- Nov 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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necessary in the various vocations of life, with the buildings & apparatus belonging to each, are far beyond the reach of individual means, & must either derive existence from public patronage or not exist at all. This would leave us then without those callings which depend on education, or send us to other countries, to seek the instruction they require. But the Commissioners are happy in considering the statute under which they are assembled as proof that the legislature is far from the abandonment of objects so interesting: they are sensible that the advantages of well directed education, moral, political & economical are truly above all estimate. Education generates habits of application, order and the love of virtue; and controuls, by the force of habit, any innate obliquities in our moral organization
This really establishes the University as a liberal arts institution, which we truly do see today. The point of a liberal art education back then, and today, illustrates the idea of being a student and a learner for life. By understanding various subjects and disciplines, even if they may seem irrelevant at a certain point in your life, is extremely important in becoming a well developed citizen. Education is far more than just learning facts and regurgitating information, it is establishing your way of thinking, making yourself self aware, and being able to convey them.
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this provision being deemed advantageous to morals, to order, & to uninterrupted study
Not so subtly, this statement refers to the purpose behind the physical structures at UVA. This reminds me of my Engagement calls "Making the Invisible Visible" in which we went on a tour of the University. We learned that many of the spaces at UVA were "white spaces" and these spaces were tailored specifically to not only keep out people of color, but also to have them entirely out of sight. When I walk around UVA, I often think about how beautiful our campus is, but also about why I think it is beautiful. How were my ideals of beauty constructed? How were the ideals of beauty in the architecture at UVA constructed, and how is the University as a physical site enforcing a system? This sentence, well the paragraph really...makes me question UVA as a place and institution.
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- Sep 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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comfort to the Professors, and their families thus insulated;
This mentions the comfort of the professors and the well being of their student, however, this section neglects to mention the living situations of the slaves who cleaned the houses, cooked for the faculty and students, kept the lawn mowed, slaughtered the pigs, gardened, etc.. UVA wasn't just built for the comfort of the Professors and students...it was also to keep them "insulated"...insulated from what? Well the serpentine walls used to be 8 feet tall so the people on the white space on grounds couldn't see the spaces the slaves were in. The lawn rooms and pavilions only face each other, and many slaves had to go out their to avoid confrontation with students and faculty. You cannot be insulated without anything to be insulated from. What was UVA trying to insulate?
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Education generates habits of application, order and the love of virtue; and controuls, by the force of habit, any innate obliquities in our moral organization.
To the white upper class, education is a form of empowerment which allows them to apply skills to contribute to society. However, education for slaves was a form of empowerment to break free of their chains. In this sentence we can truly see the contradicting viewpoints of not only the time period but also the values UVA was founded upon.
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