- Nov 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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In conformity with the principles of our constitution, which places all sects of religion on an equal footing, with the jealousies of the different sects in guarding that equality from encroachment & surprise, and with the sentiments of the legislature in favor of freedom of religion manifested on former occasions, we have proposed no professor of Divinity; and tho rather, as the proofs of the being of a god, the creator, preserver, & supreme ruler of the universe, the author of all the relations of morality, & of the laws & obligations these infer, will be within the province of the professor of ethics;
In my ethical engagement, which is centered on the interpretations of the New Testament, my professor is well-versed in the book and the religion itself; however, she does an incredible job at teaching the class and leading discussions in an unbiased way. She does not impart her views on the religion -- because the University is public and strives to “place all sects of religion on an equal footing” (although this is not always carried out successfully). In my experience, I think that the University has consistently adhered to this section of the text.
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5. What qualifications shall be required to entitle to entrance into the university, the arrangement of the days & hours of lecturing for the different schools, so as to facilitate to the students the circle of attendance on them: the establishment of periodical and public examinations, the premiums to be given for distinguished merit; whether honorary degrees shall be conferred; and by what appellations; whether the title to these shall depend on the time the candidate has been at the university, or, when nature has given a greater share of understanding, attention and application;
It is interesting that specific qualifications and are not stated, because it makes it more difficult to compare the intellectual capacity of admitted students to the University when it was first founded and current applicants and admitted students. It mentions the “circle of attendance” which implies the emphasis placed on the organization of the University to maximize the students’ presence in each of their classes. This humorously foreshadows the phenomenon of “skipping classes” in college, whether intended or not, by meticulously scheduling lectures (especially in the context of the University’s size and layout at the time) to anticipate the problem.
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- Oct 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business.
This phrase, especially the way it stands out on its own in this document, shows the emphasis that the founders of UVA wanted to have on entrepreneurship and the independence of its students during and after their time at the university. That being said, it's interesting that there aren't any explicit business classes or ones relating to economics (except for political economy). Most classes seem to point not toward individual businesses but more toward collaborative ones.
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- Sep 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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To these should be added the arts, which embellish life, dancing music & drawing; the last more especially, as an important part of military education. These innocent arts furnish amusement & happiness to those who, having time on their hands, might less inoffensively employ it; needing, at the same time, no regular incorporation with the institution, they may be left to accessory teachers, who will be paid by the individuals employing them; the university only providing proper apartments for their exercise.
It's very interesting how the writers of this document see dancing, music, and drawing as hobbies that solely "furnish amusement and happiness" except when drawing is used for military use. They believe this so much so, in fact, that they will not even provide courses or professors for the arts, but only "proper apartments" in order to practice art. Further, they wanted to make the students pay an additional amount and find their own teachers in order to participate in the arts. Why would they build additional buildings for the arts but yet not provide any resources for further study of them?
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