The Irving Literary Society
|map =
|msize =
|malt =
|mcaption =
|abbreviation = The Irving
|motto = 'Alethia'
|formation = October 24, 1868
|extinction =
|type =
|status =
|purpose =
|headquarters = The Gables
|location = 525 Stewart Avenue
|region_served = Ithaca, New York
|membership = 1200
|language =
|leader_title = Dean, Irving Liteary Society
|leader_name = Tom Alexander 2011 (tapped)
Brian Bendett 2010
|main_organ = The New York Alphan ("NYAlphan")
|parent_organization = Phi Kappa Psi
|affiliations = Cornell University
|num_staff =
|num_volunteers =
|budget =
|website =
|remarks =
}}
The Irving Literary Society (or simply The Irving) is a literary society seated in Ithaca, Upstate New York, at Cornell University. The U.S. Bureau of Education described it as a "purely literary society" following the "traditions of the old literary societies of Eastern universities." The Irving was a campus leader in the 1870s, “ . . . when Cornell was young and boasted but two college buildings and no sidewalks, when the Ten-Thirty Club, the mock programmes, and the two literary societies were everything . . . . “ The Irving and its peers were considered prominent in that they formed an intellectual culture later diminished at Cornell University during the Gilded Era. The Irving Literary Society and other purely literary societies disseminated traditional Eastern elite culture from generation to generation and also benchmarked merit performance in extracurricular life. In the community created, the Irving and its peers established an environment conducive to free intellectual thought. At their peak, the Irving and its peers were housed by the University in Society Hall, located within North University (now White Hall).
Prominence
The Irving held its first business meeting in Room No. 4, Cascadilla Place, on October 20, 1868, some thirteen days after Cornell University opened its doors. John Andrew Rea proposed the name preferred by Andrew Dickson White; others proposed the John Bright Brotherhood, honoring England’s orator of great renown. A compromise was struck in which “the Irving†was chosen for the name, while Bright and America’s greatest orator, Charles Sumner, were admitted as the first honorary members. Interesting, each of the early sessions was opened with prayer. Tradition within today's Irving holds that Andrew Dickson White preferred a name celebrating the State of New York's native arts, letters and culture over a name rooted in the neo-classical revival.thumb|300px|left|alt=Cascadilla Place under construction.| Cascadilla Place, where the Irving was founded.
The Irving’s performance was sufficiently prominent in its first decade and a half of existence to prompt the Ithaca Daily Democrat to lament its ‘decline’ under mechanical and engineering students pursuing ‘technical’ interests in the mid-1880s. As an example of American intellectual endeavor in the late 19th century, the historic record of the Irving provides evidence of a national transition. Cornell University projected itself as a turning point in American education reform. The Irving was considered an integral and prominent part of that reform. The life of the Irving, as such, parallels and shadows the transition of Cornell University away from the English collegiate model prevalent in 19th century American education and into the technical, German research university model, of which Cornell became a national exemplar over the next century.
By 1900, however, the United States Bureau of Education was able to cite the Irving’s experience as evidence that the East Coast’s traditional, literary culture did not taking root at the new Cornell University in the same manner in which it flourished at Harvard, Yale, Pennsylvania and other “seaboard†schools. The Land Grant college undergraduate culture was increasingly, organized athletics. But during their preeminence, the Irving and its peers produced literature at a rate higher than the campus average for the next generation, leading commentators at the turn of the 20th century to question whether academic standards had fallen since Cornell University’s founding.
The Society's early experience tracks significant changes in American collegiate culture between 1860 and 1900. The Irving as such exhibits traits similar to secret societies such as Brown’s Franklin Society; Dartmouth’s Sphinx (senior society); and, perhaps, even Trinity College’s Episkopon. Given the varied circumstances of its history, the Irving transcends several group categories, showing elements of a literary society, a secret society, and – through its relationship to the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Cornell – a college fraternity. Cornell’s Irving Literary Society is also similar to Yale’s Elizabethan Club in that part of its mission is to extol a particular genre of activity, notably the native arts, letters and culture of New York State. Its scope of activity is more akin to Penn’s Philomathean Society, though its resources are not as great. Other comparators would include Virginia’s Washington Literary Society and Debating Union. Unlike Princeton’s American Whig-Cliosophic Society, Georgetown’s Philodemic Society, Virginia’s Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, and Columbia’s Philolexian Society, the Irving has not retained its forensic and debate missions, which it now leaves to the Cornell Debate Association, which is the heir to the Irving’s now defunct rival, the Philalethean Society. The life of the Irving has gained it notoriety outside the narrow sphere of Cornell life.
Activity
The Irving’s proceedings were held on Friday evenings at Deming Hall, on what is now the Ithaca Commons. Special events were held at the Cornell Public Library around the corner. Later in the 1880s, Andrew Dickson White donated funds to renovate large room in White Hall for the use of all the literary societies. It was called, “Association Hall†and later, "Society Hall". The first question ‘put to the house’ in 1869 was ‘Resolved, the erection of a theatre was not in the interest of promoting correct morals within the University community.†The answer was nodded in the affirmative. Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White both attended. This event was so-well regarded that the event was added to the University’s annual calendar until the event was eclipsed by the creation of Spring Break. The first oration “Aristocracy of Sex†explored the natural law-based presumption of male supremacy in American and concluded that the assumption to based solely on “the prejudice of man.†After a musical interlude came an essay on “Our Capital and the War,†recalling Washington, D.C. during the late American Civil War, including the assassination of President Lincoln. Then came an oration on “Our National Tendency,†namely the tendency of emerging nations to undergo a income a widening gap between rich and poor, and social violence that followed that widening. The delivery was forcible, the orator receiving vigorous applause. The high point of the first event was a reading from Diedrich Knickerbocker’s History of New York, by Washington Irving. The event then closed with an oration by future Judge Morris Lyons Buchwalter, “On The Poles,†or rather the extremes in moral and religious sentiment and action; the diversity of opinion which has appeared in human thought. This was analogized to new develops in the science of physics, comparing the extremes to particles of matter vibrating between the poles of a magnet. The orator noted that some favored the gloomy side of human nature, believing man totally depraved. Others, he said, dwell in the sunshine, seeing nothing but loveliness and purity. The easy grace of future Judge Buchwalter, the melody of his voice, and the sparkling thought of the oration, captivated the audience.Cornell’s first commencement speaker
During the 1869 Commencement Week, the Irving Literary Society invited Theodore Tilton of the New York Independent to speak, Wednesday evening before the Thursday graduation exercises. Society members gathered with guests again at the Cornell Public Library in downtown Ithaca. Theodore Tilton spoke on “the human mind, and how to use it.†The following day, Tilton stayed for the ceremonies as members of the Irving Literary Society spoke at Commencement. Morris Buchwalter spoke on “The Civil Sabbath Law;†Joseph Foraker spoke of “Three Hundred Lawyers;†and John Andrew Rea made “A Plea for the Artist.†Buchwalter’s comments were so inflammatory that President A.D. White took to the platform before Foraker came to the dais and distanced the Trustees from Buckwalter’s oration.thumb|250px|left|alt=Cornell's West Campus, pre-razing.| The Irving's former hall; first floor, three windows left of door.
Other early exercises
In mid-October 1869, the first regular meeting of the Irving Literary Society was called “A Feast of Reasonâ€. Festus Walters gave a well-received oration, followed by a scholarly essay. The question: — â€Resolved that Byron was not a great poet.†Thomas Wilson Spence earnestly argued the question in the affirmative; Kirk Ingram in the negative. The question being settled in the negative, Byron was placed in rank with Milton, Shakespeare, Dante, and Goethe, which according to the Cornell Era, “no doubt will cause Byron, if his love of adulation has been interred with his bones, to rest easily in his coffin. The number of visitors was unusually large, and manifested great interest in the discussion. The topic for discussion for next Friday evening, is:— ‘Resolved that class feeling and distinctions should not be encouraged in the University.’ A contest was also held between the Irving and its rival, Philalatheian, over the question “Resolved, that increased wealth is beneficial to the morals of a people.†In 1870, the Irving took up capital punishment and whether it ought to be abolished and the question, “Resolved, That ladies should be admitted to our colleges.†By the end of the second academic year, the Irving diversified activities. May 1870 saw the first extemporaneous orations, as well as miscellaneous essays such as Edgar Jayne’s “Secret Musings.†In lieu of the regular debate, the Irving also went into committee-of-the-whole on the Irish question, argument extending beyond midnight. The last event of AY 1869–1870 was a debate on the Protective Tariff. Later that year, it was resolved after debate that the tendency toward world societies was toward ‘the new Democracy.’Late Founding Era exercises
In May 1882, the Irving hosted a discussant, Professor Shackford, at Association Hall. The lecture on Transcendentalism garnered the interest of Professor Franklin Benjamin Sanborn. Woodrow Wilson also served as a discussant during this period, in 1886. Extemporaneous addresses began to resemble Toastmasters, with topics such as “How to Run A Sailboat.†Readings came from current fiction, and poetry. The Critic still gave his weekly (and scathing) reviews of recent publications; and future music critic and bibliophile, Harry Falkenau, among others, provided music. Another example of Society activity just before absorption is the debate on the question, “Resolved, that indiscriminate personal eulogies and public demonstration are unsuitable methods of rewarding great achievements.†Arguing in the affirmative was Elias Leavenworth Elliot, future inventor. In 1887, the Irving debated "Resolved, is plagiarism morally wrong?†During this period, Society leadership overlapped with the University's literary pursuits, such as the Cornell Daily Sun.After 1887
Highlights of this Irving intellectual activity following Phi Kappa Psi's maintainace of the portfolio included engagement with eminent theorists: Thorsten Veblen (discussant, 1892); Frank Heywood Hodder (discussant, 1932); Reinhold Neibuhr (discussant, 1933); Bronislaw Malinowski (discussant, 1936); F. Alan Fetter (discussant, 1902); Paul O'Leary (discussant, 1955 and 1965); Theodore J. Lowi (discussant, 1972), as well as an award-winning program of lectures, AY1987-1988, featuring critical thinkers on ethics and religion. After 1998, the Gables Speakers series has also fostered professional dialogue designed to bridge the gap between Cornell’s educational opportunities and the transition from the campus to the Board Room. These events included speakers such as the President & CEO of Hewlitt-Packard, the chief of staff to Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, the Pentagon's director of civilian reprisal investigations, and the general manager for Clear Channel's Buffalo, New York radio franchises.Cornell’s Literary Societies, 1868–1888
right|thumb|400px|The Irving is now located on Cornell West Campus|Cornell's West Campus.In 1877, the four literary societies were ranked according to seniority in the Cornell Register: Irving, Philaletheian, Adelphi and Curtis. Adelphi would soon close, Curtis taking its place on the Hill. ‘Competition’ was an early trait of literary society life at Cornell. Beginning in February 1870, the Irving and the Philaletheian held their annual contest against one another. That event has been noted as one reason the quality of debate was so high between 1869 and 1884.
Society Hall
The creation of a “Society Hall†was proposed by Andrew Dickson White with a $1,000 gift in January to be matched by $300 from the members of all the societies that would use the facilities. As for the site, Room M, North University (later called White 10) was chosen. So during the spring of 1870, Andrew Dickson White allocated a large room inside the center door of what is now called Andrew Dickson White Hall, to the right, for the use of the literary societies. The room is now called the Dean’s Seminar Room. At the time, White Hall was called “North University†and housed the engineering Department as well as the offices of Professor Goldwin Smith. ‘Society Hall’ became one the standard stops on the Cornell campus tour. Within “North University†was “Association, or Society, Hallâ€: “This is a large and beautifully furnished room used for meetings of the two chief literary societies and the Students’ Christian Association. It is carpeted, and its walls are partly wainscoted in two woods, partly tinted. On them, supported by bronze brackets, are placed nine full-length bonze statuettes executed in Paris and representing the following historic characters: Washington, Franklin, Shakespeare, Newton, Moliere, Goethe, Cervantes, Dante and Michelangelo. Interspersed between these are twenty large engravings, many of them proof impressions, depicting important scenes in the history of America and other countries. A half hour may well be devoted to their examination, since some of the imported ones are exceedingly rare in this country. Nor should the handsome desk on the president’s rostrum be neglected, noteworthy as it is for the elegance of its design and the thoroughness of its execution. All the fittings of this hall are of the most substantial kind.â€Integration
The Irving’s membership criteria before its absoption was in marked contrast to the Cornell experience after 1910, when discrimination against women, Jews and people of colour increased. The lead Cornell honorary society of the 1920s, for instance, barred women members until 1992 and then did not admit women for another decade. Though a pioneer in the field of woman’s education, Cornell’s residential policies created a de facto quota on female admissions. The Irving before its absorption, along with the Christian Association, was one of the few campus venues in which Cornell women could participate as equals with Cornell men. The early membership criteria are an example of the cyclical, rather than evolutionary, nature of gender inclusion noted by feminist theorists.The liberal and progressive terms of Cornell's 1865 Charter from New York State were implemented slowly, over a course of decades. The reality on the campus did not always meet the Charter’s expectations. Each campus institution chose its relative level of inclusivity based on its own membership criteria. Before its absorptionm the Irving Literary Society admitted women and Jews, two University populations who presence and role at the time was actively being debated by the founders, the New York General Assembly, and the University’s stakeholders within the general public. In the history of American education, the Irving is prominent in the role it played ending gender segregation and discrimination. Between the three Cornell literary societies, opinion was mixed following the admittance of women to the institution during AY 1872–1873. One faction argued for full rights of membership irrespective of gender; the other argued that ‘debate’ was lessened if women participated. The Irving and the Curtis Literary Society took the former position; Philaletheian took the latter and limited membership to men.
After absorption
By the 1890s, literary societies were declining, some survivors turning into debating clubs. When the Irving and its peers proposed, through the Cornell Era, the substitution of charades or mock trials for traditional inter-society literary activities, more conservative editors at the University of Virginia balked. The literary societies were starting to entertain activities of a less intellectual and more social nature. As such, in its last decade, the Irving operated more akin to a collegiate secret society. The transition from literary to amusing activities was noted by President Andrew Dickson White. His professional opinion was that the decline of Cornell’s undergraduate literary societies followed from the growth of Cornell’s Greek System, the decline of oratory as a valued skill in late 19th century America, and Charles Kendall Adams reforms bringing “the seminary†or seminar system to the University.thumb|250px|left|alt=Washington Irving as a young man, in coat with fur collar.|Washington Irving, inspiration for Cornell University’s Irving Literary Society.
The initial decline of the Irving and its peers was followed by a period of inactivity for about five or six years after which there was a partial revival.. The revival did not place the literary societies back in their prominent position, but it did provide an more or less lasting place for oral debate on the Hill. The source of the 1890s revival of intercollegiate literary competitions has been generally attributed to Western colleges and their challenges to the Eastern elite institutions. At Cornell, this challenge occurred as the University was establishing a professorship in elocution. Competitions followed.
“The Irvingâ€'s remain activities were assumed by the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Cornell, a college social fraternity with an interest in Cornell literary activities. A fraternity member with literary interests was assigned duties of “Dean†. Today, “The Irving†conducts periodic talks within the Phi Kappa Psi faternity house and produces a newsletter, The New York Alphan (“NYAlphanâ€), as an official record of the Chapter[Is this the newsletter of The Irving or of Phi Kappa Psi?] In other words, a co-educational literary society which drew membership from a variety of fraternities and held public sessions was "absorbed" by a male fraternity and stopped drawing members from other fraternities and conducting any public activities. Although Phi Kappa Psi's national rules prohibit honorary memberships, the fraternity instead grants honorary memberships into the Irving Literary Society to its visitors, many of whom are listed below. Since 1920, Phi Kappa Psi also has another secret "fraternity within a fraternity" called the "Order of the S.C."
In 1954, the Seal of New Amsterdam, 1654, was adopted as insignia [of whom?] on the seal’s 300th Anniversary. Members of Cornell's chapter of Phi Kappa Psi are inducted into the Irving through a secret mid-semester ceremony. Phi Kappa Psi tries to acquire furniture, arts and materials native of New York State manufactures. Recent acquisitions included Double Panels, two original art works by the artist, Aaron Raitiere and a reproduction of John Hartell's Aegean III. The New York-made furnishings include work by Harden, Manchester Wood and Gunlocke.
In August 1964, both Phi Kappa Psi and the Irving Literary Society moved back to Cornell's West Campus in quarters financed, in part, by a mortgage through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The Irving today executes the Cornell Board of Trustees’ ‘living and learning’ policy in partnership with the New York Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, as those objectives apply to Small Residences with a census under one hundred students possessed by the Priority Groups. Upon Commencement, the 1200 Irving members pursue professions and pursuits across the globe, tied to one another through the internet; literary reviews are conducted of members' works through a common deliberative site maintained by the General Secretary; meetings are held twice a year in the Ithaca valley and periodically at other venues, from time to time. Cornell's official data base of registered student organizations does not include The Irving Literary Society.
Notable members
Many of the approximately 2100 members since 1868, are notable in various fields (arranged in chronological order): {| | valign="top" |Recent literary activity by Irving members
right|thumb|250px|The Gables Great Hall, seat of the Irving on Cornell West Campus|Cornell's West CampusReferences
External links
Category:WikiProject New York
Category:Private clubs
Category:Collegiate secret societies
Category:Student debating societies
Category:Student culture
Category:Ithaca, New York
Category:Ivy League
Comments