Recordings of Sunrise Semester Programs
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Abstract
The Recordings of Sunrise Semester Programs contain video, audio, and film recordings of NYU course lectures aired as the Sunrise Semester program on WCBS-TV from 1958-1982. Courses covered a wide variety of subjects, including math, sciences, literature, writing, communications, politics, theology, and anthropology.
Historical Note
Sunrise Semester was a television series that aired from 1957 to 1982 on WCBS-TV in collaboration with New York University's College of Arts and Science. The series was an early example of distance learning in which NYU faculty members would present accredited courses in a wide range of academic subjects.
Sunrise Semester was broadcast at 6:30am EST and offered two courses a semester, six days a week. Each course consisted of three half-hour lectures per week for approximately fifteen weeks. Repeat radio broadcasts of the entire series were aired at 7:30 pm EST on WNYU-FM (89.1 MHz), a radio station serving New York City.
Course requirements were at the discretion of the NYU professor giving the lecture, but generally included a term paper and final exam. During the semester, students in the NYC metropolitan area could attend any of the optional six two-hour evening discussion groups or arrange individual meetings with the professors. Throughout the series, viewers could take courses for credit at NYU or transfer the credits to participating home institutions. In the height of its popularity, 200 academic institutions across the country offered Sunrise Semester courses for credit.
Beginning with "Comparative Literature from Stendhal to Hemingway" taught by Dr. Floyd Zulli in 1957, Sunrise Semester courses covered a wide variety of subjects including math, sciences, literature, writing, communications, politics, theology, and anthropology. In 1980, NYU attempted to revitalize the program and enlarge its audience, and began offering the ability to earn a Masters in Liberal Studies by taking Sunrise Semester courses. In 1981, NYU also introduced interdisciplinary courses into Sunrise Semester.
Sunrise Semester won four Emmys and two Ohio State Awards between 1958 and 1960, and its viewership continued to grow throughout the 1960s and 1970s. By 1972, the program aired on 85 CBS affiliates with an estimated number of viewers between 1.3 to 2 million. By 1980, it was the longest running educational program in the history of broadcasting. However, the program was terminated by CBS in 1982 due to declining viewership as well as academic and legal concerns.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically. Recordings from the same course are grouped together and arranged by episode number wherever possible.
Scope and Contents
The Recordings of Sunrise Semester Programs (1958-1982) contain video, audio, and film recordings of NYU course lectures aired as Sunrise Semester on WCBS-TV. Some courses are represented in only a couple of recordings, while others have more complete runs. The majority of this collection consists of open reel video recordings that were used by CBS Broadcasting, Inc. The collection also includes open reel audio recordings, which were broadcast in evenings on WNYU, and a smaller number of 16mm films and U-matic recordings.
Early Sunrise Semester courses in this collection include "The Tragic Dramas of Greece and Rome" with Professor Lionel Casson (1958), "The Legacy of Greece and Rome" with Professor Richard Haywood (1958), and "Classic Literature" (1958), and a History course on the Middle East with Professor Henry Noss (circa 1959). These were largely captured on 16mm film.
Sunrise Semester in the 1960s is represented through audio and video recordings from about a dozen courses. These courses include "Shakespeare: Complete Plays" with Professor Richard C. Harrier (1960), "Introduction to Ethics" with Professor Sidney Hook (1963), "The Age of Michelangelo" with Professor Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt (1965), "Have You Read..." with Professor Floyd Zulli (1966), and "Philosophical Analysis" with Professor Kai Nielsen (1966).
The 1970s were the height of Sunrise Semester's popularity, and make up the bulk of this collection. These courses include "Classical Mythology in Literature, Art, and Music" with Professor Philip Mayerson (1971), "Communication, The Invisible Environment" with Professor Neil Postman (1977), "Discipline in the Classroom: Social and Emotional Problems" with Professor Lawrence Balter (1977), and "Drama in Education" with Professor Robert Landy (1979).
Finally, this collection includes many episodes from Sunrise Semester's final courses in 1980, 1981, and 1982. These courses include "Learning to Write / Writing to Learn" with Professor John Mayher (1980), "Women and Men in a Changing Society" with Dr. Marilyn Young and Dr. Ellen Ross (1981), "Radio, Television, and the New Technology" with Professor Dr. L. Theresa Silverman (1981), and four 1982 courses with incomplete titles labeled "AL Labor," "Child," "EJ Seniors," and "TH Ethics."
Course titles are described in full wherever possible, whether derived from the audiovisual containers themselves or from course bulletins and administrative records in the University Archives. Some course codes could not be described in full at the time of processing, and are instead described exactly as they are written on the audiovisual containers (i.e. "EJ Seniors"). Some videos are labeled as either a "Standby" or "Air" copy, which are identical in content but were used for different purposes within the broadcasting studios. Episode numbers are listed in sequential order within each course, and may repeat across courses.
Six boxes containing open reel audio and video recordings could not be located at the time of processing this collection in June 2025. Consequently, some original recordings for the courses "Shakespeare: Complete Plays" with Professor Richard C. Harrier (1960) and "Peoples of Africa" with Assistant Professor Elliot P. Skinner (1960) cannot be served to researchers at this time.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Recordings of Sunrise Semester Programs; RG 7.3.1.1; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The majority of the collection was donated to NYU in 2008 by CBS. 122 audio recordings were transferred to the University Archives by the Academic Affairs Office in 1982. The accession number associated with this transfer is 82.066. 7 16mm films were transferred to the University Archives by the New York University Department of Classics in 1999. 44 1/4" audio reels were transferred to the University Archives by former psychology professor Lawrence Balter in July 2010. The accession number associated with this transfer is 10.013.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to some audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. Access CDs for audiovisual materials in the collection are available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection was processed by an archivist in June 2025. The previous finding aid was compiled by University Archives staff Lynda Van Wart and Megan Findling.
During processing in 2025, 46 audio reels, 5 1/2" videos, 1 VHS tape, 1 16mm film, and 34 access discs were transferred from UA AV, the New York University Archives Audiovisual Collection.
Six boxes containing open reel audio and video recordings could not be located at the time of processing.
96 open reel videos with damaged cases were rehoused and 144 open reel videos received preventative treatment by the Preservation Department on their foam flanges in 2025.
29 1/4 inch audio reels in box 13 were identified as moldy between 2010, when they were accessioned, and 2022. These items are currently isolated from other items by housing them in a polyethylene bag with a desiccated board and RH monitor strip. If this strip indicates an RH greater than 50%, contact the Preservation Department immediately. Do not open this packaging without contacting the Preservation Department.