第15章 Brown University: In God we hope

布朗大学：我们信仰上帝

英文导读

Back to its origin

Brown University， founded in 1764 as the College of Rhode Island， is in Providence， Rhode Island. It is the third-oldest institution of higher education in New England and seventh oldest in the United States.In 1804， the University was renamed Brown University in honor of Nicholas Brown， Jr.， who contributed $5，000 toward an endowed professorship. The school boasts of being the only major research university in the nation where undergraduates design their own course of study.Brown was the first American college to accept students regardless of all religious affiliations， a testament to the spirit of openness that still typifies Brown today. Brown is the only major research university in the nation where undergraduates are the architects of their own course of study.

More information

Feature： The school is now known for its law school， engineering program (the oldest in the country)， Alpert Medical School and Watson Institute for International Studies. It has the only undergraduate History of Mathematics department in the world.Brown was also one of the first institutions to emphasize computer science as well as media studies， with its department in Modern Culture and Media， where students study film， film criticism， and critical theory.

Open curriculum： Brown University is renowned for its distinctive student body-independent， energetic， mature， responsible， and self-directed-and for its educational culture that fosters and reinforces these qualities as essential elements of their education. This special quality of Brown achieves its fullest expression in the Open Curriculum for undergraduates.The philosophy it formed was based on the principle that "the individual who is being educated is the center of the educational process." In 1850， Brown President Francis Wayland wrote： "The various courses should be so arranged that， insofar as practicable， every student might study what he chose， all that he chose， and nothing but what he chose."

生词助读

affiliation [filiein] n. 加入；附属；联系或关系

testament

[testmnt] n.

（基督教）圣约书；确实的证明；誓约

typify [tipifai] vt. 代表；作为……的典型

architect [ɑ：kitekt] n. 建筑师

criticism [kritisiz()m] n. 批评；考证

critical [kritikl] adj. 批评的；危险的；决定性的；评论的

self-directed [selfdirektid] adj. 自主的；自我指导的

中文概述

以学风"自由开放"见长的布朗大学建于1764年，是美国的老牌私立大学，也是"常春藤盟校"的成员之一，坐落在美国罗得岛州的首府普罗维登斯。1764年创建之初，它并不叫布朗大学，而是叫罗得岛学院。1804年，一个名叫尼古拉斯·布朗的人捐给罗得岛学院5000美元，以便在该学院设立一个教授席位。同年，为了纪念尼古拉斯·布朗对学院的慷慨捐赠，罗得岛学院正式改名为布朗大学。

在校学生来自全美50个州，以及世界上90多个不同的国家。布朗大学的资金资助项目每年以奖学金、助学金、贷款等形式向学生提供资助，超过50%的学生可以获得资助。

在布朗大学，"没有人告诉你该上什么课"，只要有兴趣，学生们可以自由地发展。在这里，学生都被平等对待，他们可以自主选择自己感兴趣的专业和课程。学生们没有必修课，成绩等级没有加减号，不及格的成绩不会出现在成绩单上。一个学期只需上四门课。学生们只需在四年内通过三十门功课，并且证明自己在文字表达上的能力，即可毕业。因为布朗大学的少规少矩，使其赢得了学生的热爱与衷心拥护，也被冠上了"最最自由的学校"之名。

布朗大学于1847年在所有常春藤盟校中最早成立了面向本科生的工程系，而她面向本科生的数学史系在世界上也是独一无二的。布朗同时也是最早开始重视传媒教育的高校，学生在现代文化与媒介系里能够学习电影赏析与评论等各种批评理论。布朗大学最著名的科系为生物科学、生物、心理学、历史，著名的校友在全世界各地均有相当出色的成绩。

布朗大学著名校友有：IBM总裁汤姆斯·华生，肯尼迪总统的儿子小约翰·肯尼迪，卡特总统的女儿艾美·卡特，希腊的亚历山德拉公主，《哈利波特》系列的女主角艾玛·沃特森等。

梦想成功录

He who has health， has hope， and he who has hope， everything.

身体好就有希望，有希望就有一切。

Hope is itself a species of happiness， and perhaps the chief happiness which this world affords.

希望本身就是一种幸福，也许还是这个世界提供给我们的最大幸福。