Espionage at I-House

JBStillFlying
Fri, 01 Nov 2019 20:20:37 +0000

The idea once upon a time that an education at the University of Chicago was somehow distinct from elite institutions elsewhere and - amazingly - as accessible to “non-elites” as it was to the privileged classes was likely as outré back then as it is generally forgotten or ignored these days. It does take a certain amount of confidence to declare that facet to be a “good” elevated above the corruptive power of everyday hum-drum life. As if truth and knowledge have eternal properties. Yes, that was quite a different sentiment from what we hear nowadays.

Indeed, Hutchins sounds like a preacher in that quote upthread - and that is no surprise. Hutchins was a preacher’s son, brought up and educated at Oberlin (where his own father was an instructor) before heading off to WWI and then Yale. Per Wiki, Oberlin had quite the impact on young Hutchins; in those days, it was “a small community dedicated to evangelical ideals of righteousness and hard work.” Oberlin’s founding, early history and heritage is another thing forgotten by many these days.