Is Change Good?
In 1961, Santa Clara University finally admitted 75 female undergraduate students, becoming the first Catholic coeducational university in California. Unsurprisingly, this was met with some skepticism from some students and faculty, while others viewed it as a step forwards. It comes as no surprise to me that some people were unhappy with the change to a coeducational university simply because people usually don’t like change. However, there is little doubt in my mind that it was the right decision for the university to make.
I get a unique opportunity to go to the university’s archives this week and explore all the different sources that they have. This will be my first time going to an archive. So, in preparation, I read an article by Katherine E. Tirabassi in order to get a sense of what I would need to know in order to do good research. The most important and challenging part I think has to do with what Tirabassi refers to as the “Principle of selectivity.” This essentially states that there is going to be tons of information available to me in the archives and as a result, I’m going to need to be very selective, making sure to stay focused on a singular topic.
Context is Key
In preparation for all the resources I’m going to have an opportunity to explore, I’ve decided to research why the university decided to change from an all boys school to a coed school. Were they acting out of their own choice or was the university under pressure from an outside source? This is all context that I will need to gather at the archives too in order to really build up my knowledge of the scenario and try to understand the reasons behind the university’s decision.
Image Credit
http://katereedsenglishsite.weebly.com/archives.html
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