Inaugural Address: The History of Women’s Education: Assessment and New Perspectives for the Future

In both Quebec and Canada as a whole, the history of women’s education is no longer a new appearance on the historiographical scene. As a field of research, this history has developed considerably in the last twenty years and can no longer be regarded as unknown territory. Whether it involves educational levels, specific educational paths, institutions, or programs intended for women, research has progressed sufficiently to allow an overview of this crucial component of women’s history to begin to emerge. As a result of such progress, henceforth no synthesis of the history of education worthy of the name can afford to ignore women’s education. However, there is a big difference between piecemeal integration and wholesale integration into the global context to which a synthesis refers and from which the overall perspective emerges. This raises the issue of the conditions necessary for such an integration. This paper examines a number of recent works in Canadian history and reflects on their treatment of the history of women’s education and history more generally, and the implications for the future.