"What's in a Name?"
What's in a Name?
Case Overview
In this case, set at a fictional liberal arts college, a group of administrators and students on the Committee on Historical Memory meet to discuss their institution’s approach to renaming. The previous academic year, the college released a report detailing its namesake’s connections to slavery and renamed the central administration building. However, some students are now calling for further action—including renaming the school itself. College affiliates are divided, and administrators must weigh what to do next.
What responsibilities do universities have to reconsider who they memorialize? How should they weigh different stakeholder perspectives? How might different approaches to naming promote versus impede equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging on campus?
You can find and download the full case study or the reader theater's script below.
Key Questions You Will Explore
- Higher education institutions serve a diverse range of stakeholders: students, faculty, staff, alumni, the local community, and the broader public. How should we consider the differing needs and beliefs of these various stakeholders when deciding when and how to grapple with the legacies of slavery?
- How should university founders’ beliefs and actions impact their inclusion in university life today?
- How can institutions make changes that help their campuses feel more inclusive without losing important connections to the past, even when that past is harmful?
Hear from the Experts
Why is this issue a real dilemma? Watch short video commentaries to explore the complexities, challenges, and values at stake in this case.
As you watch each video, consider the following questions:
- What resonates with you in this video?
- What questions does this video raise for you?
- How does this video impact your understanding of the dilemmas in the case?
On Renaming
Elyse Martin-Smith, alumn of Harvard University, answers the question: How do naming choices influence people's sense of membership in the university community?
On Telling the Entire Story
Sara Bleich, Vice Provost for Special Projects at Harvard University, answers the question: How can institutions address complex histories of prominent historical figures memorialized on campus?
On Alumni Responsibility
Julia Chaffers, alumn of Princeton University, answers the question: What role can alumni play when questions about naming arise on campus?
Additional Resources
To learn about why a university might decide to keep the names of controversial figures on campus, see this article: Regents Vote to Keep Controversial Names on UMN Buildings.
To explore why some institutions can shift their stance over time and choose to rename buildings associated with problematic histories, see these pieces from Princeston:
- Princeton Will Keep Woodrow Wilson’s Name on Building Despite Controversy
- Princeton Renames Wilson School and Residential College, Citing Former President’s Racism.
To see a model of the renaming processes, considerations for new names, and reflections on how name changes impact students, read the article A Building by Any Other Name.
To read more about In Debate Over Names, History and Race Relations Collide: Harvard grapples with titles and symbols associated with the legacy of slavery
To learn about how Harvard students are reshaping histories at Harvard:
Read this article published in Teen Vogue, Harvard Renaming: Students Help Change the Names of Buildings Named for Slave Owners.
Case Reflection Questions
- What do you think the name of an institution means: to those currently on campus, other affiliates, and the wider world? How does the origin of that name affect its meaning?
- All of the characters in the case hold the values of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” What do those values mean to different characters? How do they influence their beliefs about the possibility of renaming?
- There’s debate in the case about whether renaming a building is a symbolic gesture or a true action. How do you see it?
Are You Hoping to Lead People Through This Learning Pathway?
The Pathway Facilitation Guide provides comprehensive information and guidance for teaching and learning with this learning pathway:
- guidance on customizing your pathway
- best practices for normative case discussions
- detailed protocols for each case
- discussion questions for different audiences
- extension activities for personalized learning
Want facilitation materials and guidance just for this one case? Download the Case Facilitation Guide!
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What's Next? Exploring the Other Cases in this Pathway
This pathway contains four additional case studies and supporting materials that explore dilemmas related to institutional entanglement with slavery and the legacies of that entanglement. Click on each case below to learn more.
A group of Harvard University students learn the history of Professor Louis Agassiz, whose research and theories justified the institution of slavery, highlighting the university’s ties with enslavement. Each student grapples with how to react to the university’s legacy and raises questions:
What responsibility does the University have to teach this history, and what are our personal responsibilities to learn?
A literature professor faces a tough decision as he plans to teach the English Department’s “Introduction to Literature” course in the fall: should he keep The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the syllabus or swap it for a text like Americanah? He calls together a group of colleagues, and together they weigh the historical and literary value of the Huck Finn against the potential harm it may cause students, as well as the place of postcolonial texts in the literary canon.
How should instructors and institutions think about including work by potentially problematic figures in the curriculum?
This nonfiction case examines the iconography of figures who both served as champions of justice and equity and advocates for expulsion and oppression. These figures have ignited complex discussions as faculty, staff, students, and campus leaders try to determine whether, and if so, how these leaders should be memorialized in the visual culture of the campus.
With an institutional commitment to truth and a more diverse student body, what are the tradeoffs to consider when revisiting monuments for complex historical figures?
An African American college student with South African and Zimbabwean ancestry grapples with whether to apply for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, knowing that its creator and primary funder spread white supremacy and imperialism across the African continent.
Should Cecil Rhodes’s historical legacy impact her decision—and if so, in what direction?
Learning about a topic like the legacy of slavery can be overwhelming. Community Care Resources are available for members of the Harvard community seeking support for mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being.
Want to Learn More?
EdEthics | Legacies and Lessons Video Playlist
Watch all the videos in our series of expert commentaries on the complex histories in higher education from alumni, scholars, and higher education leaders.
Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative
Explore the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative and their work.
Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Report
Read the 2022 Report of the Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery.
