Project Editor: Timothy Auten, History 470: Digital History, Spring 2008

Literature

Writing is considered one of the trademarks of civilization, and so the literature of a culture is tied directly to the definition of that culture. For America in the late 1800s, what literature an individual read and kept in his house helped to define his status in the Gilded Age society that defined the times. Upper-class men and women of the time preferred older, often more complicated works and constantly analyzed the literature they read (Schrock, 154). At UNL, literary societies were created for the discussion of literature and the advancement of speaking skills, as well as to provide simple social interaction for students. There were three major literary societies during the early years of UNL: the Palladian, Union, and Delian. Much research and analysis has been performed of them already, and can be found here: (A Comparison of University Literary Societies at the University of Nebraska). In short, these societies provided an outlet for discussion and debate about literature, as well as bringing in new literature to the city. The University Library, too, was also directly involved in the acquisition of new literature. Though with a very small and rough start, the Library grew quickly, particularly in 1892 with the arrival of Mary L. Jones and the construction of a separate library building in 1895 (Knoll, 35). With these advances, UNL quickly became a center for literature in both the city and the state.

Nebraska Commencement Program, c. 1886

The above image is a scan of a program listing the schedule of events for UNL's 1886 commencement week activities. On the left page are two of the societies mentioned above, plus an additional non-literary society. These societies would put on presentations containing readings of literary works, and discussions and speeches about the works themselves. The fact that each society gets an entire day to itself and is one of the main activities of commencement week serves to highlight the importance of literature to the graduates and provides a literary opportunity for the upper-class citizens invited to such events. There is also a point of interest on the left page, which lists the activities of graduation day. The fifth item, one of several student speeches, is titled 'Medievalism in Modern Literature.' Though no copy of the speech survives, it is obvious the speech discusses a facet of older literature in the modern works produced at the time the speech was given, representing the interest of the upper-class in historical literature, and tying the gentleman giving the speech to said upper class. Both points serve as reminders of the connection between UNL Commencement and the upper-class society of the Gilded Age.