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
Home Economics and the Practice House
by Anna Brown “If you are a young woman and want to get married, a college or university campus is the best possible hunting preserve. Such a campus is well stocked with young bachelors who are already on their way up because they have taken the pains at least to begin a college education.” (1) This quote, printed in the Purdue Exponent in 1963, depicts the assumptions and beliefs of… Read More