Interval Before Marriage or Preparation for a Career? The Dual Mission of Catholic Junior Colleges in Washington, D.C
This article focuses on three Catholic junior colleges—Georgetown Visitation, Immaculata, and Marymount—located in the Washington, D.C. area in the mid-twentieth century. Catholic junior colleges have been virtually ignored by historians of education. A 1950 study found forty-three Catholic junior c...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2023
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| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2023, Volume: 134, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-26 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CF Christianity and Science KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBQ North America KDB Roman Catholic Church NBE Anthropology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article focuses on three Catholic junior colleges—Georgetown Visitation, Immaculata, and Marymount—located in the Washington, D.C. area in the mid-twentieth century. Catholic junior colleges have been virtually ignored by historians of education. A 1950 study found forty-three Catholic junior colleges enrolling 3,752 students. Twenty-five of these were for lay students, and eighteen of those were for women only. The 1952 American Junior College Directory reveals sixty-nine women's colleges, including Catholic, Protestant and non-sectarian institutions. In spite of their relatively small numbers, these colleges played a distinct role in higher education at mid-century. They existed at the vortex of gender, religion, and class, providing opportunities for women in a post-war society that was ambivalent about the purpose of higher education for women. They met young Catholic women's needs by providing training for gender-appropriate occupations, preparation for marriage and motherhood, and liberal arts courses for those who desired further education, in a middle-class religious atmosphere. The success of this model was revealed by the fact that three Catholic junior colleges and five Protestant or non-sectarian junior colleges for women flourished in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the middle years of the twentieth century. By the 1970s, however, developments in the church and in women's role in society made these institutions no longer relevant, leaving only those who adapted their mission to changing times able to survive. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/acs.2023.a900994 |