An Essay on Barbara Miller Solomon’s in the Company of Educated Women

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Running head: WOMEN’S SPHERE Women’s Sphere: An Essay on Barbara Miller Solomon’s In the Company of Educated Women Higher Education & Student Affairs C654 Eric D. Williams Indiana University- Bloomington A Woman’s Sphere Introduction What are the boundaries of a woman’s sphere, and who and/ or what events help to either define, suppress, or expand the boundaries of a woman’s sphere? This is a question that came to mind when reading Barbara Miller Solomon’s (1985) In the Company of Educated Women. The Solomon (1985) narrative into the history of women in higher education had four themes: “(1) women’s struggle for access to institutions; (2) the dimensions of the collegiate experience; (3) the effects of education upon women’s life choices; and (4) the uneasy connection between feminism and women’s educational advancement (p. xvii).” As Solomon (1985) methodically takes the reader through each of these four themes, the transcendent theme of a woman’s sphere also emerges. For the sake of this essay, a woman’s sphere is the sum of women’s abilities and boundaries for which society, and women as an individuals, have defined as their proper roles. Throughout history there are individuals, both male and female, that debate the capabilities of women in both education and in the workforce. Moreover, a woman’s ‘proper place’ is also debated. Should a woman concentrate on being a good wife and/or mother, or does she have the right and ability to choose another path for herself? This essay will examine the overarching theme of a woman’s sphere through the lenses of the four themes that Solomon (1985) introduced in her narrative. This examination will illustrate that the boundaries of a women’s sphere was expanded and broadened through the progression of women’s education in America. Early Boundaries of

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