Pedagogues & Protesters is an edited edition of the journal kept by Stephen Peabody, a student of Harvard’s class of 1769, documenting the college year of 1767–1768. Written as daily entries, Peabody’s diary provides a fascinating first-person account of colonial college life, capturing academic routines, student–faculty dynamics, and social mores of the era. A key highlight is the April 4, 1768 student strike—one of the earliest recorded academic protests in colonial America—when over half the student body walked out in dissent over new academic regulations.
Editor Conrad Edick Wright enriches the publication with a comprehensive introduction and detailed annotations that contextualize the journal’s entries. These notes illuminate unfamiliar references and explain the broader historical and institutional context of mid‑18th‑century Harvard. The result is more than a historical diary; it becomes a vivid narrative offering insights into interpersonal relationships, student activism, and daily life in early American academia. Academics and general readers alike can engage with the world-building detail—what students ate, how they studied, whom they socialized with—inviting a deeper understanding of how Harvard functioned nearly three centuries ago.
