New Histories of Teachers College

To see the first building of Teachers College being built in the 1890s is to realize that the history of TC is always under construction. The history of this place is a work in progress, always ready for deeper insight and understanding.

The last comprehensive history of Teachers College was published in 1954. New histories are vitally needed now. Fresh evidence, more recently published scholarship, and alternative perspectives create excellent opportunities to engage in historical research. Through the Center on History and Education, this project on “New Histories of Teachers College” encourages and promotes inquiries into various aspects of TC’s history as an educational institution.

Not one but many histories flow through the place known as Teachers College, Columbia University. The birth and growth of professional fields, changing patterns of faculty teaching and research careers, evolving diversities of students and their aspirations, leadership at all levels of the organization, competing paradigms of knowledge and professional authority, shifting relationships with the university and local community and New York City, wave after wave of international engagements, divergent strategies of social action, multiple kinds of impact—all these and more make up the many-layered realities brought into focus by TC through the years.

For more information on how to collaborate or participate directly in historical initiatives related to Teachers College, or to present new studies through events and working papers sponsored by the project, contact Professor Thomas James at tj2180@tc.columbia.edu.