Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

By Avery

For my final paper, I will be looking at the founding of Davidson College through an examination of the Concord Presbytery’s meeting minutes from 1835 to 1843. I propose applying a similar approach to Kieran Healy’s analysis of Revolutionary America. Healy uses committee affiliations to map a network of the Revolution’s central figures. Similarly, I will use social network analysis tools to map a network of people related to the college founding via their committee affiliations, as cited in the Presbytery minutes. Here are some of the questions I’ll be trying to answer:

  1. Who were the central figures in Davidson’s founding?
  2. How was the founding of the College structured? As in, what type of committees were organized and what does that say about how the Presbytery envisioned post-secondary education and Davidson College?
  3. How did the fact that Davidson grew out of a Presbyterian group affect the College’s founding and mission?

For the second question, I will delving into some of the central figures lives and relating their ideals and experiences to the College’s original mission. I would also like to relate Davidson’s founding story to the historical trends of the Presbyterian Church’s involvement in post-secondary education in antebellum America.

I think this project will also provide insights into the structure of decision-making and communication within the Presbytery. Who are the decision-makers? How do they make decisions? This piece will also require some background research into typical Presbytery structures in the South at the time.