Stanford Digital Repository

Towards a More Enlightened University: The Opening Up of Stanford University in the 1960s

Placeholder Show Content

Abstract/Contents

Abstract
This thesis traces Stanford’s transition from a conservative and apathetic student body in the 50s and early 60s, to a progressive, activist and liberal campus by the end of the 60s and onward. There were internal events, decisions, and people who contributed to not simply a shift towards greater activism and involvement in national policies (as can be said of other universities) but a shift towards a more progressive university. Through its change in admissions and efforts to become a premiere institution and not just a “country club,” Stanford shaped a student body that was more willing to speak their minds and more likely to do something about instances of injustice than any other generation of Stanford students. The rise in political involvement and activism among the student body occurred at the same time that university prestige and academic standing kept rising. Internal changes within the university, combined with the influence of external events, led to tensions not felt previously among students, faculty and administrators. This thesis provides a lens into student activism and the university’s political and social metamorphosis. It does so by filling in the historical memory of the times and determining the role of the administrators, faculty and students in changing Stanford and by researching what cultural (social, political, academic) changes Stanford underwent during the decade that contributed to its activist and academic ascension by the late 60s. Stanford’s dramatic changes during the 60s and its contributions to the movement culture and the university institution have been analyzed in this thesis to prove that Stanford deserves a place in the history books alongside schools such as UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, or MIT.

Description

Type of resource text
Date created May 2017

Creators/Contributors

Author Westhem, Ashley
Primary advisor Turner, Fred
Degree granting institution Stanford University, Department of Communication and Journalism

Subjects

Subject Department of Communication
Subject activism
Subject 1960s
Subject the sixties
Subject student protest
Subject Stanford University
Subject counterculture
Subject progressive
Subject movements
Subject political activism
Subject social activism
Subject David Harris
Subject Freedom Summer
Subject academic freedom
Subject Allard Lowenstein
Subject Cold War University
Subject Armin Rosencranz
Subject Vietnam War
Subject Free Speech Movement
Subject Stanford Research Institute
Subject Grove House
Subject LSD
Subject ASSU
Subject Wallace Sterling
Subject Mark Mancall
Subject Board of Trustees
Subject Stern Hall
Subject in loco parentis
Genre Thesis

Bibliographic information

Location https://purl.stanford.edu/kx682dv2945

Access conditions

Use and reproduction
User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC-ND).

Preferred citation

Westhem, Ashley. (2017). Towards a More Enlightened University: The Opening Up of Stanford University in the 1960s. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/kx682dv2945

Collection

Masters Theses in Media Studies, Department of Communication, Stanford University

View other items in this collection in SearchWorks

Contact information

awesthem@stanford.edu

Also listed in

View in SearchWorks

Loading usage metrics...