Citizenship by Degree

"Since the mid-Twentieth Century, American women have made strides in higher educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and political engagement. While many point to the feminist movement to explain the progress that women have made since the 1960s, Deondra Rose shows that the progress derives in large part from the actions of lawmakers who used a combination of redistributive and regulartory higher education policies to enhance women's incorporation into their roles as American citizens. Examining the development and impact of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the Higher Education Act of 1965, and Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments, Rose argues that higher education policies represent a crucial factor in women's movement toward first-class citizenship. In doing so, she also demonstrates that federal higher education policy has been an indispensable component of the American welfare state."--from back cover.