The Education of the Southern Belle

by Farnham, Christie Anne

• ISBN13: 9780814726150
• ISBN10: 0814726151
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-05-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

The American South before the Civil War was the site of an unprecedented social experiment in women's education. The South offered women an education explicitly designed to be equivalent to that of men, while maintaining and nurturing the gender conventions epitomized by the ideal of the Southern belle. This groundbreaking work provides us with an intimate picture of the entire social experience of antebellum women's colleges and seminaries in the South, analyzing the impact of these colleges upon the cultural construction of femininity among white Southern women, and their legacy for higher education.Christie Farnham investigates the contradiction involved in using a male-defined curricula to educate females, and explores how educators denied these incongruities. She also examines the impact of slavery on faculty and students. The emotional life of students is revealed through correspondence, journals, and scrapbooks, highlighting the role of sororities and romantic friendships among female pupils. Farnham ends with an analysis of how the end of the Civil War resulted in a failure to keep up with the advances that had been achieved in women's education.The most comprehensive history of this brief and unique period of reform to date, The Education of the Southern Belle is must reading for anyone interested in women's studies, Southern history, the history of American education, and female friendship.

Author Biography

Christie Anne Farnham is Associate Professor of History and Adjunct Associate Professor of African-American Studies and Women's Studies at Iowa State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
Academic Life
What's in a Name? Antebellum Female Colleges	p. 11
From Embroidery to Greek: Raising Academic Levels	p. 33
Educating a Lady: The Formal Curriculum	p. 68
The World of the Female School
The Yankee Dispersion: Faculty Life in Female Schools	p. 97
Trying to Look Very Fascinating: The Informal Curriculum	p. 120
Sisters: The Development of Sororities	p. 146
Lovers: Romantic Friendships	p. 155
Queens: May Day Queens as Symbol and Substance	p. 168
Epilogue: The Enduring Image of the Southern Belle	p. 181
Notes	p. 187
Select Bibliography	p. 229
Name Index	p. 247
Subject Index	p. 253
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