Scribes, Scholars and Students

Early Print Culture and the Written Word
at the University of Tennessee

In 1794, a small preparatory school named Blount College opened in Knoxville. From the beginning, the school embraced the importance of the printed and written word.

A small number of books and other printed materials formed the beginnings of the school’s library. Throughout the school’s history, students have recorded many of their activities in handwritten letters, papers, diaries, and official minutes of campus organizations.

Following a number of antebellum reorganizations and name changes, the institution became East Tennessee University in 1840. Printed student magazines and official university publications, such as the school’s catalog, followed. Printed broadsides and programs served as important reminders of campus activities and events throughout the century.

The last decades of the nineteenth century brought the maturity of a print culture at the University of Tennessee. Student literary magazines published poetry and short fiction, while other student publications openly criticizing the university’s administration.

By 1901, students had launched a yearbook and started a newspaper. At the same time the university had created a number of official publications to help mange its growing student population