Literary society 2407294 202525344 2008-04-01T12:14:51Z Bogger 1721700 /* College literary societies today */ L&H A '''literary society''' is a group of people interested in [[literature]]. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one [[genre]] of literature or a specific [[writer]]. Modern literary societies typically promote [[research]] about their chosen author or genre, publish [[newsletter]]s, and hold [[meeting]]s where research findings can be presented and discussed. Some are more [[academic]] and [[scholarly]], while others are more social groups of [[amateur]]s who appreciate a chance to discuss their favourite writer with other hobbyists. Historically, literary society has also referred to [[Salon (gathering)|salon]]s such as those of [[Madame de Stael]], [[Madame Geoffrin]] and [[Madame de Tencin]] in pre-[[French Revolution|Revolutionary]] [[France]], and student groups at [[college]]s and [[university|universities]] in the [[United States]]. ==Modern literary societies== Modern examples of literary societies include: * in the United States, the [[Philomathean Society]], the [[Peucinian Society]], the [[Demosthenian Literary Society]], the [[Phi Kappa Literary Society]], and the [[Jefferson Society]] * in France, [[Parnassian poets]] and [[La Pléiade]] * in [[Germany]], the [[Tunnel über der Spree]], the [[Georgekreis]] and the [[Group 47]]. ==Literary societies in American colleges== A usage of the term peculiar to the United States refers to the societies organized at colleges and universities.<ref name="AmericanCollege">''College Literary Societies: Their Contribution to Higher Education in the United States'', 1815-1876 by Thomas S. Harding </ref> In the period from the late [[eighteenth century]] to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. In a typical setting, a college would have two competing societies, often but not always with [[Latin (language)|Latin]] names. Some examples include the [[Peucinian Society]] at [[Bowdoin College]], [[Dartmouth College Greek organizations#History|Social Friends]], [[Dartmouth College Greek organizations#History|United Fraternity]] at [[Dartmouth College]], [[Cleo of Alpha Chi]] literary society at [[Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College]], the [[Philorhetorian]] and [[Peithologian]] societies at [[Wesleyan University]], the [[Philologian]] and [[Philotechnian]] societies at [[Williams College]], the [[Philomathean]] and Zelosophic societies at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], the [[Philolexian]] and [[Peithologian]] societies at [[Columbia University]], the [[Clariosophic Society|Clariosophic]] and [[Euphradian Society|Euphradian]] societies at the [[University of South Carolina]], the [[Demosthenian]] and [[Phi Kappa]] societies at the [[University of Georgia]], the [[Linonia]] and [[Brothers in Unity]] at [[Yale University]] and [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies]] at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]. Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. In some cases, intense [[recruitment]] battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. Having two societies on a campus encouraged [[competition]], and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a [[debate]], but could also include [[oratory|speeches]], [[poetry]] readings, and other literary work. Topics could include [[Classical antiquity|Classical history]], [[religion]], [[ethics]], [[politics]], and [[current events]]. Controversial topics not covered in the official [[curriculum]] were often the most popular. Studies have been done, for example, finding an increasing discussion of [[slavery]] at literary society meetings through the 1850's. In the 1830's and 1840's, students began to organize private literary societies for smaller groups, and these more intimate associations quickly developed into wholly [[secret societies|secret associations]]. These groups are the earliest college [[fraternities and sororities|fraternities]]. [[Kappa Alpha]], [[Sigma Phi]], [[Delta Phi]], [[Mystical 7]], [[Alpha Delta Phi]], [[Psi Upsilon]], and [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]], in fact, virtually all the pre-Civil War college fraternities were either first organized as literary societies or derived from factions split off of literary societies. These new organizations held meetings and were organized on identical lines to the large literary societies. Soon, the existence of these smaller private [[Greek (language)|Greek]] letter organizations undermined the large Latin literary societies. Competition from [[Sport|athletics]] and other entertainments also took a toll, so that many dissolved or existed in name only by the 1880's. A literary society almost always provided its members with an extensive [[library]], either available to members only, or to the campus at large. When the societies dissolved, their libraries were transferred to the college libraries, and in many colleges the acquisition of the literary societies' libraries was a significant change in their collection, usually broadening the colleges libraries' scope into popular literature, but often also adding important and rare works. For convenience, the large literary societies are often called '''Latin literary societies''' because they typically had Latinate names, while the smaller [[secret societies]] are called Greek letter societies. This rule is not absolutely uniform, however; [[Phi Phi Society]] at [[Kenyon]] and the [[Phi Kappa]] at [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] are examples of large literary societies with Greek names. The [[Clariosophic Society|Clariosophic]] and [[Euphradian Society|Euphradian]] societies at the [[University of South Carolina|South Carolina]] both had Greek letter aliases, Mu Sigma Phi and Phi Alpha Epsilon, respectively, which appeared on their seals, but which were not used in normal conversation or writing. ==College literary societies today== The three oldest literary societies extant in the United States are the [[American Whig-Cliosophic Society]], formed from the Whig (1769) and Cliosophic (1765) Societies of [[Princeton University]], the [[Peucinian Society]] (1805) of [[Bowdoin College]], and the [[Union-Philanthropic Society]], formed from the Union (1789) and Philanthropic (1805, 1807) Societies of [[Hampden-Sydney College]]. The [[Philomathean Society]] (1813) of the [[University of Pennsylvania]] is the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States. The [[University of Georgia]] hosts two literary societies (both of which were temporarily disbanded during the Civil War and the subsequent Union occupation): the [[Demosthenian Literary Society]], founded in 1803, and the [[Phi Kappa Literary Society]], founded in 1820 and dormant from the 1970s until its official re-establishment in 1991. Similarly, the [[Philolexian Society]] of [[Columbia University]], established in 1802, operated more or less continuously until the early 1950s when it sputtered out and, except for a brief revival in the early 1960s, was not revived until 1985. Some early college social fraternities still meet in a literary society format, including Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi, and Mystical 7. [[Illinois College]] in [[Jacksonville, Illinois]] is home to seven literary societies including, [[Phi Alpha Literary Society]] and [[Sigma Pi Literary Society]]. The [[Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)|Literary and Historical Society]] of [[University College Dublin]], [[Ireland]], lists [[James Joyce]] as as former member. ==Notes== <div class="references-small"> <references /> ==Bibliography== *Morton, Clay, 2006. "South of 'Typographic America': Orality, Literacy, and Nineteenth-Century Rhetorical Education," ''South Atlantic Review'' 71.4. </div> [[Category:Literary societies| ]] [[de:Literarische Gesellschaft]] [[fr:Réunion littéraire]]