Development and change in mathematics education for undergraduate women: An examination of the early years of Barnard College

Abstract

This article explores how the mathematics education and educators at the New York, USA women’s college, Barnard College, during its early years approached the issue of equal study on separate campuses as well as how some of the female students of Barnard with a mathematics focus in their studies utilized their knowledge of this male-dominated field to pursue careers following their graduation. Women in the 19th century struggled to earn a degree of equal value to what was available to men, especially when they were excluded from sharing a campus and classes with their male counterparts. When Barnard was founded, higher education for women was a highly controversial issue, especially for institutions with rigorous academic demands. This paper uses archival material from both Barnard and Columbia to explore the mathematics curriculum required of Barnard’s students, why that particular curriculum was selected, and selected faculty and alumnae active in the department during its first 25 years.