Caroline Brown Bourland (June 4, 1871 – February 28, 1956) was an American college professor. She taught for over twenty years at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, where she was instrumental in the progression of the Spanish department into its own department. Bourland was a respected Spanish scholar.

Early life and education

She was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

on June 4, 1871, to Benjamin P. and Clara (Parsons) Bourland. She was educated in France and Germany and attended high school in Peoria. In 1893, she graduated from

, with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

After graduation, she taught in several

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

until 1897. Bourland studied abroad at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and Collège de France, Paris, from 1897 to 1898. A fellow in Romance Languages from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

, she graduated in 1899; and was a graduate scholar and fellow by courtesy in Romance Languages, from 1900. In 1901, Bourland was the holder of the Mary E. Garrett European fellowship and a student in Romance Languages, at Madrid, Spain. In 1905, she received her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. Her dissertation focused on

Boccacio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

and his work ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

''.

Career

A teacher in Pueblo, Colorado, from 1893 to 1894. She was later a teacher of French and German in Mrs. Starrett's School, Oak Park, Illinois, 1895–96 and at a high school in Peoria, Illinois, from 1896 to 1897. Bourland was an instructor, from 1902 to 1906, and later an associate professor of Spanish and French from 1906 at

, where she would serve until her retirement in 1939. Bourland was instrumental in the progression of the Spanish department at Smith into its own department. At Smith College, she focused on short stories in Spain. Bourland orchestrated an exchange program between a school in Madrid and Smith, in the hopes that her American students would learn to love Spain as she did.

Death and legacy

Bourland died on February 28, 1956, in

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin Oconomowoc ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall." The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oco ...

. In reporting her death, the

Hispanic Review Published in Philadelphia, the ''Hispanic Review'' is the oldest peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to research in Hispanic, Catalan and Luso-Brazilian literature and culture published in North America. The journal has published continuou ...

described Bourland as "one of the most favorably known women in American Hispanism, a keen and articulate personality, a devoted educator and a distinguished scholar."

Bibliography

Most widely held works by Caroline Brown Bourland: * ''The short story in Spain in the seventeenth century, with a bibliography of the novela from 1576 to 1700 '', 1927 * ''The case of Sancho de Almazán and Juan de la Cámara versus the Crown of Castile and the Town Council of Arenas (1514) '', 1947 * ''The Guild of St. Ambrose, or Schoolmasters' Guild of Antwerp, 1529-1579'', 1951

References

External links

Catherine Brown Bourland Papers
at the

Smith College Archives Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. The Smith College Archives document the life of the College by collecting mat ...

, Smith College Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourland, Caroline Brown 1871 births 1956 deaths American women academics Language teachers Smith College people American expatriates in France American expatriates in Germany University of Paris alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni