Educated in the Townships: The students of the University of Bishop's College, 1930-1939

During the 1930s, English-Canadian universities faced particular challenges to meet the needs of an increasingly industrial, bureaucratic and technological society. The Depression accelerated this process, forcing universities to provide more practical academic programs. Students began to attend university not simply to secure an education, but employment as well. This trend challenged the premise of a classical education that advocated the pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself, and which had directed the development of most universities to that time. Regionalism also represented an important force defining institutions and influencing student demographics. The University of Bishop's College was a small, Anglo-Protestant institution located in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. This meant that the university had a mandate to serve the local anglophone community by educating its young people and offering practical academic programs such as ministerial and teacher training. Although regionalism is significant to this study of Bishop's as an institution, the students' experiences also generally conform to a recent study that suggests a common English-Canadian university student culture, one more concerned with future success than with challenging the status quo. Still, this study challenges the prevailing image of a normative student experience. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)