Alice Freeman Palmer: The Evolution of a New Woman"Alice Freeman Palmer (1855-1902) was one of the most influential figures in expanding academic horizons for women in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. But her importance extends beyond her role in higher education. As a woman who chose both marriage and a professional career, she confronted obstacles that challenged the new path she and other women were forging, earning herself the title "New Woman."" "In this first biography of Palmer, Ruth Bordin draws from a variety of rich and hitherto untapped sources, thoroughly illuminating not only Palmer's extraordinary life, but also a fundamental period of transition in the history of educated, middle-class women during the turn of the century." "Palmer blazed trails traditionally unavailable to women. She graduated from the University of Michigan, the first major coeducational university, and became president of Wellesley College before the age of thirty. Following that tenure, Palmer temporarily held volunteer positions, influencing women's education as a trustee of Wellesley College, an adviser to Radcliffe, Barnard, and Pembroke, and a popular lecturer on women and higher education." "She formally returned to academia in the early 1890s with her appointment as the first dean of the newly founded University of Chicago, and continued her struggle to ensure women's acceptance in education as students, faculty, and staff." "Bordin's biography of Palmer not only provides a compelling story of this unique woman's life, but vividly illustrates early attempts to solve problems that have occupied women down to the present day."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Contents
The New Woman | 1 |
Genesis | 15 |
Commitment | 33 |
Crucible | 65 |
Vocation | 83 |
Fulfillment | 113 |
Dilemma | 153 |
Accommodation | 191 |
Challenge | 223 |
Resolution | 269 |
295 | |
309 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Academic Courtship accepted Alice Freeman Palmer Alice Palmer Alice's American Ann Arbor appointment April Board of Trustees Boston Boxford Cambridge campus career chap Chicago Archives coeducational College Hall Courtesy of Wellesley Diary Durant's early Eben Horsford Educated Women Executive Committee father February Freeman to George Freeman to Lucy George Herbert Palmer George Palmer George's girls Glasscock graduate Harper Papers Harvard Henry Durant Henry Fowle Durant History Houghton Ibid June letters ley Typescripts lived Lucy Andrews Marion Talbot marriage married Mary Minutes never nineteenth century November October Palmer to Alice Palmer to George Palmer to William Pauline president professional professor Robert Herrick role Saginaw salary Seminary September social teachers teaching tion University of Chicago University of Michigan University Press Wellesley College Archives Wellesley faculty Wellesley Typescripts Wellesley's William Rainey Harper Windsor Woman women's colleges women's education wrote York young