Caroline Brown Bourland

Caroline Brown Bourland (June 4, 1871 – February 28, 1956) was an American college professor. She taught for over twenty years at 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 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 Smith College, with a B.A. Her dissertation focused on Boccacio and his work The Decameron. 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. In reporting her death, the Hispanic Review 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."