"Women have not been excluded from history, but they have been viewed from a male perspective." Nancy Cott, professor of American studies and of history at Yale, said in a speech last night in the Lowell House Junior Common Room.

Speaking before 25 students, most of whom were women, Cott said, "As more women become historians, the more the history of women will be explored."

Cott, who published a book this year about women in New England from 1780 to 1835, said that historians should not view women as a group which has merely been acted upon by historical forces. They should realize that women have contributed directly to events through history, she added, the difficulty of establishing a women's studies program here by discussing similar problems at Yale. The major criticism of Yale's program has been its lack of a definite focus in one discipline, as well as the difficulty of finding qualified instructors, she added.

Cott's lecture was the first in a series sponsored by the Lowell House Women's Studies Colloquium.