Physical Education Department records, 1910 - 2003

The Physical Education Department records include materials from the Barnard College Athletics Association and Physical Education department. Materials include uniforms from old physical education classes, early reports and minutes of meetings of the Athletics Association, scrapbooks, course listings and curricula, and annual reports and inventories. Additionally, the collections contain newspaper clippings, pamphlets, photographs, and other materials that outline Barnard College’s participation in sports-related events.

Highlights of the Physical Education records include details about the hygiene classes offered in the 1920s and 1930s, which speak to perceptions of women’s bodies and physical health at the time. Related are materials on teaching Body Mechanics, a facet of physical education that emphasized proper posture for optimal women’s health, clippings about posture contests held at Barnard, and the Mythical Freshman statistics (Miss 1944 - Miss 1948), which were a composite of health statistics from all Barnard women each year used to show the “typical” physical characteristics of Barnard College women.

Other components of the collection include clippings and other materials that highlight the accomplishments of women athletes at Barnard College, information about the annual Celebration of Women in Sports event, and information about the Seven Sisters Invitational sporting event. Also of note are materials that highlight bygone sports such as quoits.