Six Syllabi from the Early Years of American Geological Education, 1817-1838

• Published in: Journal of geoscience education Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 21 - 31
• Main Authors: Stearns, Richard G., Corgan, James X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bellingham Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.01.2010; National Association of Geoscience Teachers
• Subjects: Art galleries & museums; Beginning Teachers; Change Agents; College campuses; College presidents; College professors; College Programs; College students; Colleges & universities; Comparative Analysis; Core curriculum; Course Descriptions; Earth; Education; Educational Development; Educational Practices; Geology; Profiles; Public officials; Religion; Schools; Science Curriculum; Science Education History; Science Teachers; Stratigraphy; New York; South Carolina; Connecticut; Pennsylvania
• ISSN: 1089-9995; 2158-1428
• DOI: 10.5408/1.3559658

Between 1817 and 1838 professors at the University of Pennsylvania, South Carolina College, Yale College, and Columbia College published six syllabi for earth science courses. All stressed geology. These syllabi give unique insight into classrooms of almost 200 years ago. The greatest difference between the six syllabi involved historical geology. Some pioneer professors viewed observation as the only basis for interpreting geological history. Others viewed Biblical revelation as the dominant, or at least an important, guide to deciphering the history of Planet Earth. Eventually differing approaches to historical interpretation led to a well-documented religion-geology confrontation. It culminated in a much-publicized attempt to impeach a college president who taught an observation-based geology course. After 1832, the year of this failed impeachment, known syllabi continued to emphasize observation. By 1834 the once exonerated college president and his entire faculty were fired. By 1840 research in the Alps showed that widely distributed high altitude earth-surface sediments of mixed clastic character, generally called the Drift, are of glacial origin. This observation-based view was gradually accepted by much of the scientific community. Before 1840 some earth science teachers saw all occurrences of the Drift as clear proof that the Flood of Noah covered the entire planet, including the highest mountains. The Drift and the Noachian Flood were major themes in some science classrooms. Today, the Drift is less controversial. Evolution is the new battleground but the conflict is the same. It is an impasse between the interpretation of Biblical revelation and the interpretation of observation.