This book outlines approaches to teaching and learning that can address the diverse needs of students of different genders, races, ethnicities, classes, ages, and sexual orientations. The text focuses on strategies that optimize women's educational experiences, particularly education that is women-centered, and the attendant strategies that…

The early history of Bennington College, Vermont, beginning with initial endeavors by Vincent Ravi Booth in 1923, is examined. Topics include: granting of a satisfactory charter to the college; the role of educators such as Amy Kelly and William Heard Kilpatrick in initial curriculum recommendations; electing Robert Devore Leigh as president;…

The efforts of Mary Lyon, virtually singlehandedly, to raise money, recruit students, and plan the academic development of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, founded in 1837, are detailed in this book. The founder sought to educate women through rigorous application of the intellect, which she believed to lead to salvation. In doing so she…

Discrimination against women in U.S. society and the academic world is detailed in the eight chapters of this book. Inconsistencies in American society, and arbitrary societal standards that have perpetuated discriminatory behavior toward women are examined. Part I focuses on the socialization process that women undergo as Americans and as women…