A book of course readings for Thomas Nixon Carver’s principles of sociology was published about one year later: Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology. Boston: Ginn & Company, 1905.
A linked reading list for the course taught jointly by Carver and Ripley from 1902-03 has been posted earlier along with a course description and semester examination questions.
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ECONOMICS 3
Enrollment, 1903-04
Economics 3. Professor Carver. — Principles of Sociology — Theories of Social Progress.
Total 61: 8 Graduates, 19 Seniors, 20 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 11 Others.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1903-1904, p. 66.
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ECONOMICS 3
Mid-Year Examination, 1903-04
- What does Spencer mean by Super-organic Evolution?
- Explain the distinction between active and passive adaptation.
- What are the reasons for and against regarding society as an organism?
- In what sense are human interests antagonistic, and in what sense are they harmonious?
- How is the increase of population limited, and how does the density of population affect social development?
- What are the reasons for and against adopting the conception of the social mind?
- Contrast Spencer’s militant and industrial types of society; also Patten’s pain and pleasure economy.
- What is meant by the “power of idealization,” and how does it affect the process of adaptation?
Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year examinations 1852-1943. Box 7, Bound volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1903-04.
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ECONOMICS 3
Year-End Examination, 1903-04
- Explain Spencer’s distinction between the militant and the industrial types of society.
- How would you define progress? Defend your definition.
- How does the density of population affect the organization of society?
- How does Gidding’s ultimate social fact compare with Adam Smith’s theory of sympathy as the basis of the moral sentiments?
- What, according to Bagehot, are the principal uses of conflict?
- Explain Kidd’s view as to the place of religion in social progress. What do you think of his position?
- What are the leading theories as to the basis on which wealth ought to be distributed, and what are the claims of each?
- What is meant by the storing of social energy, and what are the principal means by which it can be accomplished?
Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 7, Bound volume: Examination Papers, 1904-05; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, … in Harvard College, June 1904, pp. 27-28.