1930s > People
Dean Herbert Hawkes
Hawkes arrived at Columbia University as a mathematics professor in 1910. When Columbia College Dean Frederick P. Keppel departed for the War Department in 1917, Hawkes assumed his duties and succeeded as Dean the following year. He continued to serve in this role until his death in 1943.
As Dean, he enthusiastically endorsed the creation of Contemporary Civilization in 1919 and its expansion into a second year in 1928. In 1934, the College added a two-year sequence (Science A and B). And three years later, the addition of Humanities A (now known as Lit Hum) and Humanities B (comprised of today's Art Hum and Music Hum) rounded out what became known as Columbia's "Two Year Plan." In short, Dean Hawkes' leadership and support for faculty initiative was instrumental to the creation of Columbia's entire early suite of general education courses.
Jacques Barzun
Born in France but educated in America during World War I, Barzun enrolled at Columbia as a freshman in 1923, where he was a drama critic for Spectator and valedictorian of the class of 1927. After getting his Ph.D. in 1932, Barzun joined the history department at Columbia. Throughout the remaining decades of his career at Columbia he proved to be a fierce advocate for Columbia general education.
Teaching the Humanities
In 1934, Barzun served on a committee to determine the feasibility of the proposed new Humanities sequence. In that same year, he authored three essays – one each on literature, painting and sculpture and on music – for the CC-A syllabus. Three years later, he was among the first instructors to teach Humanities A. This typescript (at left and continued below) is Barzun's report on the experience of teaching the course for the first time.
