Home Economics Bibliography

The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics. The term “home economics” may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken muffins. But common conception obscures the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople. And it has something to teach us today. In the surprising, often fiercely feminist and always fascinating The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field’s history from Black colleges to Eleanor Roosevelt to Okinawa, from a Betty Crocker brigade to DIY techies. These women—and they were mostly women—became chemists and marketers, studied nutrition, health, and exercise, tested parachutes, created astronaut food, and took bold steps in childhood development and education. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them. Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by women of color who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics’ women, as they chose to be single, share lives with other women, or try for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a denigrated subject to its rightful importance, as it reminds us that everyone should learn how to cook a meal, balance their account, and fight for a better world.

Excerpt from Bibliography of Home Economics The bulletin is a revision of Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1914, N O. 39, Education for the Home, by Dr. Benjamin R. Andrews, with the addition of books published since that date. The bibliography has been made as exhaustive as limitations of time and facilities per mit. It is not Offered as a suggestive home economics library for schools. Such a library should be chosen with careful consideration of the special needs of the school, and in most cases need not be all inclusive. Annotations have been presented in only a few cases where the title of the book does not fully reveal the nature of the contents. For most of the annotations acknowledgement is made to the library bulletin of the State College of Washington, Pullman, Wash. In every case possible the date of publication is given, for it is felt that the value of some of the books, particularly those of scientific nature, rests in large part upon their being Of recent date. So far as pos sible the prices given are the latest listed. Some of the books in cluded in the lists are now out of print, but the student of home economics who desires to study these older books may find them in the larger libraries. For the convenience of students the bibliography has been classi fied into general groups. A great number of the books might be classified under several topics but it has been thought best not to ex pand the text needlessly by repeating titles. For example, many of the books that treat of woman in 'her social and economic relations help to throw light on the history of the home economics movement. The student who makes intelligence use of the bibliography will bear Ihis in mind and look under all closely related topics for the helps needed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Academic Kitchen tells the story of the evolution of an all-women's department, the Department of Home Economics, at the University of California, Berkeley from 1905 to 1954. The book's unique focus on the connection between gender and departmental status challenges organizational theorists and higher education specialists to reconsider their traditional analysis of academic departments. By incorporating gender in the analysis, Nerad reveals the process by which departments traditionally dominated by women, including education, library science, nursing, social welfare, and home economics, begin as separate (and unequal) programs and are subsequently eliminated (or sustained without economic rewards, prestige, and power) when administrators no longer regard them as useful.