Arts, Letters, Society

Book excerpt: "No Arts; No Letters; No Society; and which is worst of all, ... the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."—Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) The University of Liverpool pioneered the system, now general among British universities, whereby departments of related disciplines are grouped into "Faculties" with administrative and academic responsibilities and powers. The first Faculty at Liverpool with these commitments was the Arts Faculty, whose initial meeting was held in December 1896. Commemoration of the centenary of the Arts Faculty was marked by the publication of this volume. The book contains reminiscences by former students relating to each decade of the century, and also the reminiscences of a number of former Deans. Essays "informative and critical" have been contributed by recent and present members of staff. They include an account of the buildings occupied by – and in some instances designed for – the Faculty of Arts; a 1950s dialogue by the late Kenneth Muir, the distinguished Shakespeare scholar; and a study of J. M. Mackay, the Highlander who in the 1890s was the prime advocate of a Faculty system. The volume concludes with an essay by Professor Stephen R. L. Clark analyzing the position of Arts today and pointing to the future.