Chautauqua

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Chautauqua [ ʃəˈtɔːkwə ] was an adult education movement in rural areas of the United States from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. As a form of discourse, the Chautauqua combined entertaining as well as educational elements in an interlaced form, which should also cover the aesthetic demands of the readership and motivate them to participate.

The Chautauqua Institution , founded in Chautauqua County (New York) in 1874, still exists today and organizes teaching programs and events in the fields of art, education, religion and recreation every summer on its own approximately 3 km² park on Chautauqua Lake .

Emergence

In 1874 the Institute Chautauqua was founded by the Methodist pastor and later Bishop John Heyl Vincent and the entrepreneur Lewis Miller on a small lake about 25 km northwest of Jamestown (New York) and about 20 km southeast of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County (New York) founded. Lake Chautauqua gave this model and the following movement its name. At that time, the consequences of the American Civil War were still being felt; many people moved west because of the fabulous gold deposits and only 3% of all American children made it through high school . Chautauqua was initially designed as a summer school for Methodist Sunday School teachers, but the subjects and areas of study were quickly expanded. In addition to education, there was a well-thought-out leisure program in Chautauqua, which was aimed at recreation.

In 1878 Vincent developed a 4-year program, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC). In the first hour, 200 interested parties signed up. More than 8,400 people took part in the reading circles. Enrollments rose to 100,000 within 10 years.

In 1883 the Chautauqua University opened its doors with the right to award degrees. The Chautauquas was the first institution in the US to issue distance learning diplomas.

The aim of Chautauqua was to spread education and culture in order to create a mature " world citizenship ". President Theodore Roosevelt described the events as "the most American thing in America".

distribution

Starting from Chautauqua New York, independent Chautauquas were founded all over the USA, which were not related to the original, but carried the idea on. In this way, Americans in particular were able to gain knowledge and enjoy culture in rural, remote areas. In 1890 the number of “independents”, as they were also called, had already reached 200.

The tent chautauquas were founded in 1868 . They benefited from the enthusiasm of the original Chautauqua, but were actually closer to the Lyceum post-civil war initiative . The purpose of the original Lyceum movement was self and community improvement through lectures and discussions in literary, scientific and moral fields. The 3- to 7-day events of the wandering tent chautauquas consisted of lectures, theater and opera performances, film screenings and discussions on political, social and cultural topics of the day.

By 1898, more than 150 permanent chautauquas were built as summer camps with assembly and social buildings made of wood. The Chautauqua movement experienced its golden age between 1905 and 1928. At the height of its development, around 1000 permanent and more than 10,000 wandering Chautauquas were created. After Boulder, Colorado , where in 1899 the largest Chautauqua center had been set up, each season pilgrimage approximately 100,000 people. In Pacific Palisades , west of Los Angeles , a large Chautauqua community emerged in the early 1920s and was to become the western center of the movement within the United States. However, the community was unable to gain a foothold in the long term.

Aftermath

By 1932, almost all hiking chautauquas had disappeared. Radio, film and television as well as increasing mobility contributed significantly to this.

In 1974 Robert M. Pirsig published the novel Zen and the Art of Maintaining a Motorbike, which was partly based on his own experiences and philosophical thoughts , in which he practiced his inner confrontation with the past, experiences and during a motorcycle overland trip with the son on the pillion Terms always referred to as Chautauqua .

In 1999, for the 100th birthday of Chautauqua, who once lived there, the “1. International Dialogue ”, which should revive the tradition. Various dialogue processes for organizational development, education and conflict resolution were presented and discussed.

Chautauqua in the film

In his penultimate feature film from 1969, The Trouble with Girls , Elvis Presley plays the manager of a Chautauqua troupe. The film episodically describes life in and around the Chautauqua during a stay in a small town in the US state of Iowa in 1927.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Francis Nenik / Sebastian Stumpf: Seven Palms. The Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles . Spector Books, Leipzig 2018, ISBN 978-3-95905-180-4 , pp. 59 .