Yale University Library News

2019 exhibits will spotlight women’s history at Yale and beyond

March 10, 2019

Yale Library will join the 50 Women at Yale 150 celebration with four exhibits on women's history topics this year—three of which will be curated or co-curated by students.

The exhibits are part of a campus-wide commemoration of two milestones: the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of women in Yale College and the 150th anniversary of the first women students at the university who came to study at the School of Art in 1869.

In 2019-20, the university is seeking “to showcase the depth of women’s contributions to Yale and to the world, to celebrate women at the university, and to inspire thoughtful conversation about the future of women at Yale and in the larger society.”

Three of the library’s 2019 exhibits will explore the experience of women at Yale, while the fourth will delve into the life and legacy of a pioneering journalist whose papers are collected in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

In addition, proposals are being accepted for 2020 exhibits in the Sterling Memorial Library Memorabilia Room, with a submission deadline of Monday, April 8.

The following exhibits are under way or planned for 2019:

Musical Daughters of Eli: Women Pioneers at Yale, Gilmore Music Library and online, Feb. 25 - April 30, 2019. Curated by Archivist Richard Boursey.

The Walls are Tumbling Down: Coeducation in Yale College, July 22 – Oct. 18, 2019, Memorabilia Room, Sterling Memorial Library. Co-curated by University Archivist Michael Lotstein and graduate student Carly Sheehan (Art School ’20).

The Courtroom, the Couch, and the Archive: Janet Malcolm's Journalism, Exhibit Corridor, Sterling Memorial Library, May 13 – Oct. 6, 2019, Senior Essay Exhibit. Curated by Eve Sneider ’20.

Student Research at Yale University Library, Exhibit Corridor, Sterling Memorial Library, Oct. 2019 – April 2020. Mariana Melin-Corcoran ’20 will curate an exhibit honoring women graduates of the Yale School of Architecture. Valentina Connell ’20 will curate an exhibit on the history of Yale College housing, with a focus on gender dynamics.