Newspaper Page Text
Friday, February 26, 1965
SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Page 5
MEET YOUR PROFS
Dr. Cowan
Psychology, an important be
havioral science, has its place
in college life, for the most part,
merely as a science, seldom
with any considerable function
al value. One of our new facul
ty members, Dr. Gloria Cowan,
who teaches psychology con
firmed this. She said psychology
students would find it difficult
to apply successfully the know
ledge gained in a general study
of psychology. Often, the con
clusions formed are faulty and
impractical. However, psychol
ogy is an academic discipline,
making the individual better,
more well-rounded, “educated,”
but it does not solve problems;
it is just a science. Psychology,
being relatively new, encom
passes many tentative principles
not always acceptable for ac
tual living; it is an instrument
in teaching insight, and intro
spection; it simplifies rationaliza
tion, understanding, and aware
ness. It is dependent upon the
individual, each being unique.
Hence general rules do not help
inevitably.
College students are almost
always affected by emotions
which influence their efforts to
achieve.
Intrinsic desire to learn, ex
plained Dr. Cowan, along with
external pressures such as en
vironmental approval of a col
lege education and standards
of the culture are major fac
tors in successful college life.
When motivations are indirect,
that is, imposed by the family,
job requirements, society, the
pressure produces anxiety and
difficulty in functioning and,
in some cases, causes drop-outs
and suicides. It is unfair to try
to point out an average college
student, for students differ ac
cording to schools and pres
sures.
Dr. Cowan is a career woman
and a wife and a mother who
believes it is worth the trouble
and aggravation caused by di
viding loyalties. Although it is
not easy, there are many re
wards. To her the myth about
the place of women being only
in the home is outmoded. Wo
men can not stand apart from
society and just be housewives.
We must help shape events as
they occur. We should be func
tioning internationally and na
tionally, impinging on every
phase of life. This should not
be beyond women’s range of in
terest. We can hold the same
jobs and offices as men, and
are needed in many of these
places. Talented women do not
neglect their homes and out
side interests. Housewives, how
ever, should not be ashamed,
for that job takes much time,
hard work, and superior ability.
Dr. Carroll
In his junior year at Johnson
C. Smith Dr Richard Carroll,
when his interest in music as a
major was almost completely
dissipated, without premedita
tion, took an English course, af
ter which he decided to major
in English. He is now head of
our English department.
For those who feel as I, that
the freshman English course in
composition is unnecessary, you
will be glad to know that Eng
lish teachers all over the coun
try are concerned over this
course and numerous experi
ments are being conducted with
the purpose of revising it and
making it more meaningful. Dr.
Carroll does not believe it
would be wise to convert the
course into a creative writing
course.
“Most of us need to develop
facility in using the skills in
volved in simple expository ex
pression. We must learn to re
cognize ideas, collect ideas, or
ganize ideas, and develop ideas
so that others can understand
our ideas,” Dr. Carroll explained.
World literature, another
English course some of us have
trouble with, will have more
significance knowing what the
head of the department says
about the classics of world lit
erature which most of us must
study.
One reading of any literary
work is not enough. Each read
ing unfolds more about the
characters and author. For ex
ample in high school you may
have learned merely to describe
the prioress in Chaucer’s ‘Can
terbury Tales,’ but, reading the
description of her later, you
may learn, not only her re
ligious and secular personali
ties and the human qualities
Chaucer shows through the
character, but what she means
in relation to medieval life,
its religious aspect in par
ticular. Your insights become
more meaningful, your consid
erations have more depth.”
Often, with literature stu
dents a real problem is the
Greek plays and epics. What
possible explanation could one
give for the importance of the
works of Homer, Aeschylus, Eu
ripides, and Sophocles through
out the ages? Some of us ask
ourselves this when we are as
signed such works as “The Il
iad” of Homer. Dr. Carroll’s
answer is that the situations
which prevail in classical works
are examples of the timeless
troubles society has faced and
still faces because man fails to
realize that he cannot exist with
out his fellow man and, there
fore, fights to dominate some
thing which he does not own
and which he wants to share with
no one. This is a universal and
ageless problem which might
someday be the cause of man’s
destruction. These authors have
attempted to make man aware
of his shortcomings and to chal
lenge him to conquer them.
In discussing the Greek play
“Agamemnon” by Aeschylus,
Dr. Carroll pointed out that the
main thought is reason versus
irrationality. Aegisthus wanted
revenge on Agamemnon for the
murders committed by Agam
emnon’s father. Clytemnestra,
Agamemnon’s wife, wanted re
venge on him for his sacrific
ing their daughter. Orestes, their
son, wanted revenge on Clytem
nestra and Aegisthus who be
came lovers and, together, plot
ted and carried out the mur
der of Agamemnon.
(Cont. on page 6)
Skidmore Announces
Comedy Arts
Theatre Program
An unusual opportunity for
undergraduates to be in on the
very beginning of a unique new
theater venture has been offered
in an announcement by Skid
more College. Skidmore has an
nounced its sponsorship of the
newly organized Comedy Arts
Theatre company, which will
open its first summer season
July 1 in the historic New York
resort city of Saratoga Springs.
The new company, unlike
most summer theatres, has been
organized for a specific purpose.
As expressed by its founders,
the long range aim of the Com
edy Arts Theatre is “to build a
repertory company specializing
in the performance of the many
different styles of comedy”. The
group hopes to create a theatre
worthy of the rest of the am
bitious performing arts program
that will be a feature of the
summer season at Saratoga be
ginning in 1966. At -that time a
lavish new concert and ballet
theatre will open at the Sara
toga Springs State Park with the
Philadelphia Orchestra and -the
New York City Ballet in resi
dence. By that time, the Com
edy Arts Theatre will be in its
second season, with the best
people from the 1965 season
brought back as part of its ex
panded resident company.
The resident company for this
first year will be a small nucle
us of experienced players who
will carry the most difficult roles
in the season of four comedies;
(Cont. above)
Job Opportunities With
The American European
Student Service
There are job opportunities
in Europe this summer . . .
Work this summer in the for
ests of Germany, on construc
tion in Austria, on farms in
Germany, Sweden and Den
mark, on road construction in
Norway.
Well, these jobs are available
as well as jobs in Ireland, Swit
zerland, England, France, Italy,
and Holland. They are open by
consent of -the governments of
these countries to American
university students coming to
Europe next summer.
For some years students have
made their way across the At
lantic to take part in the actual
life of the people of these coun
tries. The success of this pro
ject has caused a great deal of
enthusiastic interest and support
both in America -and Europe.
Every year, the program has
all supporting roles will be cast
from among the group of un
dergraduates participating in the
summer program, all of whom
will be eligible to try out for
every play.
For the undergraduates, the
Skidmore College Drama De
partment is offering a training
program of three college-credit
courses: Acting, Technical The
atre, and Rehearsal and Pro
duction. Registration will be lim
ited to assure ample opportuni
ties for all to participate in the
program. Interested students are
urged to write promptly to:
Comedy Arts Theatre, Skid
more College, Saratoga Springs,
New York. Representatives will
be attending the Yale Festival
of Undergraduate Drama at the
end of March to interview in
terested undergraduates.
been expanded to include many
more students and jobs. Al
ready, many students have made
applications for next summers
jobs. American-European Stu
dent Service (on a non-profit-
able basis) is offering these
jobs to students for Germany,
Scandinavia, England, Austria,
Switzerland, France, Italy and
Spain. These jobs consist of for
estry work, child care work (fe
males only), farm work, hotel
work (limited number avail
able), construction work, and
some other more qualified jobs
requiring more specialized train
ing.
The purpose of this program
is to afford the student an op
portunity to get into real living
contact with people and cus
toms of Europe. In this way, a
concrete effort can be made to
learn something of the culture
of Europe. In return for his or
her work, the student will re
ceive his or her room and board,
plus a wage. However, students
should keep in mind that they
will be working on the Euro
pean economy and wages will
naturally be scaled accordingly.
The working conditions (hours,
safety, regulations, legal pro
tection, work permits) will be
strictly controlled by the labor
ministries of the countries in
volved.
In most cases, the employers
have requested especially for
American students. .Hence, they
are particularly interested in the
student and want to make the
work as interesting as possible.
They are all informed of the
intent of the program, and will
help the student all they can
in deriving the most from his
trip to Europe.