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Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Exam questions for principles of sociology. Carver, 1907-1908

Thomas Nixon Carver was back at the lectern in 1907-08 following his European sabbatical year. His teaching portfolio was pretty broad and it included the field of sociology which had not yet escaped the gravitational pull of the economics department.  

One presumes the course text was Thomas Nixon Carver’s book of course readings (over 800 pages!): Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology. Boston: Ginn & Company, 1905.

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Sociology exams from earlier years.

1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)

1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field)

1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)

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Course Enrollment
1907-08

Economics 3. Professor Carver. — Principles of Sociology. Theories of Social Progress.

Total 49: 8 Graduates, 12 Seniors, 17 Juniors, 10 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1907-1908, p. 66.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 3
Mid-year Examination, 1907-08

  1. Discuss the relation of sociology to economics.
  2. Describe the development of ancestor worship according to Spencer, and show the influence of a system of ancestor worship upon political organization.
  3. What does Spencer mean by “industrialism”?
  4. Can education effect any progressive improvement in the innate physical and mental capacities of a race?
  5. Explain the term “eugenics,” and discuss the obstacles to the practical application of eugenic principles.
  6. How does Kidd define religion? What is the function of religion thus defined?
  7. Explain and criticise Stuckenberg’s theory of “Sociation.”
  8. In what sense can interests be said to be harmonious, and in what sense are they antagonistic?
  9. What is meant by “consciousness of kind,” and how is it related to sympathy?
  10. Discuss the question, Is work a blessing?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Year 1907-08.

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ECONOMICS 3
Year-end Examination, 1907-08

  1. Comment upon the following passage: “Every great historical epoch and every variety of social organization must be explained on the basis of factors and forces now at work, and which the student may study at first hand.”
  2. Can you, consistently with modern evolutionary philosophy, define social progress in terms of well-being? Explain.
  3. Comment upon the following passage:—
    “So that as law differentiates from personal commands, and as morality differentiates from religious in junctions, so politeness differentiates from ceremonial observance. To which I may add, so does rational usage differentiate from fashion.”
  4. Comment upon the following passage: “The fundamental fact in history is the law of decreasing returns.”
  5. Compare Gidding’s conception of the “ultimate social fact” with that of Adam Smith.
  6. Describe some of the agencies for the storing of social energy.
  7. What is meant by “animated moderation” and how is it developed.
  8. Compare the mediaeval prince and the modern political boss.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1908), p. 29.

Image Source: Thomas Nixon Carver. The World’s Work. Vol. XXVI (May-October 1913) p. 127. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.