The Class Yearbook And Photomechanical Production A Description And Analysis Of Class Yearbooks At The University Of Rochester

In North America, the class yearbook is a well known cultural object, traditionally published in middle and high schools, as well as post-secondary institutions, these publications function as keepsake items for each school year. The tradition of the yearbook has, for the most part, survived from the early nineteenth century into the twenty-first century. However, the practice of producing class yearbooks is slowly changing due to the proliferation of digital and online media, and the popularity of social networking websites. This thesis uses the historical examination and physical analysis of a set of class yearbooks at the University of Rochester to answer the question: How do the class yearbooks at the University of Rochester illustrate evolving photographic and print technologies? By employing the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis, this project chronicles the 153-year run of the annual student yearbook production at the University of Rochester, Interpres, to illustrate how this yearbook production has changed physically, visually, and contextually over time.