A Time of Quiet Activism: Research, Practice, and Policy in American Women's Higher Education, 1945–1965

Abstract

This exploration of American women's post-World War 11 higher education begins with three stones. These narratives reflect issues women faced when, as educators, they tried to plan curricula and programs for female students, and when, as professionals, they tried to manage their own careers in an era that fiequently sent mixed messages a b u t women's roles and opportunities. They also reveal a quiet type of activism practiced by postwar women educators, an approach which often pales in comparison to the firmer efforts of postsuffrage and World War II activists, or to the lively and boisterous work of late-1960s feminists. However, I will argue that this more muted style, when combined with the era's predilection for individualized solutions to women's concerns, marks a particular postwar approach to advocacy that may be different from other eras but that suited the contextually complicated postwar period.T h e initial story belongs to Agnes Meyer. Meyer was an unusual woman and rather a free spirit in mid-twentieth century America.' In 1907, as Agnes Ernst, she graduated from Barnard College with a love for both art and travel and soon took a job as one of the very few female reporters with the New York Sun. Ernst traveled to Pans, where she became involved in the culture of artists and writers including

“A Different Kind of Activism”: The University of Florida Committee on Sexism and Homophobia, 1981–1992

“…Historian Linda Eisenmann (2005) first applied the term quiet activism to an exploration of three women in higher education, Agnes Meyer, Kate Hevner Mueller, and Mary Church Terrell, who each engaged in a quieter, individual solutions-based approach to advocacy in higher education during the postwar period between 1945 and 1965. Their approach had been less “boisterous and lively” than the activism of the Suffragettes, World War II activist, or late-1960s feminists, yet, as Eisenmann (2005) argued, “suited the contextually complicated post-war period” (p. 5). While, to some, the efforts of these women may seem “meek and self-effacing,” their efforts have potency that is historically “significant, under-examined, and undervalued” (Eisenmann, 2005, p. 17).…”

“…Their approach had been less “boisterous and lively” than the activism of the Suffragettes, World War II activist, or late-1960s feminists, yet, as Eisenmann (2005) argued, “suited the contextually complicated post-war period” (p. 5). While, to some, the efforts of these women may seem “meek and self-effacing,” their efforts have potency that is historically “significant, under-examined, and undervalued” (Eisenmann, 2005, p. 17). Quiet activists have been in the shadows of history, working below the radar of traditional historical records.…”

“…However, historical literature is thin regarding the experience of queer college students and there are even fewer references to the experience of queer faculty and staff in higher education (Beemyn, 2003; Clawson, 2014; Graves, 2018). This study seeks to address this gap in literature and to improve our understanding of queer social movements by examining the “quiet activism” (Eisenmann, 2005, p. 17) employed by the faculty and staff at the University of Florida (UF) between 1981 and 1992, during a time in which more audible activist efforts came with an increased risk of personal and professional loss.…”

Toward diversifying higher education sustainability competency scholarship: findings and implications from a bibliometric analysis

“…A brief overview of American higher education history specifically, for example, provides many successful examples of the role it plays in addressing social problems. These include the environmental movement (Schoenfeld, 1979), civil rights movement (Rojas, 2007), the women's liberation movement (Eisenmann, 2005), the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Fisher and Misovich, 1990), the LGBTQ rights movement (Young and McKibban, 2014) and more recently the movement for black lives (Davis et al, 2019). Students' formal learning experiences, in particular, have been found to be key to inspiring and preparing them to advance social changes (Kilgo et al, 2015).…”