Frauen auf dem Weg in die akademische Karriere:: Kaiserreich und Zarenreich im Vergleich

Abstract

Starting off with the amazing experience of a woman doctor of German origin who had been born, educated and socialized in Russia the article discusses and compares higher education of women in tsarist Russia and imperial Germany. In both countries women aspired to be admitted to university, but for decades had to be content with special institutions (which did not confer academic degrees) in Russia and with the status of auditors in Germany. By discussing the particular features of female higher education and the final success of admission as regular students on an equal basis in German universities and as teaching staff in Russian ones (though women were not allowed to study there!), the article aims at raising our awareness of the complexity of different contexts. In addition to concepts of gender roles, the specific features of the educational systems and the demand for academically trained staff have to be taken into account. Only by clarifying how these (sometimes conflicting) forces were reconciled will we be able to understand the complicated processes of female admission in different countries.