Synopses & Reviews
Earlham College was founded by Indiana Quakers in 1847 for the "guarded religious education of the children of Friends." Today it is among the handful of nationally ranked liberal arts colleges still retaining a strong religious identity. In the last half century, Earlham has become a national institution. Unlike many other denominational colleges, it has preserved and strengthened its sectarian identity: becoming home to the first Quaker theological seminary in the world, instituting a system of consensus governance, and attracting well-known Quaker faculty. Thomas D. Hamm tells the story of this remarkable institution with the grace and insight that have distinguished his previous writing on the Quakers.
Synopsis
"For Earlham, Hamm has written one of the best single-volume college histories--extremely well researched, complexly interpreted, and fluidly written." --The Journal of American History
"... highly readable and entertaining... " --Indiana Magazine of History
"As well as being a history of Quaker education, it also has insights for the history of higher education itself. The book remains engaging throughout and readers will be challenged by the contemporary nature of many of the debates concerning religious and social issues that have caused dissension on the Earlham campus and within Quakerism both currently and in past years." --The Southern Friend
"Earlhamites and other Quakers should read this book and ponder it " --Quaker Life
In celebration of Earlham's sesquicentennial, here is the history of one of the few nationally ranked liberal arts colleges that still retains a strong religious identity. Earlham College was founded by Indiana Quakers in 1847 for the "guarded religious education of the children of Friends" and became the prestigious school of the twentieth century only after struggles which pitted traditionalists and moderates in a battle of revivalism and primitivism against change and reform.
Synopsis
"For Earlham, Hamm has written one of the best single-volume college histories--extremely well researched, complexly interpreted, and fluidly written."
About the Author
Thomas D. Hamm is College Archivist and Associate Professor of History at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1. Friends Boarding School, Near Richmond, Indiana, 1832-1859
2. Earlham's Surrender to the Larger Culture, 1859-1895
3. Quakerism, Modernism, Professionalism, Professor Russell, and President Kelly, 1895-1915
4. The Trials of Liberal Quakerism, 1915-1946
5. The Creation of Modern Earlham, 1946-1958
6. "The Sixties," 1958-1973
7. Earlham and the Culture Wars, 1973-1996
Notes
Bibliography
Index