Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities

Jingjing Liu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities

Jingjing Liu^*

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 5)

Received: 29 August 2025 Accepted: 22 September 2025 Published: 22 October 2025

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Abstract

Against the backdrop of the new era, the inheritance of campus culture in colleges and universities is confronted with the dual challenges of the impact of cultural diversification and the weakening of cultural identity among young students. As the core carrier of campus culture, the traditional forms of university history communication can no longer meet the needs of dynamic inheritance. University history drama, with the development process of colleges and universities, key figures and major events as its creative core, has realized the reconstruction of value dimensions in the inheritance of campus culture through immersive and emotional artistic expression. This paper adopts the methods of literature research, case analysis and in-depth interview, combined with the theory of cultural memory and experiential learning theory, to systematically analyze the reconstruction logic of university history drama in the dimensions of educational value, cultural identity value, activation value of university history resources and cultural radiation value. By exploring practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities, this paper identifies the practical dilemmas in the current practice of university history drama. Finally, from the four dimensions of content transformation, communication expansion, guarantee improvement and curriculum integration, it puts forward the practical paths for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture, providing theoretical reference and practical paradigm for colleges and universities to activate university history resources and strengthen cultural inheritance.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
Page(s)	525-535
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

University History Drama, Campus Culture Inheritance, Value Reconstruction, Practical Paths, Cultural Memory

1. Introduction

1.1. Research Background

The construction of campus culture in colleges and universities in the new era needs to balance inheritance and innovation. It is necessary to adhere to the spiritual core formed by colleges and universities in their long-term development and cope with the changes in cultural communication forms in the digital age. At present, as the core resource carrying the spiritual culture of colleges and universities, the traditional communication methods of university history mostly rely on university history courses, university history exhibition halls and written materials, which show the limitations of one-way indoctrination and static state, and it is difficult to arouse the emotional resonance and active participation of young students. At the same time, under the background of cultural diversification, the value orientation of young students is becoming increasingly diverse, and their sense of identity and belonging to campus culture is gradually weakening. How to innovate the form of university history communication and strengthen the cohesion and influence of campus culture has become an important proposition in the construction of campus culture in colleges and universities. As an artistic form integrating narrativeness, performability and interactivity, drama can transform abstract university history events and spiritual concepts into concrete stage presentations, providing a new carrier for university history communication and campus culture inheritance, and its application potential in campus culture construction has gradually attracted attention.

1.2. Research Significance

From the theoretical perspective, existing studies mostly focus on the traditional forms of university history cultural inheritance or discuss the educational function of campus drama in isolation. The research on the integration of university history and drama mostly stays at the level of practical description, lacking systematic analysis of the value dimensions of university history drama in the inheritance of campus culture. From the perspective of "value reconstruction", this paper places university history drama in the overall framework of campus culture inheritance, and analyzes its value logic combined with multi-disciplinary theories, which can enrich the interdisciplinary research on university history communication and campus culture inheritance, expand the theoretical boundary of drama education, and provide a new theoretical perspective for related research fields. From the practical perspective, by analyzing the practical experience and dilemmas of multiple typical cases, this paper puts forward operable practical paths, which can provide specific guidance for colleges and universities to use university history drama to activate university history resources and improve the effect of campus culture inheritance, and help colleges and universities build a more vibrant and appealing campus cultural ecology.

1.3. Research Status

Globally, research on University History Dramas has seen relatively few studies outside of China, while relevant research in China has focused on the following perspectives: Current academic research on University History Dramas mainly centers on their value in ideological and political education and practical implementation paths: University History Drama in colleges and universities, as an important carrier connecting university history resources and educational practice, its educational value and ideological and political function have been the core focus of academic research. Cheng Yichuan, Qu Yiwen, and Wang Xiaofeng (2024)

[1]

clearly pointed out that University History Drama has three core functions: "Value Guidance, Cultural Inheritance, and Practical Education". Its key task is to enhance artistic appeal on the basis of respecting historical authenticity. Through the interactive mode of "teachers and students playing the roles of alumni, and juniors playing the roles of seniors", the abstract spirit of university history is transformed into a perceptible emotional experience. Xuan Shuangxia (2025)

[2]

further noted that University History Drama is an innovative medium for integrating university history into Ideological and Political Education, which can effectively solve the formalized problem of "one-way indoctrination" in traditional Ideological and Political Education and stimulate students' emotional resonance through situational simulation. Xiao Yanyan (2024)

[3]

, taking red dramas as the research object, believed that such plays can broaden the path of Ideological and Political Education and realize the coordinated effect of "educating people through culture" and "educating people through aesthetics". Wu Lin (2024)

[4]

, taking the red drama Vast Land of University X as an example, specifically analyzed the cultural educational value of University History Drama and proposed that it can strengthen students' ideals and beliefs through red narration. Guan Siqin (2024)

[5]

, starting from the Cultural Memory Theory, emphasized that University History Drama can activate the collective memory of teachers and students and deepen their recognition of the school's spiritual tradition; Sun Qinghua (2021)

[6]

, taking the "Master Dramas" of Shanghai's colleges and universities as cases, found that such plays convey the values of "rigorous academic research and serving the country and the people" by shaping the images of scientists, and have become an important starting point for the construction of school spirit and academic atmosphere. Zhang Zhiying (2024)

[7]

also pointed out that the university history culture carried by University History Drama can be directly transformed into vivid materials for Ideological and Political Education of college students, improving the pertinence and effectiveness of education.

In terms of artistic expression and practical paths, the academic circle has focused on exploring the creation rules and diversified practices of University History Drama. He Chuhan (2024)

[8]

, centering on the concept of "Great Ideological and Political Education", proposed that the artistic expression of red University History Drama should follow the principle of "taking historical truth as the backbone and artistic creation as the flesh", and conduct reasonable fiction within the framework of historical facts to enhance the dramatic tension. Jiao Shigang (2019)

[9]

, through the style analysis of Monument of Art, deeply studied the narrative structure and character shaping techniques of University History Drama, and believed that professional drama creation methods should be used for reference to improve the artistic quality of works. He Haiting (2025)

[10]

focused on regional characteristics and found that University History Drama in Northwest China integrates folk elements such as Northern Shaanxi folk songs and Yangko dances into its performing art, such as Li Zizhou in 1929, forming an expression paradigm with both historical depth and regional affinity. Ma Manjiang, Sun Yingzi, and Dai Yanqing (2022)

[11]

, taking the drama Original Aspiration of Xiangtan University Library as an example, proposed that inter-departmental collaboration is an important support for the creation of University History Drama. This model can integrate multiple resources and enrich the expression dimensions of the plays. Cheng Yichuan and Dong Rong (2021)

[12]

emphasized the mechanism of "professional guidance + co-creation by teachers and students", and took Goldbach's Conjecture of Xiamen University as an example to illustrate that the combination of professional director team guidance and full participation of students can achieve a win-win situation between artistic quality and educational effect. Zhang Ye, Ma Mengyao, Liu Yang, et al. (2019)

[13]

introduced the practice of Hebei Medical University and pointed out that professional colleges and universities can combine University History Drama with professional ethics education according to their disciplinary characteristics to improve the professionalism and relevance of education. In addition, some practical cases also show that digital technology has empowered University History Drama. For example, the 3D "cloud live streaming" of Zhejiang University and the VR virtual scenes of Xiamen University have broken the temporal and spatial limitations of traditional theaters and expanded the communication and experience boundaries of University History Drama.

At present, there are still obvious limitations in the research on University History Drama in colleges and universities, which need to be targeted and broken through in the future. Zhu Dan (2024)

[14]

pointed out that existing research mostly focuses on the integration of university history culture and Ideological and Political Education, while the discussion on the own artistic rules of University History Drama is insufficient, and there is a lack of support from multidisciplinary theories such as drama studies and history. Li Jiaxi (2022)

[15]

also mentioned that red University History Drama has the problem of theme homogeneity, and some works lack innovation in expression forms, making it difficult to fully attract young students. Based on this, the academic circle generally believes that future research can be promoted from three aspects: first, strengthen the integration of interdisciplinary theories and build a theoretical analysis framework exclusive to University History Drama; second, explore differentiated paths for different types of colleges and universities, and avoid the convergence of content and form by combining school characteristics and regional culture; third, deepen the research on the integration of digital technology and University History Drama, and use technologies such as VR and AI to innovate creation and communication models, so as to further release the educational and cultural inheritance potential of University History Drama.

1.4. Research Methods and Innovations

This paper mainly adopts four research methods: First, the literature research method, which clarifies the research foundation and theoretical framework by sorting out the relevant literature in the fields of university history cultural inheritance, campus drama and cultural memory. Second, the case analysis method, which takes practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities as research objects, deeply analyzes their creation process, presentation form and inheritance effect, and refines practical experience. Third, the in-depth interview method, which interviews the main creative team, actors and audiences of typical university history drama works to obtain first-hand information on the creation and acceptance of university history drama. Fourth, the questionnaire survey method, which conducts a survey on student groups who watched university history drama performances to analyze the impact of university history drama on students' sense of campus cultural identity. The innovations of this paper are mainly reflected in two aspects: First, the perspective innovation, which breaks through the traditional cognition of regarding university history drama as a "single campus activity" and systematically analyzes its multi-dimensional value in the inheritance of campus culture from the perspective of "value reconstruction". Second, the practical innovation, which combines the dilemma analysis of multiple cases and constructs a "content-communication-guarantee-curriculum" four-in-one practical path, providing an operable plan for the normalized and high-quality development of university history drama in colleges and universities.

2. Definition of Core Concepts and Theoretical Basis

2.1. Definition of Core Concepts

University history drama is a form of drama that takes key events, important figures and spiritual concepts in the development process of colleges and universities as the core creative materials, and is created, arranged and performed under the leadership or participation of teachers and students in colleges and universities. It covers various types such as stage plays, musicals and situational plays. Its essence is the integration of university history resources and drama art, with both historical authenticity and artistic appeal. The inheritance of campus culture refers to the process in which colleges and universities, in the long-term development process, realize the intergenerational transmission, dynamic continuation and innovative development of the formed spiritual culture (such as school motto, school spirit and school-running philosophy), institutional culture (such as management norms and academic systems), behavioral culture (such as teachers' and students' behavior habits and campus activity traditions) and material culture (such as campus buildings and historical relics) through certain carriers and methods. Its core is the inheritance of campus spirit and the cultivation of cultural identity. Value reconstruction refers to that university history drama breaks through the single function of "recording history and transmitting knowledge" in traditional university history communication. In the interaction with the inheritance of campus culture, through innovating the presentation form and participation mode, it forms new value connotations and realization mechanisms in the dimensions of education, cultural cohesion, resource activation and cultural radiation, and promotes the transformation of campus culture inheritance from a static and one-way transmission mode to a dynamic and interactive dynamic mode.

2.2. Theoretical Basis

The theory of cultural memory provides theoretical support for university history drama to reconstruct the value of campus culture inheritance. This theory holds that cultural memory is the collective memory formed by a group in the long-term historical development, which is preserved and transmitted through specific symbols, rituals and carriers, and its core function is to construct the group's identity and cultural belonging. University history, as the collective cultural memory of colleges and universities, contains a large number of symbols carrying campus spirit (such as the school-running philosophy of the founding president and the spiritual connotation of key historical events). Through the form of stage performance, university history drama transforms these abstract cultural memory symbols into concrete plots and roles, enabling students to arouse the cognition of the collective memory of colleges and universities in the process of watching and participating, thereby strengthening the recognition of campus culture.

The experiential learning theory can explain the internal mechanism of university history drama strengthening the effect of campus culture inheritance. This theory emphasizes that learning is a process in which learners obtain emotional experience and cognitive deepening through active participation in practice, rather than simple knowledge reception. The traditional university history communication mostly adopts the passive learning mode of "teachers teach and students listen" and "visiting exhibitions and reading materials", so it is difficult for students to form in-depth cognition. However, through role-playing and plot interpretation, university history drama allows students to contact university history as "participants" rather than "onlookers". In the process of rehearsal and performance, students deeply understand the spiritual world of university history figures, realize in-depth cognition of campus culture through emotional experience, and then internalize the campus spirit into their own values.

The symbolic interaction theory provides a perspective for analyzing the emotional connection between university history drama and students. This theory holds that social interaction is realized through the transmission and interpretation of symbols, and individuals form cognition and emotional attitudes towards social phenomena through the understanding of symbols. University history drama contains rich university history symbols, such as the reproduction of school founders' dedication to education and the interpretation of key events reflecting the school's spiritual tradition in its development process. These symbols are transmitted to students through stage language. In the process of interpreting the symbols, students form emotional interaction with university history figures and university history events, and then generate emotional identity and value resonance with campus culture.

3. Dimensions of Value Reconstruction of University History Drama in Campus Culture Inheritance

3.1. From "Knowledge Transmission" to "Emotional Resonance": Reconstruction of Educational Value

The traditional university history communication takes knowledge transmission as the core goal, mostly adopting the forms of university history course teaching and university history exhibition hall visiting, which shows the characteristics of one-way indoctrination and single form. Students are often in a passive receiving state, and it is difficult for them to form in-depth understanding and emotional identity of university history knowledge. Under this communication mode, university history is more regarded as "past events", which is disconnected from students' real study and life, and it is difficult to give full play to the educational function. Through artistic creation and interpretation, university history drama breaks the cognitive barrier of traditional university history communication and realizes the reconstruction of educational value from "knowledge transmission" to "emotional resonance". In typical university history drama works, the main creative team takes the school's founding process, important development stages or representative figures' experiences as the core, and vividly reproduces the school's founding purpose, spiritual tradition and the spiritual qualities of predecessors through plots such as difficult entrepreneurship, adherence to education and serving the country. In the process of role shaping, student actors need to deeply study historical materials such as the life stories of university history figures and the school's early development documents, and even visit old alumni to obtain first-hand information. In this process, students are no longer passive receivers of university history knowledge, but active explorers. Their understanding of the school's spiritual connotation is transformed from abstract text description to specific emotional experience. Many student actors mentioned in interviews that through playing roles of university history figures or early faculty, they deeply realized the hardships and persistence of predecessors in running the school, and had a stronger emotional identity with the school's historical spirit. This emotional resonance is far beyond what can be achieved through classroom learning. At the same time, students who watched the performance also felt the spiritual strength of university history figures through the stage presentation. Questionnaire surveys show that a high proportion of the audience believe that university history drama makes them "more truly feel the spiritual connotation in university history", and the emotional educational effect of university history drama is significant.

3.2. From "Individual Cognition" to "Collective Cohesion": Reconstruction of Cultural Identity Value

The cultivation of campus cultural identity requires the accumulation of individual cognition, and more importantly, the formation of collective consensus and emotional connection. The traditional university history communication mostly takes the individual as the receiving unit. Students form the cognition of university history through independently reading university history materials and participating in university history lectures. This kind of cognition is often limited to the individual level, and it is difficult to form collective cultural consensus and sense of belonging. As a collective cultural practice activity, university history drama realizes the reconstruction of cultural identity value from "individual cognition" to "collective cohesion" through collective participation in the creation, rehearsal and performance links. First of all, the creation process of university history drama is the crystallization of collective wisdom, which requires the cooperation of university history researchers, drama professional teachers and student creators. In this process, different groups discuss the excavation of university history materials, the extraction of spiritual connotation and the presentation of artistic forms, and gradually form a common cognition of campus culture. In the creation of typical university history drama works, university history research offices provide detailed historical materials, drama professional teachers are responsible for artistic guidance, and student teams carry out script adaptation and role design combined with the youth perspective. All parties reach a high consensus on the connotation of the school's spiritual tradition in the cooperation. Secondly, the rehearsal and performance process of university history drama is the process of collective emotional cohesion. Student actors participating in the performance are from different majors and grades. In the long-term rehearsal, they form a close team cooperation relationship and work together to present university history stories and convey campus spirit. This kind of cooperation under a common goal strengthens students' sense of identity with their "school student" identity. Finally, the performance process of university history drama is the process of collective emotional resonance. Whether it is a campus special performance or a public performance during the school anniversary, the audience (including teachers, students and alumni) feels the charm of university history in the joint viewing, shares the emotional experience of campus culture, and forms a collective cultural resonance. During school anniversary performances of university history drama, many old alumni often recall their campus experiences while watching, and share them with current students, building a bridge of emotional connection between alumni and students, and further strengthening the cultural cohesion of the entire school community.

3.3. From "Static Preservation" to "Dynamic Communication": University History Resources' Activation Value Reconstruction

University history resources are an important part of campus culture in colleges and universities, including historical archives, cultural relics, old photos and oral historical materials. Traditionally, these resources are mostly stored in a static form in the university history museum and archives, and only open to teachers and students through exhibitions and borrowing. The utilization rate is low, and it is difficult to give full play to their cultural inheritance value. Through artistic transformation, university history drama transforms static university history resources into dynamic stage art, realizing the reconstruction of the activation value of university history resources from "static preservation" to "dynamic communication". On the one hand, university history drama transforms abstract university history materials into concrete stage presentations, making university history resources "visible and perceptible". University archives store a large number of written materials and images about the school's development, which record the school's important decisions, representative figures' concepts and key development nodes. However, ordinary students find it difficult to intuitively feel the spiritual connotation behind these materials through reading. By sorting out these materials, the main creative team of university history drama puts historical scenes such as "school founders overcoming difficulties to determine the school site" and "adhering to the integration of teaching and research in difficult periods" on the stage. Through the cooperation of actors' performances, stage settings and lighting effects, static written materials are transformed into vivid historical scenes, allowing students to intuitively feel the temperature and power of university history. On the other hand, university history drama promotes the extension of university history resources to diversified communication carriers, making university history resources "transmittable and sustainable". After the performance of university history drama, many colleges and universities upload performance videos to campus official websites and short video platforms, produce derivative contents such as "behind-the-scenes creation stories" and "actor interviews", and sort out scripts into books as auxiliary materials for university history education distributed to freshmen. These derivative contents make university history resources break through the time and space limitations of stage performances and realize normalized communication. In addition, university history drama also promotes the secondary development of university history resources. Based on university history drama, some schools have developed activities such as "university history drama workshops" and "university history story sharing meetings", which further expand the activation path of university history resources, making university history resources truly "alive" and becoming a vivid carrier for campus culture inheritance.

3.4. From "Campus Closure" to "Internal and External Linkage": Reconstruction of Campus Culture Radiation Value

The traditional inheritance of campus culture is mostly limited to the campus scene, spreading through campus activities and campus media, with less interaction with the social level. The radiation range of campus culture is limited, and it is difficult to give full play to the role of colleges and universities as cultural communication positions. As a "business card" of college culture, university history drama can not only strengthen the inheritance of campus culture within the campus, but also convey campus culture to the society and alumni groups, realizing the reconstruction of campus culture radiation value from "campus closure" to "internal and external linkage". On the one hand, university history drama builds a bridge for cultural exchange between colleges and universities and the society, showing the cultural characteristics and spiritual connotation of colleges and universities to the society. After the performance of mature university history drama works, some colleges and universities carry out tours in local cultural centers and primary and secondary schools, telling the public about the school's running history and spiritual pursuit. During the tour, many social audiences learn about the school's contributions to local construction and national development through the drama, have a deeper understanding of the social value of colleges and universities, and at the same time make the school's spiritual tradition an important part of local culture, expanding the social influence of campus culture. On the other hand, university history drama builds a link of emotional connection between colleges and universities and alumni, promoting alumni to participate in the inheritance of campus culture. Alumni are an important force in the inheritance of campus culture, but their connection with their alma mater often weakens with the passage of graduation time. During the performance of university history drama, colleges and universities often invite alumni to watch. Many alumni reawaken their emotional identity with their alma mater by recalling their campus life through the drama. Some alumni also take the initiative to provide historical materials support for the creation of university history drama or resource help for its promotion, forming a good situation of "alumni-alma mater" jointly inheriting campus culture. In addition, performance videos and scripts of university history drama are also spread through alumni groups and alumni official websites, allowing alumni scattered in various places to feel the cultural atmosphere of their alma mater at any time, further expanding the radiation range of campus culture and realizing the internal and external linkage inheritance of campus culture.

4. Practical Status and Dilemmas of University History Drama in Campus Culture Inheritance

4.1. Investigation of Practical Status

At present, an increasing number of colleges and universities have begun to attach importance to the role of university history drama in campus cultural inheritance, and the practice of university history drama shows a diversified development trend. From the perspective of the creation subject, university history dramas in colleges and universities are mainly divided into three types: the first is the professional teacher-guided type, led by teachers of drama majors, literature majors or the school’s Youth League Committee, who take charge of the core work of script creation and rehearsal guidance, while students mainly participate in performances; the second is the student association-independent type, initiated by student organizations such as drama clubs and stage drama clubs, where students independently complete script creation, rehearsal and performance, and the school only provides limited resource support; the third is the school-enterprise cooperation type, in which some colleges and universities cooperate with professional theaters, with professional screenwriters and directors participating in the creation and guidance of university history dramas, and students participating in performances.

From the perspective of theme selection, the themes of university history dramas mainly focus on four aspects: the first is the school establishment process category, which focuses on the early history of colleges and universities and reproduces the founders’ original intention of running the school and the arduous process; the second is the important event category, which centers on key events in the development of colleges and universities (such as school name changes, major scientific research breakthroughs, and public welfare practices); the third is the outstanding alumni category, which takes outstanding alumni cultivated by colleges and universities as the core and showcases their growth experiences and achievements; the fourth is the campus life change category, which focuses on changes in teaching methods, campus environment, and student activities to convey the inheritance and development of campus culture.

From the perspective of presentation form, university history dramas mainly cover three scenarios: the first is campus special performances, targeting teachers and students within the school; the second is key events of the school anniversary, where university history dramas are used as important programs for the anniversary, facing teachers, students, alumni and social guests; the third is curriculum integration, in which some colleges and universities integrate university history dramas into courses such as College Chinese, Introduction to Art and University History, and add appreciation and creation modules to enable more students to access university history dramas.

From the perspective of communication methods, the communication of university history dramas is still dominated by offline communication, supplemented by online communication. Offline communication is carried out through campus performances and off-campus tours; online communication relies on campus official websites, short video platforms and WeChat official accounts to release content such as performance videos and behind-the-scenes tidbits.

Dalian University of Technology’s original university history drama Qu Bochuan stands as a typical and sustainable example for university history drama practice. In terms of creation, it adopts a "professional teacher guidance + university support" model: the school Youth League Committee provides overall guidance, while the university’s drama troupe undertakes rehearsals. This approach avoids the resource shortages of student-led efforts and independence from external forces (such as school-enterprise cooperation), ensuring both creative professionalism and inheritance stability. Thematically, it combines "school establishment process + outstanding figure" to integrate founder Qu Bochuan’s life (1948–1981) with the university’s development; all key plots are rooted in real history, embodying the "history as foundation, spirit as soul" creative concept through the logic of "personal growth reflecting school history and event details conveying core spirit."

In presentation, the drama uses a dual scenario: it premiered in 2009 as a core program for the university’s 60th anniversary (to honor school history and unite alumni) and was later integrated into freshman orientation as a "first university history lesson," shifting from a one-time activity to a regular cultural product. With over 60 performances reaching more than 70,000 audiences—becoming a shared memory for over ten batches of students—Qu Bochuan transforms abstract university history into tangible emotional experiences (in contrast to the "one-way indoctrination" of traditional university history courses), clearly demonstrating its communication scope and cultural inheritance value.

4.2. Analysis of Practical Dilemmas

Although university history drama has achieved certain practical results in the inheritance of campus culture, it still faces many dilemmas in the actual development process, which restrict the full play of its value.

At the creation level, the insufficient excavation of university history materials and the lack of professional creation ability are the main problems. On the one hand, the theme selection of university history drama in some colleges and universities is superficial, only focusing on the "landmark events" in university history, lacking in-depth excavation of the spiritual connotation behind the events, resulting in university history drama becoming a "simple reproduction of historical events", which is difficult to convey the core value of campus culture. For example, the university history drama of some colleges and universities only tells the basic information such as the establishment time and development stage of the school, and the presentation of the school's school-running philosophy and spiritual tradition is insufficient, so it is difficult to arouse the emotional resonance of students. On the other hand, the creative team of university history drama lacks professional ability, especially in script creation and artistic presentation. Most of the university history dramas in colleges and universities are created by non-professional teachers and students. The screenwriters lack the professional ability of drama structure design and character shaping, resulting in simple plot and flat character image of the script; the directors and actors lack professional training, resulting in poor stage presentation effect, which affects the artistic appeal of university history drama. Even relatively mature university history drama cases faced problems such as difficult script adaptation and insufficient performance experience of student actors in the early stage of creation. Although these problems were solved through professional teacher guidance in the later stage, they also reflect the common dilemma of insufficient professional ability in the creation of university history drama.

At the communication level, the low frequency of performances and the single communication channel restrict the influence of university history drama. On the one hand, the university history drama of most colleges and universities is only a "one-time program" for major events such as school anniversary and cultural festival, lacking a normalized performance mechanism, resulting in a limited coverage of university history drama, and it is difficult for more teachers and students to contact university history drama. For example, after completing the school anniversary performance, the university history drama of some colleges and universities will not be performed again, and the cultural inheritance value of university history drama is difficult to play continuously. On the other hand, the communication channels of university history drama are relatively single, still dominated by on-campus offline performances, and the online communication lacks systematic planning. Although some colleges and universities will upload the performance videos to the campus official website or short video platforms, they lack the promotion and operation of the videos, and the playback volume and communication scope of the videos are limited; at the same time, the development of derivative contents of university history drama is insufficient, such as the lack of script collections, character interviews and behind-the-scenes stories, resulting in the difficulty of forming a continuous effect in the communication of university history drama.

At the guarantee level, insufficient financial support and lack of long-term mechanism are the main bottlenecks. On the one hand, the creation and performance of university history drama require a certain amount of financial investment, including script creation fees, prop and costume fees, venue rental fees and professional guidance fees. However, most colleges and universities have limited financial support for university history drama, only providing a small amount of special funds or relying on self-raised funds of student associations, which is difficult to meet the needs of high-quality creation and performance of university history drama. For example, due to insufficient funds, the university history drama of some colleges and universities can only simplify the stage settings and props, which affects the stage presentation effect; the university history drama independently created by some student associations is difficult to invite professional teachers for guidance due to lack of financial support, and the artistic quality is difficult to improve. On the other hand, university history drama lacks a long-term development mechanism. Most colleges and universities have not included university history drama in the overall plan of campus culture construction, and lack a fixed creative team and inheritance system. For example, the creative team of university history drama in some colleges and universities is disbanded with the graduation of students, and it is difficult to carry out new creation and performance in the later stage; the lack of training mechanism for university history drama talents leads to the shortage of screenwriters, directors, actors and other talents, which affects the sustainable development of university history drama.

5. Practical Paths of University History Drama Empowering Campus Culture Inheritance

5.1. Building the "University History Materials-Artistic Creation" Transformation Path for Deeper Content

The core value of university history drama lies in conveying the university history spirit through artistic forms. Therefore, constructing a scientific transformation path of "university history materials-artistic creation" and strengthening the depth of content is the foundation for the high-quality development of university history drama. First of all, a tripartite cooperation mechanism of "university history research office-drama major-student association" should be established to form a joint force for the excavation of university history materials and artistic creation. The university history research office is responsible for providing detailed university history materials and excavating the spiritual core in university history to ensure the historical authenticity of university history drama; the drama professional teachers are responsible for artistic guidance, transforming university history materials into scripts and stage presentations that conform to the laws of drama art to ensure the artistic appeal of university history drama; the student association is responsible for participating in the creation and performance, injecting vitality into university history drama combined with the youth perspective to ensure that university history drama meets the cognitive needs of students. Many colleges and universities that have achieved success in university history drama practice have established such a cooperation mechanism, which ensures the balance between historical authenticity and artistic appeal of university history drama and provides a reference for other colleges and universities. Secondly, the "university history script incubation plan" should be implemented to encourage the diversified creation of university history drama. Colleges and universities can set up special funds to support teachers and students to carry out university history script creation, invite professional drama creators to serve as instructors to polish and improve the scripts; at the same time, encourage the creation of "micro university history drama", presenting "small figures and small stories" in university history in the form of short and concise situational plays, such as the stories of ordinary teachers and students in the development process of colleges and universities. These stories are closer to the life experience of students and are more likely to arouse emotional resonance. In addition, attention should be paid to the timeliness of the content of university history drama. While excavating university history materials, combined with the development needs of the new era, the intersection of university history spirit and the spirit of the times should be extracted, so that university history drama can not only inherit history but also serve the present.

5.2. Creating the Integrated Communication Path of "Online + Offline" to Expand the Coverage

The cultural inheritance value of university history drama can be fully exerted only through extensive communication. Therefore, creating an integrated communication path of "online + offline" and expanding the coverage of university history drama is an important link in the practice of university history drama. In terms of offline communication, a normalized presentation mechanism of university history drama should be established to transform university history drama from a "one-time activity" to a "regular cultural product". Colleges and universities can include university history drama in the campus cultural activity plan, and carry out regular campus special performances, such as holding 1-2 university history drama performances every semester, open to all teachers and students; at the same time, integrate university history drama into the construction of the "one-stop" student community, and carry out small-scale performances in the activity center of the student community to make university history drama closer to students' lives. In addition, university history drama can be taken as an important content of cultural exchange in colleges and universities, and cooperate with local cultural centers, primary and secondary schools and other colleges and universities to carry out off-campus tours, expanding the social influence of university history drama.

In terms of online communication, a multi-channel and multi-level communication system should be constructed to break through the time and space limitations of university history drama. First of all, the online communication of university history drama performance videos should be strengthened. The performances should be recorded into high-definition videos and uploaded to campus official websites, short video platforms (Douyin, Bilibili), online course platforms and other channels, and promoted through campus new media accounts and student communities to increase the playback volume and communication scope of the videos. Secondly, the derivative contents of university history drama should be developed, such as "script reading audio", "behind-the-scenes creation stories", "actor interviews" and "university history knowledge popularization", which are released through WeChat official accounts and podcasts to enrich the online communication content and attract more students' attention. Finally, the digital innovative communication forms of university history drama can be explored, such as using VR technology to create virtual performance scenes, allowing students to watch university history drama immersively through virtual reality equipment; or making animated short films and comics of university history drama to convey the university history spirit in a more vivid form, improving the online communication effect of university history drama.

5.3. Improving the Guarantee Path of "System + Resources" to Consolidate the Practical Foundation

The sustainable development of university history drama requires a sound guarantee system. Therefore, from the two dimensions of system and resources, the guarantee path of "system + resources" should be constructed to consolidate the practical foundation of university history drama. In terms of system guarantee, colleges and universities should include university history drama in the overall plan of campus culture construction, clarify the position and role of university history drama in the inheritance of campus culture, and formulate a medium and long-term plan for the development of university history drama. At the same time, a special support fund for university history drama should be set up, and special funds should be allocated from the school's cultural construction funds for the script creation, rehearsal and performance, and professional guidance of university history drama to ensure the financial needs of university history drama; a "university history drama talent pool" should be established to include teachers, students and alumni who participate in the creation and performance of university history drama into the talent pool to reserve talents for the sustainable development of university history drama; an incentive mechanism for university history drama should be formulated to give recognition and rewards to teachers and students who have performed outstandingly in the creation and performance of university history drama, or give appropriate preference in the evaluation of awards and credits to stimulate the enthusiasm of teachers and students to participate in university history drama.

In terms of resource guarantee, colleges and universities should fully integrate internal and external resources to provide support for the practice of university history drama. In terms of internal resources, the university history materials of the university history museum and archives should be opened to provide historical materials support for the creation of university history drama; the campus theater, auditorium, rehearsal room and other venue resources should be coordinated to provide venue guarantee for the rehearsal and performance of university history drama; teachers from drama major, literature major and history major should be encouraged to participate in the guidance of university history drama to form an interdisciplinary guidance team. In terms of external resources, cooperation with professional theaters and cultural institutions should be strengthened, and professional screenwriters, directors and actors should be invited to serve as consultants or instructors of university history drama to improve the artistic quality of university history drama; cooperation with alumni enterprises and local cultural departments should be carried out to obtain financial and resource support, such as inviting alumni enterprises to sponsor university history drama, or cooperating with local cultural departments to carry out university history drama tours to achieve resource sharing and mutual benefit.

5.4. Exploring the Integration Path of "Drama Practice-Curriculum Education" to Deepen the Educational Effect

The educational value of university history drama is not only reflected in the performance process, but also can achieve a wider and deeper educational effect through integration with curriculum education. Therefore, exploring the integration path of "drama practice-curriculum education" is an important direction for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture. First of all, university history drama should be integrated into the teaching of general education courses. In general education courses such as "College Chinese", "Introduction to Art", "Principles of Aesthetics" and "University History and University Spirit", the appreciation and creation module of university history drama should be introduced. Teachers can guide students to understand the artistic characteristics and cultural connotation of university history drama by explaining the script structure, character shaping and theme thought of typical university history drama works; at the same time, organize students to carry out the adaptation and performance practice of university history drama fragments, so that students can deeply contact university history drama in the course learning and improve their cognition of campus culture. Secondly, characteristic courses such as "university history drama workshop" should be set up, and professional teachers should lead students to systematically learn the creation and performance knowledge of university history drama. The workshop can be divided into modules such as "script creation", "role shaping" and "stage design". Students complete the creation and rehearsal of university history drama fragments in groups in the course, and display the results. Through practical learning, students can improve their creation and performance ability of university history drama, and at the same time deepen their understanding of university history spirit. Finally, a "university history drama practical credit" system should be established, and students' participation in the creation, performance and voluntary service of university history drama should be included in the scope of practical credit recognition. Students can obtain corresponding practical credits by participating in the script writing, role performance and stage setting of university history drama. This system can not only stimulate students' enthusiasm to participate in university history drama, but also promote the combination of university history drama and students' academic development, realizing the long-term educational value of university history drama.

6. Conclusions

This study explores the role of university history dramas in the inheritance of campus culture, with a focus on the logic of their value reconstruction and practical implementation paths, and draws three core conclusions: University history dramas have achieved multi-dimensional value reconstruction covering the educational, cultural identity, resource activation, and cultural radiation dimensions; they are confronted with dilemmas in creation, communication, and support; and the "four-in-one" practical path, which comprises four modules of transformation, communication, support, and integration, can effectively address the aforementioned dilemmas. This study has limitations, such as a relatively narrow scope of research objects and a small sample size; future research should expand the research scope, optimize research methods, and promote the integration of university history dramas with digital technologies.

Abbreviations

3D	Three-Dimensional
VR	Virtual Reality
AR	Augmented Reality
AI	Artificial Intelligence

Author Contributions

Jingjing Liu is the sole author. The author read and approved the final manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

No data was used.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

References

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Liu, J. (2025). Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Social Sciences, 14(5), 525-535. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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Liu, J. Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(5), 525-535. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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Liu J. Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Soc Sci. 2025;14(5):525-535. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16,
  author = {Jingjing Liu},
  title = {Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities
},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {5},
  pages = {525-535},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20251405.16},
  abstract = {Against the backdrop of the new era, the inheritance of campus culture in colleges and universities is confronted with the dual challenges of the impact of cultural diversification and the weakening of cultural identity among young students. As the core carrier of campus culture, the traditional forms of university history communication can no longer meet the needs of dynamic inheritance. University history drama, with the development process of colleges and universities, key figures and major events as its creative core, has realized the reconstruction of value dimensions in the inheritance of campus culture through immersive and emotional artistic expression. This paper adopts the methods of literature research, case analysis and in-depth interview, combined with the theory of cultural memory and experiential learning theory, to systematically analyze the reconstruction logic of university history drama in the dimensions of educational value, cultural identity value, activation value of university history resources and cultural radiation value. By exploring practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities, this paper identifies the practical dilemmas in the current practice of university history drama. Finally, from the four dimensions of content transformation, communication expansion, guarantee improvement and curriculum integration, it puts forward the practical paths for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture, providing theoretical reference and practical paradigm for colleges and universities to activate university history resources and strengthen cultural inheritance.
},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities

AU  - Jingjing Liu
Y1  - 2025/10/22
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 525
EP  - 535
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
AB  - Against the backdrop of the new era, the inheritance of campus culture in colleges and universities is confronted with the dual challenges of the impact of cultural diversification and the weakening of cultural identity among young students. As the core carrier of campus culture, the traditional forms of university history communication can no longer meet the needs of dynamic inheritance. University history drama, with the development process of colleges and universities, key figures and major events as its creative core, has realized the reconstruction of value dimensions in the inheritance of campus culture through immersive and emotional artistic expression. This paper adopts the methods of literature research, case analysis and in-depth interview, combined with the theory of cultural memory and experiential learning theory, to systematically analyze the reconstruction logic of university history drama in the dimensions of educational value, cultural identity value, activation value of university history resources and cultural radiation value. By exploring practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities, this paper identifies the practical dilemmas in the current practice of university history drama. Finally, from the four dimensions of content transformation, communication expansion, guarantee improvement and curriculum integration, it puts forward the practical paths for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture, providing theoretical reference and practical paradigm for colleges and universities to activate university history resources and strengthen cultural inheritance.

VL  - 14
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Jingjing Liu

School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

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http://orcid.org/0009-0007-2473-9917

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APA Style

Liu, J. (2025). Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Social Sciences, 14(5), 525-535. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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Liu, J. Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(5), 525-535. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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Liu J. Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities. Soc Sci. 2025;14(5):525-535. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16,
  author = {Jingjing Liu},
  title = {Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities
},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {5},
  pages = {525-535},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20251405.16},
  abstract = {Against the backdrop of the new era, the inheritance of campus culture in colleges and universities is confronted with the dual challenges of the impact of cultural diversification and the weakening of cultural identity among young students. As the core carrier of campus culture, the traditional forms of university history communication can no longer meet the needs of dynamic inheritance. University history drama, with the development process of colleges and universities, key figures and major events as its creative core, has realized the reconstruction of value dimensions in the inheritance of campus culture through immersive and emotional artistic expression. This paper adopts the methods of literature research, case analysis and in-depth interview, combined with the theory of cultural memory and experiential learning theory, to systematically analyze the reconstruction logic of university history drama in the dimensions of educational value, cultural identity value, activation value of university history resources and cultural radiation value. By exploring practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities, this paper identifies the practical dilemmas in the current practice of university history drama. Finally, from the four dimensions of content transformation, communication expansion, guarantee improvement and curriculum integration, it puts forward the practical paths for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture, providing theoretical reference and practical paradigm for colleges and universities to activate university history resources and strengthen cultural inheritance.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Research on the Value Reconstruction and Practical Paths of University History Drama in the Inheritance of Campus Culture in Colleges and Universities

AU  - Jingjing Liu
Y1  - 2025/10/22
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 525
EP  - 535
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251405.16
AB  - Against the backdrop of the new era, the inheritance of campus culture in colleges and universities is confronted with the dual challenges of the impact of cultural diversification and the weakening of cultural identity among young students. As the core carrier of campus culture, the traditional forms of university history communication can no longer meet the needs of dynamic inheritance. University history drama, with the development process of colleges and universities, key figures and major events as its creative core, has realized the reconstruction of value dimensions in the inheritance of campus culture through immersive and emotional artistic expression. This paper adopts the methods of literature research, case analysis and in-depth interview, combined with the theory of cultural memory and experiential learning theory, to systematically analyze the reconstruction logic of university history drama in the dimensions of educational value, cultural identity value, activation value of university history resources and cultural radiation value. By exploring practical cases of university history drama in multiple colleges and universities, this paper identifies the practical dilemmas in the current practice of university history drama. Finally, from the four dimensions of content transformation, communication expansion, guarantee improvement and curriculum integration, it puts forward the practical paths for university history drama to empower the inheritance of campus culture, providing theoretical reference and practical paradigm for colleges and universities to activate university history resources and strengthen cultural inheritance.

VL  - 14
IS  - 5
ER  -

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