Contested Identities Catholic Women Religious in Nineteenth-Century England and Wales

by Mangion, Carmen M.

• ISBN13: 9780719076275
• ISBN10: 0719076277
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-08-01
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

English Roman Catholic women's congregations are an enigma of nineteenth-century social history. Over ten thousand nuns and sisters, establishing and managing significant Catholic educational, health care and social welfare institutions in England and Wales, have virtually disappeared from history. Despite their exclusion from historical texts, these women featured prominently in the public and private sphere. Intertwining the complexities of class with the notion of ethnicity,Contested Identitiesexamines the relationship between English and Irish-born sisters. This study is relevant not only to understanding women religious and Catholicism in nineteenth-century England and Wales, but also to our understanding of the role of women in the public and private sphere, dealing with issues still resonant today. Contributing to the larger story of the agency of nineteenth-century women and the broader transformation of English society, this book will appeal to scholars and students of social, cultural, gender and religious history.

Author Biography

Carmen M. Mangion is a part-time lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	p. ix
Preface and acknowledgements	p. xi
List of abbreviations	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
Developing identities
Becoming visible	p. 21
Choosing religious life	p. 53
Forming a novice	p. 89
Working identities
Evangelising	p. 111
Professionalising	p. 135
Corporate identities
Building corporate identity	p. 153
Class and ethnicity	p. 182
Authority and governance	p. 210
Conclusion	p. 235
Sources and methods	p. 240
Select bibliography	p. 250
Index	p. 277
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