away from the student. Student affairs is for the benefit of the student.

The games attracted a lot of publicity and enticed greater organization of intercollegiate cooperation, especially in regulating the types of athletes and creating a safer, more fair battlefield. The fair promotion of human ability was one of the great draws to the sport, which was antithetical to the notion of mechanical prowess that belittled the power of the individual. Organized football also was democratic in the sense that both poor and rich were equals on the field. It may have been rewarding for rough farmers or coal miners to gain greater status over the rich spoiled aristocrat for once on the field. It probably made the same strides with growing racial diversity.