Dear Editor:
Nancy Schrom Dye’s “What’s in a Field?” was one of the most important pieces in Perspectives during 1986. I applaud her effort to detail and challenge the explanations advanced for the persistent underrepresentation of women on history faculties.
I agree that history faculties need to view women’s history as more than a discrete specialty. Her hypothetical example of a history department’s recruiting certainly illustrates how discrimination can and does operate in many colleges.
While I and many other women have been victims of “the way we define fields of specialization,” other more blatant discrimination also seems to persist. Three years ago, I applied for a one-year position in American history at a state college. Several weeks after I had sent my dossier, my adviser contacted the department chair. During the course of their telephone conversation, the department head made it clear that my candidacy was questionable because “they didn’t want any feminists.” In 1986, I was interviewed for a position at another state college. While at lunch with an administrator and the dean, the former stated: “I hope you won’t let your feminism get in the way of this job.”
These examples are familiar to many women in the profession. Professor Dye’s article had special meaning for me since it revealed yet another dimension of discrimination.
Mary Jane Capozzoli
Adelphi University
