Crotonia
Encyclopedia
Crotonia was the first literary society
to exist at Yale University
. Little is known about it. It was already defunct before 1766. The name is also used by a contemporary student literary society at Yale, dedicated to the spoken word. Students read from both their work and others' (poetry and prose) and hear from literary-minded guests. Guests of Crotonia have included J. D. McClatchy, Donald Margulies
and Anne Fadiman
.
, Hebrews. English literature was not introduced into the curriculum until the 1850s. The young men who studied at Yale at the time felt the need to supplement their studies with a working knowledge of contemporary literature and a forum in which to gain “skill in making known [their] own thoughts in good, plain English” .
The literary societies, which first appeared at Yale and soon afterward at many other colleges and universities, were designed to fill this void. Unlike other societies, students of any class from freshmen to seniors could be members of the literary societies; in fact, by the end of the eighteenth century, everyone at Yale belonged to one and there was often fierce competition for the recruitment of freshmen.
no longer dominated the College’s social scene, and the Yale Union became the primary forum for debate. In 1872, Linonia and Brothers in Unity gave up their libraries to the College’s collection and were wholly absorbed by the Union, which enjoyed intermittent existence until 1934 when it became the Yale Political Union
.
Literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of literature or a specific writer. Modern literary societies typically promote research about their chosen author or genre, publish newsletters, and hold...
to exist at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Little is known about it. It was already defunct before 1766. The name is also used by a contemporary student literary society at Yale, dedicated to the spoken word. Students read from both their work and others' (poetry and prose) and hear from literary-minded guests. Guests of Crotonia have included J. D. McClatchy, Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies is an American playwright and a professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University...
and Anne Fadiman
Anne Fadiman
Anne Fadiman is an American author, editor and teacher.She is the daughter of the renowned literary, radio and television personality Clifton Fadiman and World War II correspondent and author Annalee Jacoby Fadiman...
.
Context
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the course of study at Yale was drastically different from what it is now. The majority of literature studied was that of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and, in the extensive study of the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, Hebrews. English literature was not introduced into the curriculum until the 1850s. The young men who studied at Yale at the time felt the need to supplement their studies with a working knowledge of contemporary literature and a forum in which to gain “skill in making known [their] own thoughts in good, plain English” .
The literary societies, which first appeared at Yale and soon afterward at many other colleges and universities, were designed to fill this void. Unlike other societies, students of any class from freshmen to seniors could be members of the literary societies; in fact, by the end of the eighteenth century, everyone at Yale belonged to one and there was often fierce competition for the recruitment of freshmen.
Activities
These societies were primarily debating societies, but they also held speeches and poetry readings and each had a substantial library, filled with books that one could not find in Yale College’s collection. Only the members of a given society had access to its library, and debates primarily took place within the society, though by the mid-1800s it was not unheard of for a speech to be attended by members of all three societies, or for inter-society debates to be organized. At the end of the Civil War, the Yale College faculty attempted to ban fraternities and sophomore societies. As a cover for their continued existence, many of these groups took the guise of small debating societies. Linonia and Brothers in UnityBrothers in Unity
Brothers in Unity was an 18th century debating society at Yale University. At the time of the formation of Yale's central library, two debating societies, Linonia and Brothers in Unity, donated their respective libraries to the university...
no longer dominated the College’s social scene, and the Yale Union became the primary forum for debate. In 1872, Linonia and Brothers in Unity gave up their libraries to the College’s collection and were wholly absorbed by the Union, which enjoyed intermittent existence until 1934 when it became the Yale Political Union
Yale Political Union
The Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge Union Society and Oxford Union...
.