Because it was impossible to highlight all the languages without highlighting other areas, I simply highlighted “Latin”, but I will be referring to all the languages listed, including Greek, French, and German. First, not surprisingly, all the languages listed have some sort of European and Western origin, except for Hebrew. However, although Hebrew originated in the Middle East, many Jews moved or fled to Europe during the diaspora, so Hebrew as a language is also tied to Europe. Secondly, I find it interesting that English is still referred to as “Anglo-Saxon” at this time. Lastly, I also find it interesting that both Latin and Greek were taught in the early 1800's, but now only Latin is taught in some schools, even though Latin is the dead language, not Greek.

Although I do not specifically what the learned science means in this context and time, I assume that it has to do with the field of science (including disciplines such as Biology). This is interesting to me, because science is such a big part of our education nowadays. However, obviously during the early 1800's, many people, including educated men, did not believe in science or that science was necessary for students to learn. I assume instead they wanted students to learn more “relevant” fields, such as theology, philosophy, language, and commerce. Thinking about the lack of importance of science in this time, it’s amazing to think about how different people back then viewed the world.

When I read this section about the building plans for the university, I found it interesting that they stated which areas were to be designated for the professors and students but did not mention a word about the slaves. In my engagement class “Making the Invisible Visible”, we toured these historical areas and learned that the basements and attics of the pavilions were built to house slaves. This design was also part of Jefferson’s plan to keep the slaves hidden from the students’ sights, which may also explain the lack of the reference to slaves in this section.

It’s interesting how the main purpose behind including chemistry in the curriculum was to teach students “the theory of Agriculture”. The reasoning behind this may be to simply instill applicable knowledge to the students of the school, who were primarily sons of plantation owners. Another possibility is an effort to instill Jefferson’s belief in agrarianism and an agrarian state, which can be seen in Notes on the State of Virginia and during his presidency. For example, in the section “Manufacturers” in Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson writes, “we have an immensity of land courting the industry of the husbandman. Is it best then that all our citizens should be employed in its improvement, or that one half should be called off from that to exercise manufactures and handicraft arts for the other?” (291).