Today’s artifact documents a working link between the educational programs of the Chicago Department of Political Economy and the Department of Home Economics and Household Administration in the person of Hazel Kyrk, a pioneer in the fields of consumer and family economics. From the brief memo written by the chair of the department of political economy, L. C. Marshall, we see that Kyrk was tasked with teaching a course that would be open to seniors in the College and to entering graduate students for either home economics or economics “who have not had work in this field”. By “advanced” one presumes an accelerated introductory course perhaps covering the material of a couple of freshman level courses. Still it is interesting to see that a graduate student in 1926, completely innocent of all formal economic training, could start the graduate program of economics with (or after) only a quarter of remedial education.
I have added to this post the course listings for the year before the creation of the new course Economics 202 (The Economic Order, Advanced Course) and the following year.
For more about Hazel Kyrk: Andrea H. Beller and D. Elizabeth Kiss. “On the Contribution of Hazel Kyrk to Family Economics” (June 2008).
A chronology of her career is included on my page of Chicago economics Ph.D.’s 1894-1926.
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Carbon Copy of Memo from L.C. Marshall
May 22, [19]26
[To:] J. M. Clark, P. H. Douglas, J. A. Field, Hazel Kyrk, L. W. Mints, H. A. Millis, W. H. Spencer, C. W. Wright, Jacob Viner
[From:] L. C. Marshall
I have arranged with Miss Blunt to have Home Economics 141 dropped and to substitute for this course Economics 202, The Economic Order, Advanced Course, prerequisite 18 majors, given by Miss Hazel Kyrk.
As will be apparent from this statement Miss Kyrk’s work will serve as a one major survey of the economic order for senior college and graduate students who have had no previous work in economics. There is a considerable constituency of such persons who need this work as a preliminary to their work in Home Economics. Then, too, as time goes on we shall probably be under the necessity of offering this course once each quarter for our own senior college and first year graduate students who have not had work in this field. This latter matter, however, is one for later adjustment.
LCM:MLN
Source: University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics. Records. Box 22, Folder 7.
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General and (Some) Intermediate Course Listings
1925-26
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
A. General Survey Course
101*. Industrial Society.—Mj. Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, Professor Marshall and Others.
[*Limited-credit course: After a student has credit for 18 majors but less than 27, this course will be credited at one-half major; after he has credit for 27 majors, it will not be credited at all.]
See also Home Economics 141. The Household in Modern Industrial Society.
B. Intermediate Courses
201. Principles of Economics.—Mj. Spring, —
[…]
Source: University of Chicago. Annual Register covering the Academic Year Ending June 30, 1925, with Announcements for the Year 1925-1926. P. 146.
1926-27
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
A. General Survey Course
101. Industrial Society.—Mj. Summer, 8:00, Dr. Montgomery.
102*, 103, 104. The Economic Order I, II, III.—Mj. Autumn, Winter, and Spring, Professor Marshall and Others.
[*Limited-credit course: After a student has credit for 18 majors but less than 27, this course will be credited at one-half major; after he has credit for 27 majors, it will not be credited at all.]
B. Intermediate Courses
201. Principles of Economics.—Mj. Winter, 10:00, Mr. Palyi; Spring, —
202. Economic Order, Advanced Course.—Mj. Autumn, 1:30, Associate Professor Kyrk and Assistant Professor Mints.
[…]
Source: University of Chicago. Annual Register covering the Academic Year Ending June 30, 1926, with Announcements for the Year 1926-1927. P. 138.
1927-28
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
A. General Survey Course
102*, 103, 104. The Economic Order I, II, III.—Mj. Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, 8:00, 11:00 and 1:30, Professor Marshall and Others.
[*Limited-credit course: After a student has credit for 18 majors but less than 27, this course will be credited at one-half major; after he has credit for 27 majors, it will not be credited at all.]
See also Home Economics 141. The Household in Modern Industrial Society.
B. Intermediate Courses
201. Intermediate Economic Theory.—Mj. Autumn, Winter, Spring, 8:00, Professor Douglas, Associate Professor Sorrell, and Assistant Professor Cox
202. Economic Order.—Mj. Autumn, Winter, and Spring, 9:00, Associate Professor Kyrk and Assistant Professor Mints.
[…]
Source: University of Chicago. Annual Register covering the Academic Year Ending June 30, 1927, with Announcements for the Year 1927-1928. P. 162.
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Image Source: Photo of Hazel Kyrk from her 1918 U. S. Passport Application. National Archives. Roll 0504, 20 April 1918.