4 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2017
    1. And, in general, to observe with intelligence & faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed.

      This quote shows UVa's emphasis on educating students who will engage in the society. It shows that one of UVa's goal in education is to educate student who will use their knowledge in their social roles. This claim ties back to what we read in Hidden Figures at the beginning of the year. During the Cold War Era, under the influences of space race with USSR, large amount of people study science and become scientists. This phenomenon could ties to this claim that people pursue their major to fulfill their social responsibilities.

    2. It was the degree of centrality to the white population of the state which alone then constituted the important point of comparison between these places:

      Before I read this article, I thought UVa was located in Charlottesville because it is close to Monticello. I was amazed by how people chose the location for UVa not on its accessibility to transportation, available land and or weather but on the "degree of centrality to white population." This quote also shows the racism and segregation at that time. UVa at the beginning wasn't build for diversity. It concerned only the white population and excluded the minority. In our discussion, our TA showed us a letter written by an African American women applicant who was rejected by the school during this era. In the letter she questioned the school that the sole reason she got rejected was due to her ethnicity and gender. And this letter ties to this claim in this article.

  2. Oct 2017
    1. it should consist of distinct houses or pavilions, arranged at proper distances on each side of a lawn of a proper breadth, & of indefinite extent in one direction at least, in each of which should be a lecturing room with from two to four apartments for the accommodation of a professor and his family: that these pavilions should be united by a range of Dormitories, sufficient each for the accommodation of two students only, this provision being deemed advantageous to morals, to order, & to uninterrupted study;

      This is TJ’s envision of the academic village which still exists and it’s nowadays the central grounds at UVa. The lawn is composed of pavilions where lectures are held, dorms where students live, and apartments for professors and families. The layout of the academic village echoed with TJ’s belief that learning can never end. Through this design, students could have a closer relationship with the professors. They could interact with professors not only in classroom settings but also in everyday life. And students are also excluded from outside distractions. When talking about the accommodation of professor, TJ wrote that “accommodation of a professor and HIS family,” suggesting that the professors are all male. In fact, women at that time were expected to stay at home and bear children. UVa at first only admitted male students.

    2. Mineralogy, in addition to its peculiar subjects is here understood to embrace what is real in Geology

      I found this passage really interesting. Mineralogy by definition is the study of chemicals and structures of minerals in Geology. Here in the Rockfish Gap report, Thomas Jefferson regards Mineralogy as "real" in Geology. During that time period, idealism episteme had great influences on thinkers. In this case, TJ suggested that mineralogy has real existence nature, that it probably belongs to the realm of numenom. The word "real" also suggests that there's an underlying realm of unreal existence.