Civilizing Habits: Women Missionaries and the Revival of French EmpireCivilizing Habits explores the life stories of three French women missionaries--Philippine Duchesne, Emilie de Vialar, and Anne-Marie Javouhey--who crossed boundaries, both real and imagined, to evangelize far from France's shores. In so doing, they helped France reestablish a global empire after the dislocation of the Revolution and the fall of Napoleon. They also pioneered a new missionary era in which the educational, charity, and health care services provided by women became valuable tools for spreading Catholic influence across the globe. Philippine Duchesne traveled to former French territory in Missouri in 1818 to proselytize among Native Americans. Thwarted by the American policy of removing tribes even further west, she turned her attention to girls' education on the frontier. Emilie de Vialar followed French troops to Algeria after its conquest and opened missions throughout the Mediterranean basin in the mid-nineteenth century. Prevented from direct evangelization, she developed strategies and subterfuges for working among Muslim populations. Anne-Marie Javouhey evangelized among Africans in the French slave colonies, including a utopian settlement in the wilds of French Guiana. She became a rare Catholic proponent of the abolition of slavery and a woman designated a "great man" by the French king. Paradoxically, through embracing religious institutions designed to shield their femininity, these women gained increased authority to travel outside France, challenge church power, and evangelize among non-Christians, all roles more commonly ascribed to male missionaries. Their stories teach us about the life paths open to religious women in the nineteenth century and how both church and state benefitted from their initiative to expand the boundaries of faith and nation. |
Contents
| 1 | |
The Limits of Enclosure Philippine Duchesne | 21 |
SAVING SOULS EMILIE DE VIALAR | 99 |
MISSIONARY UTOPIAS ANNEMARIE JAVOUHEY | 175 |
Conclusion | 263 |
Other editions - View all
Civilizing Habits: Women Missionaries and the Revival of French Empire Sarah A. Curtis Limited preview - 2010 |
Civilizing Habits: Women Missionaries and the Revival of French Empire Sarah A. Curtis Limited preview - 2010 |
Civilizing Habits: Women Missionaries and the Revival of French Empire Sarah A. Curtis No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbé African Algeria Algiers American Anne-Marie Javouhey April archbishop of Albi ASJA ASJC August bishop of Autun boarding school Bourgade Callan Collection Catholicism charity Christian clergy clerics cloister Congrégation convent culture Dubourg Duchesne's Dupuch elite Emilie de Vialar empire established European evangelization February FM SG Guyane française France French empire French Guiana Gaillac girls Gorée governor Grenoble Guadeloupe Holy Ibid Indian January Javouhey’s Jesuits July letter live Louis Mana Marie-Joseph Martinique Mère Rosalie Javouhey minister mission missionary Missouri Muslim navy and colonies nineteenth century novices nuns Ottoman Paisant Paris Philippine Duchesne plantation population Potawatomi priests Protestant pupils religion religious orders Revolution Rome RSCJ-St Sacred Heart sisters Senegal settlers SG Guyane 61 slave slavery society Soeurs de St-Joseph Sophie Barat spiritual St-Joseph de Cluny St-Louis Sugar Creek superior Tunis Tunisia Ursulines Vialar Visitation women religious wrote