4 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2017
    1. Indeed we need look back only half a century, to times which many now living remember well, and see the wonderful advances in the sciences & arts which have been made within that period

      This passage made me look into what kind of scientific advances had been made in the mid 18th century. A quick google search reveals that many of the bases of modern science were developed and/or discovered in this period. My question is how quickly were these advancements implemented in the teaching of classes such as chemistry. For example, the gas laws we learn about today in chemistry came about around the same time as this document. Were they quickly and widely accepted or did it take years to be taught in school?

    2. Encouraged therefore by the sentiments of the Legislature, manifested in this statute, we present the following tabular statement of the branches of learning which we think should be taught in the University, forming them into groups, each of which are within the powers of a single professor.

      The following curriculum is proof of Thomas Jefferson's undying belief that students should have a wide range of courses to study from. Looking at the array of classes, I immediately think of the New Curriculum which is able to, today, apply many different concepts in different fields and bring them all together, the way Jefferson would have wanted.

  2. Oct 2017
    1. we present the following tabular statement of the branches of learning which we think should be taught in the University, forming them into groups, each of which are within the powers of a single professor.

      Upon inspection of the available courses I did not see very much concerning the history of eugenics at the university. After conducting my own research I found out eugenics did not become prominent until the 20th century. A leading research facility in the country, the very same grounds in which students study ethics regarding science and medicine, there is a rich history of institutionalized racism.

    2. To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business.

      In the year 1818 African American men were considered citizens as protected by the 15th amendment. Obviously the writers of this document meant to exclude African Americans which made me wonder about the phrasing "every citizen". They may have meant every citizen of the university. This distinction of university citizenship contributes to the elitism of the University of Virginia and the inherently prejudiced and race supremacist values upon which it was founded.