Herbert Baxter Adams Describes the Historical Seminar

Herbert Baxter Adams was a major proponent of historical studies in American colleges and universities in the formative years of the discipline on this side of the Atlantic. He emulated the German models of scholarship, including the seminar. Here is how he described the seminar in History at his home institution, Johns Hopkins University.

It is easy thus to outline a few external characteristics of the seminary, but difficult to picture its inner life. Its workings are so complex and varied that it cannot be confined within walls or restricted to a single library . . . for every member is engaged upon some branch of special research . . . prosecuted upon the economic principles of division of labor and co-operation. This co-operation appears, not merely in the interdependence of student monographs, but in every day student life. A word is passed here, a hint is given there. . . . Individual ambition is undoubtedly a strong motive in student work, but there is such a thing among students everywhere as ambition for others, call it class spirit, esprit de corps, good fellowship, or good will to men. . . . They are all pushing forward their lines of research, but all are co-operating for the advancement of American history.

The passages above are quoted from Herbert B. Adams, The Study of History in American Colleges and Universities (U.S. Bureau of Education Circular of Information No. 2, 1887). After reading this description by Dr. Adams, Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, you'd probably like to have a look at the Johns Hopkins seminar room, wouldn't you?

"Historical Seminary, Looking East," Johns Hopkins University, 1887
Legend on back wall: "History is past politics, and politics present history."

"Historical Seminary, Looking West," Johns Hopkins University, 1887
Look at these happy, collaborative, studious seminarians!

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