On 24 April, MA student Kathleen McHugh presented her research at the 2021 Phi Alpha Theta Western/Central New York Annual Regional Conference. Mc Hugh’s presentation examined university-level household physics textbooks in home economics curricula.
McHugh argued that “University-level household physics textbooks were positively received by both the physics and home economics communities because they created a sphere for women to practice science that did not challenge existing gender roles.”
McHugh’s research demonstrates that home economics programs consisted of much more than cooking and sewing. In fact, the curriculum of these programs drew from scientific principles to improve cooking, sanitation, textiles, and household management. McHugh emphasized both the role of science in the home, as well as women’s roles as household scientists in said domain.
Attribution: Adventist Digital Library
McHugh examined several physics textbooks aimed at educating students enrolled in home economics programs, including: Carleton J. Lynde’s Physics of the Household (1914), Frederick A. Osborn’s Physics of the Home (1935), Madalyn Avery’s Household Physics (1938), Earl C. McCracken’s Selected Physics Topics for Home Economics Students (1939), and Lester T. Earls’ A Brief Course in Physics for Students of Home Economics (1949).
Ultimately, McHugh concluded that because women were not seeking degrees in physics to ultimately compete with men in the job market, there was no institutional pushback against including physics in home economics textbooks and curriculum.
Initiated into Phi Alpha Theta (the History Honors Society) in the Spring of 2020, McHugh hoped to take advantage of membership benefits and present her graduate research at conferences. In preparation for her first conference presentation, McHugh refined her research from her Fall 2020 History seminar. Of her first presentation experience, McHugh feels she has gained more confidence in her research as an historian and even connected with other students studying science and home economics.
McHugh’s master’s thesis will center on Ava Milam Clark, Oregon State University’s long-serving Dean of Home Economics.
Follow Kate on Twitter: @kathmchugh
CATEGORIES: Graduate Students Physics