Individual Presentation or Panel Title
“Books, Bonds & Beaus: The Perpetuation of Traditional Gender Roles at Hollins College during World War II”
Abstract
In 1940, President Bessie Randolph Carter addressed the Hollins College Board of Trustees. Women’s education, she charged, was vital to defend American democracy against the threat of totalitarian regimes. President Carter and Dean Mary Phlegar Smith presented opposing views over whether Hollins should continue traditional liberal arts course work that positioned the students as well-rounded southern mothers and wives, or if the institution should aim for preparatory courses for viable employment such as typing. Throughout World War II, Hollins administrators, professors, and students participated in the debate regarding the course work that would best equip students with skills to contribute to the war effort. Scholars D’Ann Campbell, Susan Campbell, and Amy Thompson McCandless have shown that American society required less sacrifice and labor, and more domestic normalcy, from the elite southern class of which Hollins students were a part. Drawing from student newspapers, president’s, dean’s, and registrar’s annual reports to the board of trustees, this presentation builds on this scholarship to argue that Hollins students and administrators resisted major changes in the midst of World War II and championed traditional female roles in order to preserve a home front to which American soldiers would wish to return.
Location
Goodwin Private Dining Room
Start Date
11-4-2015 2:30 PM
End Date
11-4-2015 3:20 PM
“Books, Bonds & Beaus: The Perpetuation of Traditional Gender Roles at Hollins College during World War II”
Goodwin Private Dining Room
In 1940, President Bessie Randolph Carter addressed the Hollins College Board of Trustees. Women’s education, she charged, was vital to defend American democracy against the threat of totalitarian regimes. President Carter and Dean Mary Phlegar Smith presented opposing views over whether Hollins should continue traditional liberal arts course work that positioned the students as well-rounded southern mothers and wives, or if the institution should aim for preparatory courses for viable employment such as typing. Throughout World War II, Hollins administrators, professors, and students participated in the debate regarding the course work that would best equip students with skills to contribute to the war effort. Scholars D’Ann Campbell, Susan Campbell, and Amy Thompson McCandless have shown that American society required less sacrifice and labor, and more domestic normalcy, from the elite southern class of which Hollins students were a part. Drawing from student newspapers, president’s, dean’s, and registrar’s annual reports to the board of trustees, this presentation builds on this scholarship to argue that Hollins students and administrators resisted major changes in the midst of World War II and championed traditional female roles in order to preserve a home front to which American soldiers would wish to return.