Educating Boys, Graduating Men: Student masculinity at Centre College, 1865-1885

During the nineteenth century higher education was an important part of the development of upper- and middle-class young men. College did not train young men for a career; rather it educated them in classical subjects and religion. Knowledge of Greek and Latin was considered a distinction of class, while religious training prepared young men for their anticipated role as the spiritual leader of their family. I focused my study of higher education and masculinity on Centre College, founded 1819. Using both school documents and personal papers of Centre students, I have developed a composite of Centre students, their parents, the administration and their attitudes towards manhood.