Guide to the San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Collection
MSS-2010-05-05
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
© 2010
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2010-05-05
Physical Description:
8 boxes
(3.04 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1872-1935
Abstract: The San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Collection, 1872-1935, documents the
school's curriculum and coursework over a sixty-year period. The collection includes fall, spring and summer session catalogs,
as well as catalogs for specific disciplines such as Homemaking and Art. This collection is arranged into one series: Series
I. San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs, 1872-1935.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Collection, MSS-2010-05-05, San José State
University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Project Information
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant
project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008.The Project Director
is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by Robert Donahue. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.
A 1934-1935 Bulletin Directory of Students & Faculty from Box 8 was moved to Box 1 of the San José State University Archives
Directories, Guides & Handbooks Collection in May 2023 by Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen.
Organizational History
In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
Jose, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed
in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes,
Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations,
and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
Scope and Content of Collection
The San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Collection, 1872-1935, documents the
school's curriculum and coursework over a sixty-year period. The collection includes fall, spring and summer session catalogs,
as well as catalogs for specific disciplines such as Homemaking and Art.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into one series: Series I. San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course
Catalogs, 1872-1935.
University Archives Collection
Record Group 9.2.
Bibliography
Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.
Walsh, James P.
San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
School catalogs -- California -- San José
Teachers Colleges -- Curricula -- California -- San José
Teachers -- Training of -- California -- San José
San Jose State Normal School -- History
Education, Higher -- California -- San Jose
San José State University -- History
San Jose State Teachers College -- History
San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs Series I:
1872-1935
Physical Description: 8.0 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains course catalogs for San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College, which document
the early years of the school's curriculum. In addition, it should be noted that significant changes were made to the school's
curriculum in 1888, 1901-1902, and 1921-1922.
Early courses of study at the Normal School included Psychology, Drawing, Reading and Literature, Geography and Methods, Arithmetic
and Methods, Teaching, Shakespeare, and School Hygiene. Summer sessions were established in 1904, and offered Drawing, Nature
Study, and Manual Training. Later summer sessions offered a wider variety of classes, including Industrial Arts, Kindergarten
Instruction, Home Economics, and Americanization Problems.
This series also includes department-specific course catalogs highlighting the coursework of several departments including
Music, Art, and Home Mechanics.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically by date range.
Box 1-5
San Jose State Normal School Course Catalogs
1872-1916
Box 6-8
San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College Course Catalogs, Summer and Winter Session Catalogs, Department-Specific
Catalogs
1915-1935
