Burke's Dramatism Theory and University Coeducation Debate
This paper applies Kenneth Burke's Dramatism Theory to the historical debate over whether a Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey should transition from a male-only institution to a coeducational one. Using two Setonian newspaper articles from 1963 and 1967 as primary artifacts, the paper traces the four-year debate among students and trustees, situating it within the broader American women's movement and the eventual passage of Title IX in 1972. Burke's dramatistic pentad — act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose — is used to analyze the motives behind institutional resistance to and eventual acceptance of female enrollment, illuminating how gender inequity in higher education was challenged and gradually dismantled during this period.
- Introduction: Frames the study's artifacts and theoretical lens
- Overview of the University Today: Current enrollment, rankings, and demographics
- The University in the 1960s: 1963 and 1967 Setonian articles on coeducation vote
- Applying Burke's Dramatism Theory to the Coeducational Debate: Pentad applied to gender and institutional debate
- Conclusion: Legacy of coeducation debate for women in higher education
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds an abstract rhetorical framework (Burke's dramatistic pentad) in concrete, primary-source artifacts — two specific newspaper articles from 1963 and 1967 — making the theoretical application tangible and verifiable.
- Historical context is layered effectively: the paper connects a single institution's debate to landmark legal events (Brown v. Board of Education, Title IX) and broader societal trends, demonstrating that local institutional change reflects national forces.
- The inclusion of a structured table defining all five elements of the pentad improves readability and gives the analysis a clear scaffold that guides the reader through the application section.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates artifact-based rhetorical analysis — selecting historical texts as evidence and reading them through a named theoretical lens. By quoting directly from the Setonian articles and then mapping each quote to Burke's categories (act, scene, agent, agency, purpose), the writer shows how rhetorical theory can decode institutional motives embedded in ordinary journalism. This technique is common in communication and rhetoric studies and is a strong model for students learning to apply theory to primary sources.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a clear four-part structure: an introduction that frames both the historical situation and the theoretical approach; a background section establishing the university's current profile; a historical narrative section centered on the two newspaper artifacts; a theory-application section that maps Burke's pentad onto the coeducation debate; and a conclusion that synthesizes findings and reflects on legacy. Each section builds logically on the previous one, maintaining a consistent argumentative thread throughout.
Introduction
Today, the university is attended by nearly 10,000 male and female students, but it has not always been that way. Just over half a century ago, it was a male-only institution that only began accepting female students into its main South Orange campus after a series of debates spanning more than four years. The artifacts of interest for this study are two newspaper articles from issues of The Setonian in 1963 and 1967: the first announcing the student vote on whether the university should become a co-educational institution, and the second announcing the approval of that initiative. This paper reviews the relevant literature to connect these articles to Kenneth Burke's Dramatism Theory, examining the reasons women were treated less fairly than men and why they did not experience the same academic opportunities. A summary of the research and important findings is presented in the conclusion.
Overview of the University Today
Founded in 1856 as a college by Catholic Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, the institution was reorganized into a university in 1950 and currently provides undergraduate and graduate studies in more than 90 majors to almost 10,000 male and female students (About [University], 2015). The university has been widely recognized for its commitment to academic excellence by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Bloomberg Businessweek (About [University], 2015). This commitment is reflected in the university's student-to-faculty ratio of just 14:1, and nearly half (46.8%) of its classes have fewer than 20 students ([University], 2015). At present, the most popular majors are: (a) Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse; (b) Biology/Biological Sciences, General; (c) International Relations and Affairs; (d) Finance, General; and (e) Humanities/Humanistic Studies ([University], 2015). With an average freshman retention rate of 83.5%, the university is clearly attractive to incoming students ([University], 2015).
The university's main 58-acre campus is located in South Orange, New Jersey, and its School of Law is located in Newark, New Jersey (About [University], 2015). Today, more than half (59%) of the university's undergraduate enrollment consists of female students (About [University], 2015). According to U.S. News & World Report — Education (2015), "As the nation's oldest diocesan Catholic university, [the university] embraces students of all races and religions" ([University], 2015, para. 3). This mission and the current enrollment levels of women stand in sharp contrast to the school's undergraduate enrollment in the mid-twentieth century, when the institution was male-only, as discussed further below.
References
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Burke's five elements of dramatism. (2015). Changing Minds. Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/articles/burke_five_elements.htm.
Burke's Pentad. (2015). Rhetorica. Retrieved from
Ciernick, H. (2008, July). Challenged by coeducation: Women's colleges since the 1960s. The Catholic Historical Review, 94(3), 612–615.
Eisenmann, L. (1988). Historical dictionary of women's education in the United States. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Hare, A. P. & Blumberg, H. H. (1988). Dramaturgical analysis of social interaction. New York: Praeger.
Klumpp, J. F. (1993, Spring). A rapprochement between dramatism and argumentation. Argumentation and Advocacy, 29(4), 148–151.
Moore, J. L. & Lewis, C. W. (2014, Summer). Guest editorial: 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education: Educational advancement or decline? The Journal of Negro Education, 83(3), 191–193.
[University] history. (2015). [University]. Retrieved from
[University] Journal of Sport Law ([University] School of Law). (2007, April). The International Sports Law Journal, 1–2, 131.
[University]. (2015). U.S. News & World Report — Education. Retrieved from
Title IX. (2015). The Margaret Fund of NWLC. Retrieved from http://www.titleix.info/.
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