Document, page 1 of 2
Agricultural College of Utah, Excerpt from The Organization and Course of Instruction of The Agricultural College of Utah. 1890-91. Logan, Utah.
Document, page 2 of 2
Agricultural College of Utah, Excerpt from The Organization and Course of Instruction of The Agricultural College of Utah. 1890-91. Logan, Utah.
Document Text |
Summary |
| COURSE IN DOMESTIC ARTS | COURSE IN DOMESTIC ARTS |
| Except in the hours devoted to shop, farm or horticultural work, the course for young women will be the same as for young men in the four years’ course of agriculture. There will be some fifteen terms of one lesson daily, wherein the course for young women will not run parallel with that of the young men. This time will be devoted to special work adapted to their sphere of life. Co-education is now very widely recognized in the higher as it has been in the lower schools. No adequate reason can be assigned for denying women a share in the benefits of this public bequest. Once admitted into the institution, their right to special consideration in making up the course of instruction is as clear as that of young men. For this reason, if for no other, special attention will be given to those branches of information in which young women require technical proficiency, and to those studies that tend to adorn life in the sphere in which they most move. | The agriculture course for young women is almost the same as the four-year agriculture course for men. It will only differ for a short time every day. This time will be focused on learning skills women need to oversee a household. Upper and lower schools now recognize that women deserve the same educational opportunities as men. There is no good reason to deny women the benefits of a good education. Once a woman is admitted as a student, she deserves the same kind of special attention a man gets. This is why some courses have been changed to provide women the information they will most need when they graduate. |
| SPECIAL STUDIES FOR YOUNG WOMEN. | These are the special classes offered to women. |
| Cooking.—The chemistry, or science, and the art of cooking will be taught. Exercises in cooking in application of school room teachings will be a regular feature of the work. Not only will the students be required to cook, but to arrange the table for guests and to preside over it. | Students will study the science of cooking. They will have the opportunity to practice in the classroom. They will also learn how to set a table and host a dinner. |
| Cutting and Sewing.—Cutting and sewing will also receive special attention. The value of this art in householding is too apparent to need commenting upon. | There will be a course on cutting and sewing. It is so obvious why this is necessary that we won’t say any more about it. |
| Dairying.—Butter and cheese making is a fine art. Milk is one of the most complex and unstable compounds known in the whole range of farm life. In no other field of farm economy is the product so irregular and with results so unfortunate. The problems involved are very complex and interesting. Very decided attention will be given to this most important field of woman’s general care. Fortunately, the more exacting work of the dairy now falls to other hands. While this is true, the necessity of mastery by woman of the philosophy and art of butter making was never greater than now, wherever butter is made on the farm. | Making butter and cheese requires real skill. Milk is one of the most unstable compounds you can find on a farm. If handled poorly, the results can be a disaster. We will focus a lot of attention on this delicate process, which has always been women’s responsibility. Luckily for the modern women, most of the work in the dairy is now done by others. But women should still know the art of butter making if they will someday live on a farm. |
| Hygiene.—A special course of lectures will be given to the young women of this department. | There will be a course devoted to personal hygiene. |
| Belles-lettres.—A special course of instruction will be given the young women in what is known as polite literature, including elocution. | Women will have a special course of literature suited to them. This will include the study of clear speaking |
| Music and Painting.—A competent instructor in Music and Painting will be employed, giving the opportunity to acquire these graces free of charge. They will not be compulsory studies, but will be encouraged for those who have the taste and talent for their acquisition. Other provisions will be made for those not desiring to devote their time to them. | Students will have the option to take classes in music and painting. These classes are free, but they are not required. They are recommended for students who have interest and talent. Students who do not take music or painting will study other subjects. |
| French.—French will be taught the young women instead of the German of the regular Course in Agriculture. German has been placed in the Course in Agriculture, as Germany is the home of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. The German language is richer in agricultural literature than that of any other language, hence it is placed in the Course in Agriculture. | Female students will learn French instead of German. The male students learn German because it is the scientific language of agriculture. |
| Horticulture.—Horticulture has a fascination for all classes of our population. Man has an intuitive or inherent love of nature. Her living forms everywhere claim the admiration and almost the affection of every cultivated or refined man or woman. Horticultural and household plants are varied; are very plastic in our hands, and are either beautiful or useful. In either case they minister to our pleasures. Household plants and the farm or the village garden are always objects of interest and of importance to women, and often the source of physical health, inducing, as they do, frequency in the open air. This does not necessitate the added drudgery of physical work in the garden any further than pleasure may dictate.
The growing taste for this refined field of agriculture warrants the devotion of some time on the part of the young women to the principles and practices of at least a restricted field in horticulture. |
Gardening is a fascinating subject for all people. Humans have an innate love of nature. Garden and household plants can be shaped by our hands and are either beautiful or useful. Either way, they bring us pleasure. Women have always taken an interest in household plants and gardens. Gardening is also good for physical health because it requires time outdoors. This class will teach gardening as a pleasing hobby, not hard labor.
This is a worthwhile field of study because it is part of every refined woman’s interests. |
Agricultural College of Utah, Excerpt from The Organization and Course of Instruction of The Agricultural College of Utah, 1890-91, Logan, Utah.
Background
In the 1800s farm work was modernized. To make their farms profitable, farmers needed to make smart decisions about what to buy and produce, how to allocate their workers, and what new technologies to put into use. Many came to believe that a strong education was necessary to successfully manage a farm.
In 1862 Congress passed the Morrill Act to support agricultural education. The act gave states land to found agriculture colleges and university programs. Many of the new schools offered programs for women because women played an important role in supporting and running family farms.
About the Resources
The Agricultural College of Utah was founded in 1888. It was one of several agricultural schools that offered courses to prepare women for life on a farm. The college’s first class included thirty-three women and 136 men. Only one of the eight original faculty members was a woman.
Both men and women were required to take geometry, algebra, chemistry, physics, botany, geology, zoology, and mineralogy. But men and women had specialized courses to prepare them for the different roles they were expected to play on a farm after graduation. Men were enrolled in the Course in Agriculture. Women were enrolled in the Course in Domestic Sciences. These pages from the Agricultural College of Utah’s course book outline the special classes offered only to women.
Vocabulary
- botany: The study of plant life.
- domestic sciences: Similar to home economics. The study of the science and economics of the home, including cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children.
- elocution: Public speaking.
- geology: The science of rocks.
- hygiene: Cleanliness and healthy behavior.
- mineralogy: The science of minerals.
- zoology: The science of animals.
Discussion Questions
- What special courses did women need to take and why?
- Most of the courses, particularly in math and science, were the same for men and women. Why did the college teach all its students the same material most of the time?
- Although the courses were very similar, the program for men students was called the Course in Agriculture, and the program for women students was called the Course in Domestic Sciences. Why do you think these different titles were used and what does it tell us about what opportunities were available to men and women after graduation?
Suggested Activities
- The growing home economics movement further professionalized the work of farm women. Connect this document to the life story of Ellen Swallow Richards. How did the professionalization of housework help to break down barriers between higher education, scientific research, and the domestic sphere?
- Explore higher education opportunities for women by connecting this document to the life stories of Ellen Swallow Richards, Jane Addams, and Mary Church Terrell.
- The Agricultural College of Utah prepared women for life on a farm. Based on the course descriptions, how might farm work have been different from the paid work depicted in Lewis Hine’s photographs of industrial workers or the housework described in the advertisement in Life magazine?
Themes
AMERICAN CULTURE; SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MEDICINE; ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
