Guide to the University of Chicago Women and Women’s Organizations Collection 1919-2000


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Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY
• Series I: University Policy and Practices
  • Subseries 1: Early Administrative Perspectives and Policies on Women, 1892- 1977
  • Subseries 2: Early Academics and Accommodations for Women
  • Subseries 3: Relevant Statistics and Reports on Women in the University, 1891-1975
  • Subseries 4: Oversized Newspaper, 1977
  • Subseries 5: Later Discrimination Cases, 1969-1970
• Series II: The Women at the University
  • Subseries 1: Women in University Life - General, 1896-1964, 2015
  • Subseries 2: Early Faculty Biographical Material, 1892-1966
  • Subseries 3: Alumnae Biographical Material, 1893-1976
• Series III: Women’s Activities and Organizations
  • Subseries 1: Social Life and University Activities - General, 1908-1975
  • Subseries 2: Early Formation of Women’s Organizations, 1892-1936
  • Subseries 3: Community Involvement, 1897-1946
  • Subseries 4: Original Materials from Activities and Organizations, 1892-1980

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Women and Women’s Organizations. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Scope Note

The collection is organized into three series: Series I: Administrative Perspectives and Policies, Series II: The Women at the University, and Series III: Women’s Activities and Organizations. It includes articles, correspondence, clippings, meeting minutes, reports, directories, rosters, reports, invitations, flyers, pamphlets, booklets, and other documents produced on and by women in university life.

Series I focuses on the University of Chicago’s inner dialogue and official actions regarding its women students. The focus of the series lies primarily in the first few decades of the institution, when Marion Talbot was the Dean of Women. Though Talbot wrote in 1898 that “In no institution in the world is the work of women scholar less hampered by artificial restraints; and nowhere are women freer to pursue their collegiate or university training,” the subsequent years delivered a plethora of challenges as the administration struggled to live up to its set precedent of inclusive and equal education. These challenges include President’s Harper’s proposed plan for separate instruction in 1902, a history of discriminative hiring practices, unequal distribution of aid and honors, and ongoing treatment of female faculty. This series also details administrative discussion surrounding the establishment of women’s housing, athletics, and recreational facilities, as well as the Department of Home Economics and Nursing as academic departments specifically aimed at women students. This series should be read alongside the Marion Talbot Papers; much of the material can be cross referenced.

Series II is primarily biographical in focus, sketching an unofficial picture of women’s life at the University, as well as highlighting faculty and alumnae’s stories and accomplishments through articles and correspondences. The question of what kind of person the woman at the University of Chicago was and what kind of person she out to be is continuously asked and answered throughout the series. Anecdotal material presents the variety of expectations for and receptions of women at the university, and can be characterized broadly by youthful excitement, conservative suspicion and plenty of good humor. Moreover, reminiscences from early alumnae present reflections on the role of the colligate experience within individual lives and broader communities of women at a time when the character and fate of women in higher education was still in question. The life and work of early faculty and notable alumnae further exemplify the complex ethos of women at the university.

Series III focuses on the official social life and communities of women at the University of Chicago, first by providing a brief history of the creation of official organizations beginning with sororities, then turning to original documents from various clubs, unions, councils, committees, etc. Early in university history, an established network of social activities for women was seen as critical in the university’s contribution to the student’s holistic wellbeing. The organizations subsequently created became platforms for more than mere socialization. They became platforms for women’s voices to be heard in and through arts, academics, and politics on campus.

The “Women’s University Council” material in Series III may be of particular interest in understanding the collection itself, and the history of women’s discourse at the University. These folders contain ten years’ of meeting minutes spanning from 1925 to 1935. They detail discussion by female administration and faculty regarding topics such as housing, social life, and women’s health. They give a clear picture not only of the issues relevant to women at the university, but the manner in which they were addressed.

Related Resources

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

Browse finding aids by topic.

Abbott, Edith and Grace. Papers

Archival Biographical Files

Beecher House. Records

Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. Papers

Delta Sigma Women's Club. Records

Department of Buildings and Grounds. Records

Department of Physical Education and Athletics. Records

Harper, William Rainey. Papers

Office of the President. Harper, Judson and Burton Administrations. Records

Office of the President. Hutchins Administration. Records

Office of Student Activities. Records

Quadranglers. Records Alumnae Club. Records

Rickert, Edith. Papers

Service League. Records

Talbot, Marion. Papers

Wallace, Elizabeth. Papers

Subject Headings

• Dixon, Marlene
• Harper, William Rainey, 1856-1906
• Talbot, Marion, 1858-1948
• University of Chicago. Department of Household Administration
• University of Chicago - History
• University of Chicago - Students
• Home economics -- Study and teaching
• Women -- Education (Higher) -- Illinois
• Women -- Societies and clubs

INVENTORY

Series I: University Policies and Practices, presents a history of the University’s official policy and actions regarding its female students. It also details the subsequent implementation and implications within the faculty and student body. It includes correspondence, articles, speech drafts, meeting notes, and a variety of statistics and reports. Materials date between 1891 and 1977.

The materials found here should be read alongside “Early Faculty Biographical Material” in Series II as well as “Women’s University Council” in Series III. For more on the Marlene Dixon Case, see ‘Women’s Radical Action Project” in Series III, Subseries 4.

Series II: The Women at the University, details the lives of students, alumnae, and faculty within university history and campus life. This series focusses on particular figures and unofficial narratives to compliment the broader issues and official events in Series I and III. It includes correspondence, articles, personal anecdotes, and a variety of biographical profiles. Materials date between 1896 and 1976.

Series III, Women’s Activities and Organizations, presents a picture of the official social life of women at the University of Chicago through the lens of specific organizations. The scope of the material ranges from programs for dramatic productions to calls for political action. It includes articles, clippings, and a vast amount of original materials produced by the organizations themselves. Materials date from 1897 to 1980.