Interested in doing your own research on topics relating to coeducation or the history of women at the College? Look to the research guide below for information on where to start at the Bowdoin College Library and in the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives.
Secondary Sources
| Source | Topic |
| Kaufman, Michael J. Badges and Incidents: A Transdisciplinary History of the Right to Education in America. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Access via CBBcat. | Education in the U.S. |
| Du Bois, W E B. W.E.B. Du Bois: A Reader. Edited by David Levering Lewis. Holt, 1995. Access via CBBcat. | Diversity in Higher Education |
| Stulberg, Lisa M., and Sharon Lawner Weinberg. Diversity in American Higher Education toward a More Comprehensive Approach. Florence: Taylor and Francis, 2012. Access via CBBcat. | Diversity in Higher Education |
| Faragher, John Mack, and Florence Howe. Women and Higher Education in AmericanHistory: Essays from the Mount Holyoke College Sesquicentennial Symposia. New York: Norton, 1988. Access via CBBcat. | Coeducation in the U.S. |
| Howe, Florence. Myths of Coeducation. Wellesley, MA: Center for Research on Women, 1978. Access via CBBcat. | Coeducation in the U.S. |
| Newcomer, Mabel. A Century of Higher Education for American Women. Washington: Zenger, 1959. Access via CBBcat. | Coeducation in the U.S. |
| Peril, Lynn. College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds, Then and Now. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. Access via CBBcat. | Coeducation in the U.S. |
| Calhoun, Charles C. A Small College In Maine: Two Hundred Years of Bowdoin. Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 1993. Access via CBBcat. | Coeducation at Bowdoin |
| Forty Years of Woman at Bowdoin College, online project, 2011. Access online. | Coeducation at Bowdoin |
| Kellogg, Emma. “A Men’s College Without Women,” Bowdoin Honors Thesis, 2020. Access online. | Coeducation at Bowdoin |
| Kaster, Barbara. To Serve the Common Good: A History of the College. Video. 1993. Access part one online; access part two online. | Coeducation at Bowdoin |
Archival Primary Sources
| Source/Collection | Topic |
| Sarah Orne Jewett Papers, 1876-1905 (M238). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Women Honorary Degree Recipients |
| Kate Douglas Wiggin Collection, 1867-1985 (M187). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Women Honorary Degree Recipients |
| Summer School of Science, July 1876. Attendance Books: Office of Student Records/Registrar Records (A02.02.03, volume 3). Access online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Summer School of Science, 1876-1878 |
| History Scrapbook, July 1875-June 1879. Office of Communications and Public Affairs Records (A06.01.19, volume-folio 4). Access College Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Summer School of Science, 1876-1878 |
| Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker Papers, 1850-1904 (M184). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker |
| Walker Art Building files, maps, realia. College Building Records (A01.13). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker |
| Society of Bowdoin Women, correspondence, 1922. Kate Douglas Wiggin Collection, 1867-1985 (M187). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Society of Bowdoin Women |
| Society of Bowdoin Women, photographs. Access Image Gallery online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Society of Bowdoin Women |
| Society of Bowdoin Women (1961-80). Willard F. Enteman Administrative Records, 1956-1981 (A01.0211.01, box 1). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s: Society of Bowdoin Women |
| Edith Sills material. Kenneth C.M. Sills Collection, 1816-1994 (M166). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s |
| Bowdoin Wives Association, subject file, 1947-1948. Director of the Moulton Union Records, 1940-1973 (A01.19.03, box 1, folder 2). Access Collection Guide online. | Early Bowdoin Women and Societies, 1870s-1940s |
| President Chamberlain’s inaugural address, 1872. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Administrative Records, 1871-1883 (A01.02.06, box 1, folder 3). Access Collection Guide online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain |
| [C.F. Low and Chamberlain correspondence re: woman matriculating at the Medical School of Maine], 1872. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Collection, 1817-2014 (M027.01, box 2, folders 61-62). Access Collection Guide online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain |
| “Bowdoin Co-Eds.” The Bugle. Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 1890. The Bugle, 1858-2012 (A04.12, volume 3). Access Collection Guide online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s: Bowdoin Bugle, student yearbook |
| [Various other years depict contemporary attitudes towards women, as campus guests as well as students]. Access Collection Guide online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s: Bowdoin Bugle, student yearbook |
| DeWitt Hyde, William. The College Man and the College Woman. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Co., 1906. Access via CBBcat. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s |
| Forum: Recorded interview with President Coles, “Should Bowdoin go Co-ed”, March 2, 1965. WBOR Records: Student Groups and Organizations Records, 1804- (A04.08.13, digital files). Access audio and transcript online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s |
| “Better Coed Than Dead” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, Winter 1968. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06). Access online. | Pre-Coeducation Attitudes Towards Women, 1870s-1960s |
| Twelve College Exchange, 1970-1992. Office of the Dean of Student Affairs Records, 1940- (A04.01.14). Access Collection Guide online. | The Twelve College Exchange Program |
| Twelve-College Exchange, subject files, 1970. Roger Howell Administrative Records, 1952-1993 (A01.02.10.01, box 16, folders 20-21). Access Collection Guide online. | The Twelve College Exchange Program |
| Coeducation, subject files and faculty committee records. Roger Howell Administrative Records, 1952-1993 (A01.02.10). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| Bowdoin College, Study Committee on Underclass Campus Environment. Report to the President and Trustees and to the Overseers of Bowdoin College: Study Committee on Underclass Campus Environment, 1969. Access via CBBcat. | The Process of Coeducation |
| Curriculum, Special Committee on (Geary Report), faculty committee records, 1974-1977. Roger Howell Administrative Records, 1952-1993 (A01.02.10.03, box 1, folder 9). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| “The Equalizers” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1970. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 5). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| “Coeducation: A Very Brief History” in Bowdoin, 1991. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 7). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| “The Impact of Coeducation on the Student Life of Bowdoin College,” student paper for Prof. Randolph Stakeman (HIST), 1980. Class Projects and Coursework, 1804- (A03.32.06, box 1, folder 15). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| “The Implementation of Coeducation at Bowdoin College – What Was it All About?,” student paper for Prof. Randolph Stakeman (HIST), 1980. Class Projects and Coursework, 1804- (A03.32.06, box 1, folder 15). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| Coeducation of fraternities, general records. Fraternities and Greek Letter Societies Records, 1818-1997 (A04.07.01, box 1, folder 9). Access Collection Guide online. | The Process of Coeducation |
| Jacobson, Susan D. [Commencement part], 1971. Class Records, 1806- (A01.6.166, box 24). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Mann, Deborah and Diane Bazell [Commencement parts], 1975. Class Records, 1806- (A01.6.170, box 24). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| To the Root, 1980-1995. Student Publications (A04.41.13). Access Collection Guide. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Womyn’s Words, 1988-1993. Student Publications (A04.41.14). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Women’s Resource Center Records, 1980- (A04.38). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| “Something to Shout About” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1983. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 6). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Alpha Beta Phi (sorority), 1983-1991. Office of the Dean of Student Affairs Records (A01.04.13, box 1, folders 1-2) *Restricted until 2066 | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Bowdoin Women’s Association, 1974-. Student Groups and Organizations Records (A04.08.08) Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| “A Women’s Resource Center,” The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1981. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 6). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Student Life, 1970s-1990s |
| Thompson, Ann L, Former Faculty/Staff Records. Office of Development Services Records (A01.03.06, box 7, folder 10). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| Lou Emma Holloway, Tallman Lecture Recordings and Print material, 1971. Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| Holloway, Lou Emma, Former Faculty/Staff Records. Office of Development Services Records (A01.03.06, box 4, folder 1). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| “Women at Bowdoin: Some Thoughts” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1974. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 5). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| “Seven from Seventy-Five” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1975. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 5). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| LaPointe, Sally, Former Faculty/Staff Records. Office of Development Services Records (A01.03.06, box 4, folder 65). Access Collection Guide online. | The Early Years: Administrators, Faculty and Staff, 1940s-1980s |
| NCAA Gender-Equity Surveys, 1996-1997. Office of the Dean of Student Affairs Records (A04.01.12, box f, folder 8). Access Collection Guide online. *Restricted until 2072 | Gender Equality and Inclusivity |
| “Rise, Sons of Bowdoin” and “Raise, Songs to Bowdoin.” | Gender Equality and Inclusivity |
| “Here Comes the Sun” in The Bowdoin Alumnus, 1981. Office of Alumni Relations Records and Publications, 1809- (A01.05.06, box 6). Access Collection Guide online. | Gender Equality and Inclusivity |
| Report of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and response; Residential Life Report, subject files. Robert H. Edwards Administrative Records (A01.02.13). Access Collection Guide online. | Gender Equality and Inclusivity |
| Bowdoin College Self-Study reports, 2006, 2016. Bowdoin College Self-Study Reports (A01.29). Access Collection Guide online. | Gender Equality and Inclusivity |
This is not an exhaustive list of resources, contact Special Collections & Archives staff to discuss your area of interest and what materials might best support your research.
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