VIDEO: Judging the Book by Its Cover

University Honors students at the University of Cincinnati are making plans to celebrate a birthday as part of their coursework over winter quarter. They’ll wrap up their classroom experience on March 12 with a formal British tea at The BonBonerie Tea Room in Cincinnati, bearing gifts to celebrate the influence of William Morris – gifts that the students think the founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain would find useful in the modern age. Their celebration is just a bit short of Morris’ actual birthday. He was born on March 24, 1834.

It won’t be the first field trip for the 15 University Honors students taking the UC course, “William Morris and His World,” co-taught by Jane Carlin, head of the Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) Library, and Cindy Damschroder, UC adjunct associate professor of art history. The students traveled to the Cincinnati Art Museum for a look at the Arts & Crafts Movement in the United States and Cincinnati. They took a shorter trip to UC’s Archives and Rare Books Library, as Library Head Kevin Grace, a member of the William Morris Society, showed the students UC’s collection of William Morris first editions and discussed how Morris continues to influence book design in the 21st century.

During their Jan. 30 class, the students used scissors and paper to take part in a book design workshop with Cincinnati book artist Diane Stemper. They were learning the most basic elements of book design and construction. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the course’s interactivity,” says graphic design senior Jessica Lennard.

“Now that I’ve had the chance to experience this course, the way I view books has completely changed,” says chemical engineering major Tyler Tenkku, a senior from Perry, Ohio. “A book can be a real piece of art.”

“The class was designed as an active learning experience,” Carlin says, as students explored whether Morris’ emphasis on “beautiful and useful” still is reflected in modern society. Carlin says many members of the UC academic community have contributed their expertise to the course, including UC Architecture Professor Jerry Larson.

As the Industrial Revolution swept through Great Britain, Morris became one of the world’s most influential designers whose work was the basis of the Arts & Crafts Movement in Great Britain during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. This English movement in applied art, and indirectly in architecture, emphasized the importance of craftsmanship and high standards of design for everyday objects.

The UC/William Morris collection, housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library, includes poetry, Icelandic tales and classic literature published by Morris. Grace says the collection continues to grow with demand – studied by students and scholars of art history, English and political science.

UC’s University Honors Program engages the top ten percent of UC’s students with unique learning experiences around four key themes: research and creative arts, community engagement, global studies and leadership. More than 1,800 students from every undergraduate college on campus take part in the University Honors Program. To graduate from the University Honors Program, students participate in first-year experience (FYE) courses and programming, complete University Honors seminars and experiential learning projects, and hold a required grade point average to graduate as either a Distinguished University Honors Scholar (3.75 GPA) or a University Honors Scholar (3.4 GPA).

Honors classes hold a diversity of majors. Students in the William Morris course are majoring in psychology, engineering, theater and lighting design and journalism, among other majors.

Carlin says she developed the course as part of an academic leave project that focused on art and design publishing. She spent five weeks in Britain last summer researching Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement.

“In this digital age, this course provides us with an opportunity to reflect on books not only as printed text but also as tangible art objects,” Carlin says. “It was a great opportunity to showcase the extensive collections of University Libraries, not only for our fine-press books, but also for our many artists’ books.”

“As a designer, I was interested in learning more about the Arts & Crafts Movement and the role it plays on influencing design today,” says Lennard. “Many of the ideas and goals of the Arts & Crafts artists are still applicable, such as a desire for useful products with high-quality craftsmanship,” she says, also noting that she learned that Cincinnati played a significant role in the American Arts & Crafts Movement through furniture and Rookwood pottery design.

“William Morris is the anti-industrial designer,” says David DeWitt, a UC junior from Kenwood, Ohio. “The criticism of modern design, and I’d have to agree, is that it has no soul. The Arts & Crafts Movement is about making products by hand. It’s about being intimately involved with the production process from start to finish,” says DeWitt.

Students will take another field trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum on Feb. 13 for a presentation on the decorative arts in Cincinnati. Last fall, UC announced a partnership with the Cincinnati Art Museum to encourage greater use of its collections by UC faculty and staff. The William Morris Honors course is one example of how the partnership is opening the sharing of resources and guest lectures between the two institutions.

The class also will explore the social and political world of Morris, who was a socialist, in respect to workers’ rights and the Industrial Revolution.  Course assignments include the writing of essays reflecting on Morris’ influence, as well as class presentations.

University Honors Program