American college literary societies
There was a specialized form of the literary society which existed at American colleges and universities in the 19th century. The college literary societies were a part of virtually all academic institutions. Usually they existed in pairs at a particular campus, and would compete for members and prestige, and supplemented the classical studies of the curriculum with modern literature and current events. Many also maintained significant libraries, which often rivaled or surpassed the college library. When they disbanded, the libraries were typically given to the college. Even today, the oldest books in the early American colleges often bear the bookplate of a literary society.
These are Latin-named and -themed organizations whose purposes vary from society to society. Activities include but are not limited to: The weekly presentation of papers written by society members, and a debate on its merits; Readings of members work and others', followed by discussion; literary Productions, which are practices in oratory skill; intramural sports teams; service events; and social gatherings. Meetings were often ended with snacks, such as peanuts or sardines. Singing and music also played a role in society life as musical instruments became more available. There are seven active literary societies at Illinois College. It is from the collegiate literary societies with Latin names that the earliest Greek organizations sprung. As an example, Beta Theta Pi fraternity was started by 8 students of the Union Literary Society at Miami University in 1839. Many early Greek chapters were started as a result of schism in the Latin societies. The Greek chapters were smaller, numbering from 8 to 15 at any given time. These were more intimate groups as compared to the societies. Confidences could be shared, promoting a certain amount of secrecy, which became an early hallmark of a Greek chapter. And as the Greek organizations grew, the literary societies declined. Some vestiges remain, but for the most part society life ended in the early twentieth century.
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the language and literature component. Common German names for the field are Germanistik, Deutsche Philologie, and Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft und Literaturwissenschaft. In English, the terms Germanistics or Germanics are sometimes used, but the subject is more often referred to as German studies, German language and literature, or German philology.
The Mexican Academy of Sciences(Academia Mexicana de Ciencias) is a non-profit organization comprising over 1800 distinguished Mexican scientists, attached to various institutions in the country, as well as a number of eminent foreign colleagues, including various Nobel Prize winners. The organization, which encompasses exact and natural sciences as well as the social sciences and humanities, is founded on the belief that education, based on the truth of scientific knowledge, is the only means, in the short and long term, of achieving the development of the Mexican spirit and national sovereignty.
Wilhelm Genazino was a German journalist and author. He worked first as a journalist for the satirical magazine pardon and for Lesezeichen. From the early 1970s, he was a freelance writer who became known by a trilogy of novels, Abschaffel-Trilogie, completed in 1979. It was followed by more novels and two plays. Among his many awards is the prestigious Georg Büchner Prize.
Antonio Alatorre Vergara was a Mexican writer, philologist and translator, famous due to his influential academic essays about Spanish literature, and because of his book Los 1001 años de la lengua española.
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Rudolf Doehn was a German writer and journalist. He belonged to the Forty-Eighters who participated in the American Civil War as volunteers in the Union Army. Here, he became also known as Randolph Doehn.
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José Luis Martínez Rodríguez was a Mexican academic, diplomat, essayist, historian, bibliographer and editor. He was the director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica from 1977 to 1982 and professor of literature with the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Maria Blanca de Lizaur Guerra, commonly known as Blanca de Lizaur, is a writer and researcher specialized in cultural studies, communications and literature. She was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to Spanish parents.
Laureana Wright de Kleinhans, or simply known as Laurena was a Mexican writer and feminist pioneer. Her writings on the role of women, were revolutionary for her time. Her magazine, Violets of Anahuac in 1887, changed the paradigm by promoting as the core ideology of the magazine, the feminine ideal of a cultured, educated wife and mother. The publication promoted female education and insisted that the intellectual equality between men and women was the means of emancipation. She was one of the first feminist theorists in Mexico, asking women to question their role in society and the conditions in which they lived. She covered topics such as education, women's suffrage and legal equality between men and women. She wrote patriotic poetry and served as the vice president of the Spiritualist Society of Mexico, which she joined because one of its principles held that men and women were of equal intelligence.
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Briceida Cuevas, also known as Briceida Cuevas Cob is a Mayan poet. She writes poems about everyday life in Yucatec Maya, many of which have been translated into Spanish, French and English. She is a member of Escritores en Lenguas Indigenas A.C., and a corresponding member of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua.
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Hartwig Karl Friedrich Eggers was a German art historian. He was a member of the literary groups Tunnel über der Spree and Rütli.
Nicolai Riedel is a German philologist, author and an editor. Riedel worked for a long time as a research fellow in the library of the German Literature Archive in Marbach am Neckar. In addition, he is the author and editor of numerous bibliographical publications. These include works on Uwe Johnson, Ernst Jünger and Günter Kunert.
