As another example, around the time of the Reformation, European upper class women were managing to carve out a few strong intellectual niches in the context of the aristocracy and the Catholic Church, places like the French salon and the convent school where female literacy was the norm and a woman could achieve a life of the mind. There were nuns writing math and physics books for young ladies whose mothers learned science in the salons from the scientists themselves. But the Catholic Church and the aristocracy lost quite a bit of social relevance as the Reformation sprang up and the Enlightenment followed. College administrators should be scared, because judging from the past, these statistics could spell the end of relevance of the college degree. Just because it has become so accessible to women.
History shows that the status of women has oscillated through time.
It is not unimaginable that we may be nearing another downturn. It was the 17th century, and the number has never been as high since. Be sure to include your name and affiliation. Legitimate requests for anonymity will be honored. The Chronicle maintains Colloquy as an open forum where readers can comment on issues.