Practical Education and Identity: A Rhetorical Exploration of the Land-Grant University

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which the rhetoric surrounding higher education informed the development and identities of the American land-grant university system. Focusing primarily on the original 1862 Morrill Act and the later Hatch Act, this paper examines how late nineteenth century views and ideas about higher education set the foundation for what it means to be a land-grant university. Drawing from the language of the Morrill Act itself and the surrounding discourse, a rhetorical reading of this land-grant legislation reveals a vision for American higher education that: 1. Emphasizes agriculture and the mechanic arts without excluding other areas of study. 2. Is meant for the industrial classes (now called the middle class). 3. Focuses on practical education…in the several pursuits and professions of life. The central focus of this paper is on the ways in which the vision for higher education embodied in the Morrill Act of 1862, and later the Hatch Act, served to produce and reproduce the identity of these land-grant universities. Through an emphasis on the academic value of study in the industrial and mechanic arts “without excluding other scientific and classical studies” (“The Morrill Act”), the Morrill Act of 1862 provided a vision for a type of world-class research university that also carves out space for the type of education useful to the industrial classes. The rhetorical shift that established what it means to be a land-grant institution continues to reflect in the identity of these universities today. Examining the rhetorical purpose of the land-grant university identity provides insight into how the communities associated with these institutions continue to propagate that identity and why this identity remains relevant in a higher education landscape that has evolved dramatically since the original legislation was passed.