Oberlin College is frequently mentioned in connection with women's education, women's rights, or the struggle for women's emancipation. The following passage from the 1834 First Circular is invariably cited: Oberlin's founders strove for\"… the elevation of female character, by bringing within the reach of the misjudged and neglected sex, all the instructive privileges which hitherto have unreasonably distinguished the leading sex from theirs.\" Discussions seek to prove either that Oberlin is to be praised for its correct and \"liberated\" goals, or that it is to be condemned for hypocrisy in not going as far as publicized in the First Circular.
A brief survey of the literature concerning women at Oberlin clarifies what is lacking in the analysis. One strand of thought applauds the coming of coeducation for opening up new paths for American women. James Fairchild, at various times student, teacher, and president of Oberlin College, found himself the defender of Oberlin's experiment, and of coeducation in general. Twenty years after criticizing women who spoke in public, he became the spokesman for coeducation, on the grounds that it worked.\"
","abstract_html":"<p>Oberlin College is frequently mentioned in connection with women's education, women's rights, or the struggle for women's emancipation. The following passage from the 1834 First Circular is invariably cited: Oberlin's founders strove for"… the elevation of female character, by bringing within the reach of the misjudged and neglected sex, all the instructive privileges which hitherto have unreasonably distinguished the leading sex from theirs." Discussions seek to prove either that Oberlin is to be praised for its correct and "liberated" goals, or that it is to be condemned for hypocrisy in not going as far as publicized in the First Circular.</p> <p>A brief survey of the literature concerning women at Oberlin clarifies what is lacking in the analysis. One strand of thought applauds the coming of coeducation for opening up new paths for American women. James Fairchild, at various times student, teacher, and president of Oberlin College, found himself the defender of Oberlin's experiment, and of coeducation in general. Twenty years after criticizing women who spoke in public, he became the spokesman for coeducation, on the grounds that it worked."</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ginzberg, Lori D."],"institution":"Oberlin College Honors Theses","degree_name":"BA","degree_level":"bachelors","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Steinson, Barbara"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1978,"date_issued":"1978","date_published":"1978","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:01Z","subjects":["American History","Higher Education","Religion, History of","Oberlin","Ohio","Oberlin College","co-education","education","women","James Fairchild","woman"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363702142","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Steinson, Barbara"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ginzberg, Lori D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["1978"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["bachelors"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["BA"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Oberlin College Honors Theses"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American History","Higher Education","Religion, History of","Oberlin","Ohio","Oberlin College","co-education","education","women","James Fairchild","woman"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363702142"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Oberlin College is frequently mentioned in connection with women's education, women's rights, or the struggle for women's emancipation. The following passage from the 1834 First Circular is invariably cited: Oberlin's founders strove for\"… the elevation of female character, by bringing within the reach of the misjudged and neglected sex, all the instructive privileges which hitherto have unreasonably distinguished the leading sex from theirs.\" Discussions seek to prove either that Oberlin is to be praised for its correct and \"liberated\" goals, or that it is to be condemned for hypocrisy in not going as far as publicized in the First Circular.
A brief survey of the literature concerning women at Oberlin clarifies what is lacking in the analysis. One strand of thought applauds the coming of coeducation for opening up new paths for American women. James Fairchild, at various times student, teacher, and president of Oberlin College, found himself the defender of Oberlin's experiment, and of coeducation in general. Twenty years after criticizing women who spoke in public, he became the spokesman for coeducation, on the grounds that it worked.\"
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.106","43.21 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Women in an Evangelical Community: Oberlin 1835-50"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Steinson, Barbara"],"dc:creator":["Ginzberg, Lori D."],"dc:date":["1978"],"dc:description":["Oberlin College is frequently mentioned in connection with women's education, women's rights, or the struggle for women's emancipation. The following passage from the 1834 First Circular is invariably cited: Oberlin's founders strove for\"… the elevation of female character, by bringing within the reach of the misjudged and neglected sex, all the instructive privileges which hitherto have unreasonably distinguished the leading sex from theirs.\" Discussions seek to prove either that Oberlin is to be praised for its correct and \"liberated\" goals, or that it is to be condemned for hypocrisy in not going as far as publicized in the First Circular.
A brief survey of the literature concerning women at Oberlin clarifies what is lacking in the analysis. One strand of thought applauds the coming of coeducation for opening up new paths for American women. James Fairchild, at various times student, teacher, and president of Oberlin College, found himself the defender of Oberlin's experiment, and of coeducation in general. Twenty years after criticizing women who spoke in public, he became the spokesman for coeducation, on the grounds that it worked.\"
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.106","43.21 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363702142"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["American History","Higher Education","Religion, History of","Oberlin","Ohio","Oberlin College","co-education","education","women","James Fairchild","woman"],"dc:title":["Women in an Evangelical Community: Oberlin 1835-50"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["bachelors"],"thesis:degree_name":["BA"],"thesis:institution_name":["Oberlin College Honors Theses"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:01Z"}