Abstract
At a time when America had only just begun its journey away from the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Acts of the 1880s and toward its eventual alliance with China during World War II, a group of home economists from Oregon began to contemplate sending one of their own to China. Ava B. Milam, head of the Department of Home Economics at the University of Oregon, left for Yenching University in 1922 to design a home economics program uniquely tailored to Chinese culture. In the 1920s, ideas of western superiority flourished, and work in China was largely considered as valuable in reflecting the promise of American society.
Highlights
“It makes one wonder if perhaps China could get straightened out more quickly if she got rid of her uninvited “guests” and was allowed to clean house by herself.”
Mills, Mabel Wood, of the home economists’ ideas from those of American society in general produces an image of and Martha Kramer, the four home economists around whom this discussion is centered, all the unique form of American spent significant time in China orientalism expressed by American home economists between the 1920s and the 1940s while involved in the Yenching who travelled to China
Kramer criticized English eating hand served to support the notion habits, and Milam admired that the grievances expressed a leader in the movement of by the home economists came scientific motherhood, likely prescribing to some of the same more from violations of scientific principles and less from notions ideas in relation to American childcare
Summary
Nancy Mason “It makes one wonder if perhaps China could get straightened out more quickly if she got rid of her uninvited “guests” (meaning us foreigners!) and was allowed to clean house by herself.”. -Camilla Mills, an American home economist, reflecting upon the condition of China in 1925. At a time when America had only just begun its journey away from the discriminatory Chinese. While Milam, and others like her, showed influences of American orientalism, they veered significantly from the Exclusion Acts of the 1880s and masses by expressing a scientific toward its eventual alliance with appreciation for many Chinese. As leaders in a group of home economists from progressive and highly scientific. Oregon began to contemplate field, the home economists sending one of their own to emphasized their scientific focus. The aim of this paper is superiority flourished, and work to examine the letters and in China was largely considered as valuable in reflecting the promise of American society. memoirs the home economists left behind against the backdrop of American orientalism. Christopher, American Images of China: 1931-1949, (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 24
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