The Anti-Feminist: the Dark Side of the Revolution
by Grant Barnett This blog will examine materials in Purdue Archives and Special Collections that illuminate the arguments of antifeminists and feminists on campus in the 1970s and 1980s. In exploring anti-feminism, I have decided to focus on two controversial issues: abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). These two issues caused controversy and prompted relatively clear arguments by both sides. I loosely define anything that is for abortion or… Read More
A Brief Purdue History of Home Economics
by Grant Barnett Home economics, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “a subject or class that teaches skills (such as cooking or sewing) which are useful in the home.” Home economics has been liberating for women and helped interject women into universities. Home economics curricula, however, have also been riddled with oppressive gendered expectations for the women who studied home economics. Purdue has been host to home economic education since… Read More
Training for Domesticity
by Grant Barnett “The most important industry in America is the management of American homes.” – President Calvin Coolidge What is a practice house and what where they used for? Did Purdue have any and what were they like? A practice house was a facet of many major university home economics programs, starting in Illinois in 1909. Practice houses were a place for young women, often aspiring homemakers, to put… Read More