Religion and Philosophy of Harvard
University
The takeover of Harvard by the Unitarians in 1805 resulted in the
secularization of the American college. In 1850 Harvard was the "unity of
the Vatican." The "liberals" (Unitarians) allied themselves with
high Federalists and began to create a set of private societies and
institutions to strengthen their cultural and political authority, a movement
that prefigured the emergence of the class of the Boston Brahmins. On the other
hand, the theological conservatives used print media to argue for the
maintenance of open debate and democratic governance through a broad public
sphere, seeing the liberals movement as an attempt to create a cultural
oligarchy opposition to congregational tradition and republican political
principles.
In 1846, the natural history classes Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New
York and on the campus of Harvard University. Agassiz's approach was distinctly
idealist and raised Americans 'participation in the divine nature "and the
possibility of understanding' intellectual existence". Agassiz's perspective
on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person
can grasp the 'divine plan' in all phenomena. When it came to explaining
life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on a presumed archetype
for his evidence. This dual view of knowledge was in accordance with the
teachings of Common Sense Realism derived from Scottish philosophers Thomas
Reid and Dugald Stewart, whose works were part of the Harvard curriculum at the
time. The popularity of Agassiz's efforts to 'soar with Plato' probably also
derived from other works that were exposed Harvard students, including Platonic
treated by Ralph Cud worth, John Norris and, in a Romantic vein, Samuel
Coleridge. The library records at Harvard reveal that the writings of Plato and
his early modern and Romantic followers were almost as regularly read during
the 19th century as those of the 'official philosophy' of the Scottish school
more empirical and more deistic.
Charles W. Eliot, president 1869-1909, eliminated the favored position of
Christianity from the curriculum while opening to self-direction. While Eliot
was the most important figure in the secularization of American higher
education, he was motivated by a desire to secularize education, but by
Transcendentalist unit convictions. Derived from William Ellery Channing and
Ralph Waldo Emerson, these convictions were focused on the dignity and worth of
human nature, the right and ability of each person to perceive truth, and the
indwelling God in each person.
Century 20
During the 20th century, Harvard's international reputation grew as a growing
endowment and prominent professors expanded the scope of the university. The
explosive growth of the student population continued with the addition of new
graduate schools and the expansion of the undergraduate program. Radcliffe
College, founded in 1879 as sister School of Harvard College, became one of the
most important schools for women in the United States. Harvard became a
founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.
Meritocracy
James Bryant Conant (president, 1933-1953) reinvigorated creative scholarship
to guarantee its preeminence among research institutions. He saw higher
education as a vehicle of opportunity for the talented rather than an entitlement
for the wealthy programs, so Conant devised to identify, recruit, and support
talented youth. In 1943, he asked the faculty make a definitive statement about
what general education ought to be, in and high school level. The resulting
report, published in 1945, was one of the most influential manifestos in the
history of American education in the 20th century.
In 1945-1960 opened admissions policies to bring students a wider range of
applicants. I do not draw students from the wealthy elite prep schools in New
England, the college student was open to middle-class students struggling
public schools, and many more Jews and Catholics were admitted, but few blacks,
Hispanics or Asians.
Women
The women remained separated at Radcliffe, though more and more took Harvard
classes. However, Harvard's undergraduate population remained predominantly
male, with about four men attending Harvard University for every woman studying
at Radcliffe. Following the merger of Harvard and Radcliffe admissions in 1977,
the proportion of female students increased steadily, reflecting a trend
throughout higher education in the United States. Harvard's graduate schools,
which had accepted females and other groups in greater numbers even before the
college, also became more diverse in the period after World War II.
In 1999, Radcliffe College, founded in 1879 as the "Harvard Annex for
Women", merged formally with Harvard University, becoming the Radcliffe
Institute for Advanced Study.
Drew Gilpin Faust, the Dean of Radcliffe, became the first woman president of
Harvard in 2007.
Liberalism
Harvard and its affiliates, like many American universities, are considered by
some to be politically liberal (left of center). Conservative author William F.
Buckley, Jr. quipped that he and not governed by the first 2,000 names in the
Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty, Richard Nixon famously referred
to Harvard as the "Kremlin on the Charles" around 1970, and Vice
President George HW Bush disparaged what he saw as Harvard's liberalism during
the 1988 presidential election. Such is his reputation as a bastion of
liberalism and privilege alumni who aspire to public office sometimes
underestimate their affiliation with the university.
Recent history
President Lawrence Summers resigned his presidency in 2006. His resignation
came a week before a second planned vote of no confidence by the Faculty of
Arts and Sciences at Harvard. Former President Derek Bok served as interim
president. Members of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which instructs
graduate students in GSAS and undergraduates in Harvard University, had passed
an earlier motion of "lack of confidence" in leadership 15 March 2005
by a vote of 218-185 Summers, with 18 abstentions. The movement of 2005 was
triggered by comments about the causes of gender demographics in academia made
at a closed academic conference and leaked to the press. In response, Summers
convened two committees to study this issue: the Task Force on Women Faculty
and the Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering. Summers had also
pledged $ 50 million to support their recommendations and other proposed
reforms. Drew Gilpin Faust is the 28th president of Harvard. An American
historian, former dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and
Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard University, Faust is the first female
president in the history of the university.
