Student Protestantism and the College Woman: The Example of Smith College, 1910-1960

Team Members/Contributors

Susan Grant Rosen Union Theological Seminary Contact Me

About this dissertation fellowship

Using methods drawn from American religious history and American women’s history, and with a goal of revising the literature in both fields, this project looks at student Protestant activism on a women’s college campus in the first half of this century. Until the installation of a formal campus chaplaincy (1955) Smith students were the principal religious leaders of their institution. Their role was not unusual: similar conditions prevailed on most women s campuses, where chaplaincies developed late. The study defines and analyzes a longlived female “student Protestant” culture; views it in interaction with other trends affecting college women and American religion; and examines the impact of student Protestantism on young women who were most active in it——here, the 1,000—odd officers who led the Smith College Association for Christian Work over fifty years. Challenging recent studies which emphasize secularization and Protestant declension in 20th century higher education, the project adds to the body of literature which views “the increasing vigor of women a religious roles” as a central narrative thread in American religious history.