"Cult of True Womanhood" and American Catholic Sisters: An Example of Creative Subversion

Barbara Welter concludes her pathbreaking article, “The Cult of True Womanhood, 1820-1860,” by declaring that “[Various forces in their lives] … called forth responses from woman, which differed from those she was trained to believe were hers by nature and divine decree. The very perfection of True Womanhood, moreover, carried within itself the seeds of its own destruction. For if woman was so very little less than the angels, she should surely take a more active part in running the world, especially since men were making such a hash of things” [174]. Traditionally, in both Welter’s original work and the many efforts that have subsequently followed, the living out of “True Womanhood” and the creative subversion it unintentionally inspired have been understood almost exclusively in either secular or Protestant contexts. This article explores the role of Catholic education by sisters in both reinforcing and undermining Victorian gender roles, and specifically analyzes the contributions of Catholic women religious to the complex and subversive process that Welter suggested. It analyzes the cultural and religious tensions that characterized nineteenth-century Catholic women’s education, as well as the women’s agency that, however inadvertently, it came to empower.

‘Let Us Roll Up Our Sleeves’: Amplifying Female Academic Leadership Through Collaboration and Mentorship

The strengths of female leadership are illustrated through the 400 year history of the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph (CSSJ) and their commitment to their charism which focuses on unity, inclusion and relationship building. Within the colleges they established, the Sisters have demonstrated their commitment to collaboration in their many leadership positions - both formal and informal - within the academy. This article focuses on the leadership of the Sisters as demonstrable examples of female leadership within academia, and makes suggestions for carrying the charism of the CSSJ into the future, expanding their focus on inclusivity to incorporate a broad expanse of female leaders.

“Doing Hope”: Ecofeminist Spirituality Provides Emotional Sustenance to Confront the Climate Crisis

Environmental crises caused by our changing global environment evoke intense and difficult emotions, particularly the paralysis that often results from despair. Understanding how people who are deeply engaged in environmental activism deal with their emotions can help in emotionally equipping people to address the climate crisis. Ecofeminist spirituality directly addresses these issues through an environmental stewardship that offers hope and healing for the world. This study includes 14 interviews with workers at an ecojustice center founded by an order of Catholic sisters in the United States. We used thematic analysis to identify three main themes that collectively describe the participants’ perspectives on (a) experiences of difficult feelings, (b) strategies for coping with those feelings, and (c) perspectives on cultivating hope. Participants shared how they were able to cope with difficult emotions and cultivate hope that the work they are doing matters, which was essential to sustaining their ecojustice work. As social workers respond to the changing environment, understanding how to sustain environmental work at the macro-level is essential to addressing largescale problems while also attending to difficult emotions at the microlevel. Further implications for social work practice include the importance of intergenerational organizing, living in “right relationship,” incorporating spirituality, and reinhabiting the profession.

Creation of a Human Trafficking Course

Human Trafficking is a serious global crime, particularly catastrophic in Africa. An asynchronous, online, interprofessional course on Human Trafficking was developed to educate interprofessional Catholic sisters in Africa who are attempting to intervene in the crisis. This article describes an interprofessional university team’s development, work processes, course product, and the initial impacts of the utilization of the interprofessional skills by the students. Specific elements deemed essential for success in creating and implementing IPE are delineated, including commitment from departments and colleges, respect for other professionals/disciplines, library support, time allowances, technology and learning design, and community relationships. Challenges and recommendations in the process as well as suggestions for future research are also discussed.