Manuscript Society
Manuscript Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.[1][2] It is reputedly the arts and letters society at Yale.[3]
| Manuscript Society | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1951 Yale University |
| Type | Senior society |
| Emphasis | Arts and letters |
| Scope | Local |
| Symbol | Sun |
| Flower | Sunflower |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Nickname | Manuscript |
| Headquarters | 344 Elm Street New Haven, Connecticut United States |
History edit
Founded in 1951, Manuscript was Yale's seventh "landed" senior society.[1][4] That is, its alumni trust owns the society's meeting place or "tomb".[5] The Manuscript Society was one of the first senior societies to offer membership to rising females at Yale College.[2]
Each delegation is selected by consensus among Manuscript alumni, trustees, delegates, and significant others, unlike other Yale societies where undergraduate members more freely select, recruit, and initiate their society's next delegation.[6]
The Wrexham Foundation is the society's alumni arm.[7] Since 1956, the foundation has underwritten the Wrexam Prize, a scholarship in the humanities for the senior who writes the best essay in the field of the humanities.[7]
Manuscript briefly played host to the 1991-92 classes of Skull and Bones, who were temporarily locked out of their tomb by alumni who objected to its undergraduates' decision to offer membership to women.[3] From its beginning the society also retained close connections with the campus literary society Chi Delta Theta, which formed in 1821[8][9]
Manuscript Society is part of a four-society "Consortium" with the Aurelian Honor Society, Book and Snake, and Berzelius.
Traditions edit
The society holds the number 344 to be sacred.[3] It supposedly holds Enlightenment ideals, and the sun and sunflowers are both important symbols to members.[10]
The society holds an annual gathering in its tomb on Halloween.[11][2] Its members also invite guests to events featuring notable alumni.[11]
Chapter house edit
Designed by King-lui Wu, Manuscript's white granite tomb was built in 1952.[1][12][13] The tomb is mid-century modern, unusual amid other societies' elaborate mid-to-late-19th century buildings.[1] It featured a circular intaglio mural in white-glazed brick that was designed by Josef Albers.[1][12] The circle, which is only visible in direct sunlight, symbolizes the bond connecting the members.[1][12]
It appears from the outside to have only one level, yet conceals several subterranean floors and a courtyard.[13] The tomb holds a collection of notable modern and contemporary art.[11] The Yale University Art Gallery is said to have temporarily stored pieces there.[3] Wu said that he designed the building "for privacy, not for secrecy."[14] Dan Kiley designed the landscaping which includes a Japanese water garden.[11][15]
Popular culture edit
Manuscript is described in the novel Joe College by Tom Perrotta as "basically the cool people's version of a secret society".[16]
Notable members edit
| Name | Class | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josef Albers | Honorary | Artist | [3] |
| Jen Banbury | 1989 | Playwright, author, and journalist | |
| Alan Bernheimer | 1970 | Poet | [3] |
| Noah Bookbinder | 1995 | Professor of law at George Washington University | [3][17] |
| Maia Brewton | 1998 | Child actress and lawyer | [3] |
| Richard H. Brodhead | 1968 | 9th President of Duke University | [3][2] |
| Cleanth Brooks | Honorary | Literary critic | [3] |
| Matthew Bruccoli | 1953 | F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar | [3] |
| David Calleo | 1955 | Intellectual historian, political economist at Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University | [3] |
| Anderson Cooper | 1989 | Journalist and news anchor with CNN | [18][1] |
| Robert A. Dahl | Honorary | Professor of political science at Yale University | [3] |
| Eli Whitney Debevoise II | 1974 | U.S. Director of the World Bank | [3] |
| Charles Derber | 1965 | Professor of sociology and social critic | [3] |
| Juan Negrín Fetter | 1967 | Director of Wixarika Research Center | [3][19] |
| Robert Fiore | 1964 | Film producer and director | [3] |
| Jodie Foster | 1985 | Director and Academy Award winning actress | [3][1][4] |
| Henry Geldzahler | 1957 | Art historian and curator | [3] |
| Tamar Gendler | 1987 | Professor, chair of the Yale University department of philosophy | [3] |
| David Gergen | 1963 | Presidential advisor and political commentator | [3][18] |
| Robert Glick | 1962 | Director of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research | [3] |
| Cyrus Hamlin | Honorary | Literary critic and longtime Yale professor | [3] |
| E. D. Hirsch, Jr. | Honorary | Literary critic and proponent of cultural literacy | [3] |
| H. John Heinz III | 1960 | U.S. Senator | |
| Cheryl Henson | 1984 | Puppeteer and president of the Jim Henson Foundation | [3] |
| Rodger Kamenetz | 1970 | Professor and certified dream therapist | [3] |
| Zoe Kazan | 2005 | Actor and playwright | [20] |
| Byron Kim | 1983 | Minimalist artist | [3] |
| Anthony Lapham | 1958 | CIA top lawyer in the 1970s | [3][21] |
| Brooke Lyons | 2003 | Actor | |
| Jane Maienschein | 1972 | Director of the Center for Biology and Society, at Arizona State University | [3] |
| Richard Maltby, Jr. | 1959 | Tony Award-winning director | [3] |
| Patrick McCaughey | Honorary | Former director of the Yale Center for British Art | [3][22] |
| Ved Mehta | Honorary | Author and advocate for the blind | [3] |
| Ted Morgan | 1954 | Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist | [3] |
| Wallace Notestein | Honorary | Sterling Professor of English History at Yale | [3] |
| Soni Oyekan | 1970 | Chemical engineer and inventor | [3] |
| Michael Pertschuk | 1954 | Consumer advocate, author and former government official | [3] |
| Scott Peterson | 1988 | Author and journalist | [3] |
| James Prosek | 1997 | Author and naturalist | [3][23] |
| Dale Purves | 1960 | Neuroscientist, director of Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders at Duke | [3] |
| Richard Rhodes | 1959 | Pulitzer Prize-winning author | [3] |
| Duncan Robinson | Honorary | Master of Magdalene College and Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum | [3] |
| Richard Selzer | Honorary | Surgeon, author, and professor of surgery at Yale | [3] |
| William Kelly Simpson | Honorary | Art historian and head of college of Timothy Dwight College | [3] |
| Steven Smith | Honorary | Political scientist and head of college of Branford College | [3] |
| Paul Steiger | 1964 | Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica, former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal | [3] |
| Robert Storr | Honorary | Curator, critic, painter, and writer. | |
| Robert Farris Thompson | Honorary | Art historian and master of Timothy Dwight College | [3] |
| Rosanna Warren | 1976 | Poet and scholar | [3] |
| Elisabeth Waterston | 1999 | Actor | [3][24] |
| Stephen F. Williams | 1958 | Senior Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | [3] |
| Jonathan Zittrain | 1991 | Professor of Internet Law at Harvard University | [3] |
| Karl Zinsmeister | 1981 | Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under George W. Bush | [3] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h Khederian, Robert (2018-06-21). "Tomb raiders: The clubhouses of Yale's secret societies". Curbed. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c d Austin, Charlotte (2012-01-03). "Inside Yale's Secret Societies". The Harvard Voice. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay Parks, Steven; Cooper, Henry S. F. Jr.; Wallace, Thomas C., eds. (2002). Manuscript Society (1953-2002). New Haven, CT: Phoenix Press.
- ^ a b "Yale Has More Secret Societies Than You Realize. Here's The History". Grunge. 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Branch, Mark Alden (July 2014). "Open secrets". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ "Tombs & Taps" section of online Magazine 2006-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2010
- ^ a b "Wrexham Prize (1992) | Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life". secretary.yale.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Yale Extracurricular and Social Organizations publication, retrieved 26 March 2012
- ^ Havemeyer, Loomis (January 1961). Yale's Extracurricular & Social Organizations, 1780-1960. Yale University. via EilScholar, accessed 21 Aug 2021.
- ^ Havemeyer, Loomis. (1960). "Go to your room"; a story of undergraduate societies and fraternities at Yale. New Haven: Yale.
- ^ a b c d "Yale's secret social fabric". Yale Daily News. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b c "Homage to the circle". Yale Alumni Magazine. September 2011. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ a b "Manuscript Tomb Mural (1962) by Josef Albers and King-lui Wu". Secret Images. 2019-09-08. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ "Ingenious Use of a Narrow Site". Architectural Record, November 1965.
- ^ "Manuscript Society House". Hidden Architecture. 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ Perrotta, Tom (2006-09-19). Joe College. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4299-0780-4 – via Google Books.
- ^ Listing in the George Washington Univ. Law School Directory Archived 2012-08-05 at archive.today, retrieved 26 March 2012
- ^ a b Wenzel, R. Economic Policy Journal. "Doing a background check on CNN" (26 December 2011), retrieved on 26 March 2012
- ^ Biographical Sketch of Juan Negrin, retrieved 22 March 2012
- ^ Tucci, Joseph (December 6, 2022). "'She Said' star Zoe Kazan got her acting degree and wrote a play at Yale". CT Insider. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (15 November 2006). "Anthony A. Lapham, 70, Former C.I.A. Lawyer, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ (PDF). www.yale.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Hodara, S. The New York Times, "Interpreting a Blueprint for Birds". (Arts and Entertainment, 01/13/2008), retrieved 26 March 2012
- ^ Elisabeth Waterston bio 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 26 March 2012
Sources edit
- Robbins, Alexandra. Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. (Back Bay Books: 2003). ISBN 0-316-73561-2
External links edit
- Drawing of the Manuscript Society House, Yale University Library