"Now, Gentleman. Oh! Sorry Miss": Coeducation at Dickinson College, 1884–1919

• In Event: 64.040 - Gender, Sexuality, Schooling, and the Politics of Resistance

Abstract

This paper examines the timely topics of access and inclusion within the historical context of women’s higher education using as a case study Dickinson College, a liberal arts institution founded by noted, revolutionary figure, Benjamin Rush, in 1783 in Carlisle Pennsylvania. With a focus on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the paper considers the experiences of women admitted to a college that became coeducational in 1884, a hundred years after its founding as an all-male institution, without a vision or significant planning. Until the 1920s, these women, small in number, confronted sustained resistance from various stakeholders, a complete lack of female role models, limited facilities, and few opportunities to build strong communities.

Author

• Sarah D. Bair, Dickinson College