Writing the College: The Course Catalogue as a Medium for Institutional Memory

By Anonymous

 


This week, my focused object is the Kenyon College Catalogue (1943-1948). It is a bound collection of course announcements from the five academic years between 1943 and 1948. Each year’s course announcement provides a detailed record of the institution’s operations for that academic year, including course schedules, academic requirements, and administrative management. However, its content is not limited to these practical aspects; it also includes sections that clarify the history and educational philosophy of the college. For example, in the 1948 edition, the section titled “The College” contains the following statement: “The College is devoted exclusively to liberal education, education designed to help the student make the most extensive and rewarding use of his own mind (Catalogue 1948).” This statement emphasizes that Kenyon College, as an institution dedicated to liberal education, aims to cultivate students’ critical thinking and reflective abilities, rather than provide technical or applied professional education. By explicitly articulating its unique educational philosophy, the course catalogue serves not only as a record of courses and academic programs but also as a symbolic document that defines the institutional identity of the college. Notably, the decision to place this discussion of Kenyon’s educational mission before sections like “The Course of Study” and “Requirements for Graduation” is intentional. This structural choice helps convey to readers the image of Kenyon College as an institution with a distinctive educational style and moral ethos, while also shaping an idealized portrait of the type of students the college seeks to cultivate. As I read the catalogue, I also reflected on how its symbolic significance is now communicated to a wider audience through various digital and print media, such as official websites and printed admissions brochures. This adaptation highlights both the enduring importance of its content and the evolving forms of dissemination that allow it to reach modern readers.

Among this week’s readings, Yazdiha’s The Struggle for the People’s King stood out to me. She emphasizes that collective memory is deeply embedded in systems of power and legitimizes collective action in specific directions. As she writes: “As a cultural manifestation of systems of power, collective memories delineate boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ they teach us how to think about ourselves and one another, and they legitimize collective action in one direction over another” (Yazdiha 2023:21). Specifically, Yazdiha points out that the construction of collective memory operates through a “top-down” mechanism, in which ruling elites, state institutions, and media conglomerates play dominant roles. These institutions not only shape and maintain collective memory but also utilize this process to consolidate their institutional power (Yazdiha 2023:22). By institutionalizing dominant narratives, these institutions gain control over the selection and filtering of historical events, shaping the public’s understanding of the past and, in turn, influencing the power structures of contemporary society.

The Kenyon College course catalogue is not merely a repository of course information; it also functions as a tool for shaping and transmitting collective memory. As Yazdiha suggests, collective memory is embedded in systems of power, delineates group boundaries, and legitimizes specific collective actions. In the course catalogue’s structure, Kenyon does not simply record courses and academic requirements, it also reinforces its distinct identity as a liberal arts institution. For instance, the “The College” section in the 1948 edition explicitly states Kenyon’s commitment to critical thinking and intellectual reflection rather than professional education. This form of institutional narration not only defines Kenyon’s educational philosophy but also employs symbolic writing strategies to reinforce its identity as a college with a unique cultural and moral vision. This exemplifies what Yazdiha describes as the “top-down” process of memory construction, in which institutions select, filter, and transmit their educational traditions and values through textual media like the course catalogue. By doing so, Kenyon strengthen its institutional identity and shape how readers—whether students, faculty, or the broader public—understand and connect with it. This function of memory construction continues today in modern media, such as admissions brochures and official websites, demonstrating both the adaptability and enduring influence of the course catalogue as a medium for institutional memory.


Reference
Yazdiha, Hajar. 2023. The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

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