The Merging of Two Cultures: Education and Women

I have chosen to look at one Salem College yearbook, called 'Sights and Insights' from 1928. This yearbook represents an anomaly, women generally did not go to college in the 1920s. This higher eduction was reserved for wealthy white males. Yet that year Salem had a freshman class of over 100. What does this say about the merging of education and women? What also does it say about the culture of the time of publication, right before the stock market crash? The elaborateness and excessiveness of the theme gives the reader an insight into the culture that these women enjoyed. Also, how is this yearbook read and appreciated in todays culture? Does it stand for something different for some one who did not attend Salem? Who has owned this book and why did it end up in an antique book collection at a antique mall? Why would someone rip out the first page? All of these questions are a starting point of looking at and evaluating this yearbook as a cultural object and a way to look at the past through the educated female gender. Although there is a lot to be said about a yearbook as a cultural and material object, I will be primarily focusing on the above questions. The title is very, very rough and will most likely change as the questions are answered.