This post resulted from my search for biographical/career information concerning the Bryn Mawr economics Ph.D. alumna, Marion Parris. Next post will be devoted to biographical detail. This post gives us a snap-shot of the Bryn Mawr undergraduate and graduate economics programs as of 1909/10 which is just after Marion Parris’ fellowship to study at the University of Vienna.
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Economics and Politics Faculty
Charles Clarence Williamson, Ph.D., Associate in Economics and Politics.
A.B., Western Reserve University, 1904; Ph.D., Columbia University, 1907. Assistant in Economics and Graduate Student, Western Reserve University, First Semester, 1904-05; Scholar in Political Economy, University of Wisconsin, 1904-05; Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin, 1905-06; University Fellow in Political Economy, Columbia University, 1906-07; Research Assistant of the Carnegie Institution, 1905-07.
Marion Parris, A.B., Associate in Economics and Politics.
A.B., Bryn Mawr College, 1901. Graduate student, Bryn Mawr College, 1902-05. Fellow in Economics and Politics, 1905-06; Bryn Mawr College Research Fellow and Student in Economics and Politics, University of Vienna, 1906-07.
Undergraduate and Graduate Instruction in Economics and Politics.
The instruction in this department is under the direction of Dr. Charles Clarence Williamson, Associate in Economics and Politics, and Miss Marion Parris, Associate in Economics and Politics. The instruction offered by this department covers twenty-three hours of lectures and recitations a week; it includes ten hours a week of undergraduate minor and major work; two hours a week of free elective work; five hours a week of post-major work open only to graduates and to undergraduates who have completed the major course in economics and politics; and six hours a week of graduate work.
The object of the undergraduate courses in economics and politics is three-fold: first, to trace the history of economic and political thought; second, to describe the development of economic and political institutions; and third, to consider the practical economic and political questions of the day. Instruction is given by lectures. The lectures are supplemented by private reading, by oral and written quizzes, by written theses and reports, and by such special class-room exercises as the different subjects require.
First Year.
(Minor Course.)
(Given in each year.)
1st Semester.
Introduction to Economics, Miss Parris.
Five hours a week.
The objects of this course are to introduce the students to the economic problems in the modern state, to familiarise them with the main problems in economic science, and to train them to think clearly on economic subjects. The main work of the semester is the study of the nature and extent of supply, including a brief outline of economic geography, the nature and laws of demand, an introduction to the theory of wants, value and fixing of price, and the theory of economic institutions, methods of production, methods of exchange, international exchange, and transportation problems. The lectures are supplemented by a large amount of reading from standard economic authors. Numerous short papers are required and oral and written quizzes are frequently held.
2nd Semester.
Introduction to Politics, Dr. Williamson.
Five hours a week.
This is a study of the organisation and workings of American political institutions, as much use being made of historical and comparative materials as the limits of the course permit. The legislative, executive and judicial branches of the national and state governments are studied, with some attention to their origin and development, and with special reference to their efficiency and amenability to popular control. Lectures are given on the organisation and legislative methods of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the election and powers of the president, the civil service and the federal courts. A brief time is allotted to a similar study of the state governments, after which problems of municipal government, political parties, suffrage and elections are treated. Lastly, the functions of the modern state are examined with special reference to the contentions of individualism and socialism.
Second Year.
(Given in each year)
1st Semester.
Social Politics, Dr. Williamson.
Five hours a week.
The work of the preceding year is continued by a thorough study of the economic position of the working classes under the industrial regime. The rise of the problem is traced; radical and conservative programmes of reform are examined; the arguments for and against state action are discussed in connection with a concrete study of legislation in various countries designed to ameliorate the conditions of employment and to promote the economic and social well-being of the weaker classes of society. The methods of securing legal enactment, constitutional hindrances, and the difficulties of enforcing factory laws are treated with special reference to the experience of American states. The chief topics taken up are the industrial revolution and the factory system, socialism and the labor movement, labor organisations and the methods of securing industrial peace, the labor of women and children, factory inspection, employers’ liability, workmen’s insurance, and industrial education.
2nd Semester.
History of Economic Thought, Miss Parris.
Five hours a week.
The object of this course is twofold. First, to trace the development of certain of the most fundamental concepts in modern economic theory, such as the theories of value, concepts of capital and interest, rent, wages, monopoly, etc., in order to appreciate critically modern economic theory. Secondly, by relating economic thinking to the political and economic history, and to the religious and philosophical thinking of the successive historical epochs studied, to give the student a proper historical background for further study.
The students will be required to read critically portions of Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics in translation, also selections from the mediaeval canonistic writers: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Vol. I; Ricardo’s Principles of Political Economy and Taxation; Malthus’s Principles of Population; and selections from Senior’s Political Economy, John Stuart Mills’s Principles of Political Economy, and Jevons’s Political Economy. Numerous short papers, written quizzes, and one report on some specially assigned subject will be required.
Group: Economics and Politics, with History, or with Law, or with Philosophy.
Free Elective Courses.
Methods of Social Research, Miss Parris.
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1909-10 and again in 1911-12.)
The course begins with a brief account of modern institutions for social research and social reform. Various methods of social research will then be studied and reports required on special problems in social statistics, and the collection and graphical representation of material. Booth’s Life and Labour in London, Bailey’s Modern Social Conditions and Henderson’s Modern Methods of Charity will be used as text-books. The course is open only to those students who have attended the minor course in economics and politics.
Municipal Government, Dr. Williamson.
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1910-11.)
The course consists of a general survey of the more important problems of American city government. The chief topics treated are, the origin of the city, the growth of urban population, with its economic and political results, the position of the city is the state government, political parties and municipal government, municipal elections, and the municipal functions, such as police and fire protection, sanitation, and education. The policy of municipal ownership of public utilities will be examined in its various aspects. This course is open only to those students who have attended the minor course in economics and politics.
Post-major Courses.
The post major courses are designed to bridge over the interval between the ordinary undergraduate studies and graduate work. As the amount of time given to undergraduate subjects differs in different colleges graduate students frequently find it advisable to elect some of these courses.
Public Economy, Dr. Williamson.
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1908-09 and again in 1910-11.)
This course begins with a discussion of the nature of the public economy and its relation to private economics. After tracing the development of the public economy, theories of the economic activity of the modern state are examined. This is followed by a discussion of public expenditure, its growth in modern democratic societies, and its social and industrial effects. A rapid survey of the history and theories of taxation serves as an introduction to a special study of the problems of federal, state, and local taxation in the United States, comparisons being made with the leading foreign countries. Attention is also called to the nature and significance of other forms of public revenue. The course concludes with a discussion of the theory of public credit and the policy of national and local governments in regard to public debts. This course was given as a course of three hours a week in 1908-09.
Industrial Problems, Dr. Williamson.
Three hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1909-10 and again in 1911-12.)
The lectures of this course deal with certain economic problems which involve political action. Among the more important subjects taken up are the following: problems of money and banking; the commercial policy of the principal countries with special reference to the tariff situation in the United States; the rise of the transportation problem and a comparison of the methods of government control in use in various countries; industrial combinations, their development and their relation to the state. Typical combinations will be studied and the results of anti-trust legislation examined. The aim is to put before the student the significant facts of our commercial and industrial development, accompanied by an economic analysis of the problems created and a discussion of the political factors to be reckoned with in their solution.
Theoretical Sociology, Miss Parris.
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1908-09 and again in 1909-10.)
This course is designed to introduce the students to the problems of modern sociology. The first semester’s work will be a history of sociological theory. The students will read selections from Auguste Comte, Herbert Spenser, Professor Giddings, and others. In the second semester the various social problems confronting the modern state will be considered, such as the congestion of population, housing and transportation problems in American and Continental cities, immigration and race problems in America, the standard of living among various economic groups, etc.
The lectures are supplemented by written reports on specially assigned reading and by written and oral quizzes.
The History of Political Theory, Miss Parris.
Three hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1910-11.)
The object of this course is to trace the history of certain political concepts, such as the ideas of liberty, sovereignty, state, government, etc. The first semester will be devoted to ancient and mediaeval political theory. In the second semester modern political theory will be studied. The following books will be read during the year: Plato’s Republic; Aristotle’s Politics; Machiavelli’s Prince; Hobbes’ Leviathan; Locke’s Essays on Government; Rousseau’s Social Contract; Burgess’s Political Science and Constitutional Law.
Graduate Courses.
Six hours a week of seminary work and graduate lectures are offered each year to graduate students of economics and politics accompanied by the direction of private reading and original research, and the courses are varied from year to year so that they may be pursued by students through three or more consecutive years. The books needed by the graduate students are collected in the seminary library of the department. No undergraduates are admitted to graduate courses or to the seminary library, but the post-major courses of the department amounting to five hours a week may be elected by graduate students.
Economic Seminary, Dr. Williamson.
Three hours a week throughout the year.
The methods of instruction in the seminary are designed to guide advanced students in special research work along the lines indicated by the titles of the courses. Some lectures are given but the main attention is devoted to the presentation and criticism of the results of studies made by the students themselves.
In 1908-09 the seminary is devoted to a study of selected topics in the financial and industrial history of the United States.
In 1909-10 the government of American cities will be the principal subject for the work of the seminary.
In 1910-11 labor problems will be the subject for seminary study. The lectures will trace the rise of the problem, the history and functions of labor organisations, and certain aspects of labor legislation. The seminary will meet two hours a week in this year.
Seminary in the Theory of Value, Miss Parris
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1908-09.)
This course is a critical study of modern theories of value. A short historical introduction serves as a review of the principal economic theories of value in the English and German schools. The main work of the year is a study of the modern German and Austrian writers. The works of Ehrenfels, Meinong, Kraus, Kreibig, and Chuel are studied and criticised.
Seminary in Utilitarianism in Economics, Miss Parris.
Two hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1909-10 and again in 1911-12.)
The object of this course is to study the influence of utilitarian philosophy and ethics in shaping the economic theory of the English classical school. Paley, Bentham, Adam Smith, James Mill, Ricardo, Malthus, and John Stuart Mill are read critically.
Seminary in Capital and Interest, Miss Parris.
Three hours a week throughout the year.
(Given in 1910-11.)
The theories of capital of modern German, American, and Italian economists are studied and critically compared.
Economic Journal Club, Dr. Williamson and Miss Parris.
Two hours once a fortnight throughout the year.
At the meetings recent books and articles are reviewed and the results of special investigations are presented for discussion, comment, and criticism.
Source: Bryn Mawr College Calendar. Undergraduate and Graduate Courses, 1909. Vol. II, Part 3, (May, 1909), pp. 13, 130-134.