Education at the Margins: A Century of Curricular Change at Women’s and Historically Black Colleges

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Power in Reimagining the History of American Curriculum

Abstract

Attitudes toward diversity have changed markedly over time. Changes in university curricula reflect this attitudinal shift, becoming less Euro- and male-centric over time. What effect has this sea change in attitudes toward diversity had on colleges dedicated specifically to serving minority students and women? This paper explores changes in the basic contours of the formal curriculum at 17 black and 27 women's colleges over the twentieth century. More specifically, it examines the effect of political, social, and legal forces on the curricular composition of these institutions. My premise is that curricula at black and women’s colleges are shaped by the sociopolitical and legal status of the groups they serve, such that changes in the latter produce transformations in the former.

Author

• Wade M. Cole, University of Utah