Thesis--Catholic University of America, 1923. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [101]-102).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-224).

This dissertation investigates the changes in the legal, economic and political status as well as the topographical location of the monasteries in Constantinople between the fourth and the ninth centuries. Roughly from the late fourth up until the end of the sixth century, there was a gradual increase in the number of monasteries. This trend was counterweighted by almost complete silence in the sources throughout the seventh and the eighth centuries. The ninth century, however, constituted a return to the trend of the early centuries. Monks and monasteries "returned" to the city with a vengeance. This "return" was inevitably linked to the prevailing conditions during the previous centuries marked by, first, the final decline of the late Roman world and its institutions, and second, the Iconoclast controversy in Byzantium between the early eighth and the mid-ninth centuries. Overall, following primarily the evidence preserved in the vitae and the acts of the councils, one can conclude that, by the end of the ninth century, the integration of the monks into Byzantine society was complete. The monasteries had become an integral part of Constantinople and its Christian topography.

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This thesis examines John Cassian's attempts to influence the course of Gallic asceticism through the medium of his first ascetic work, De institutis coenobiorum et de octo principalium vitiorum remediis, I-IV. Rather than viewing Cassian as a cloistered, proto-Benedictine monk or an inept monastic legislator, it attempts to locate him in his broader, Late Antique context. The thesis first argues that the traditional view which holds that Cassian was a monk/abbot of Marseilles is flawed; in fact Cassian wrote his ascetic works while living in the province of Narbonensis Secunda and only moved to Marseilles sometime after AD 430. The thesis then turns to a consideration of the strategies Cassian employed to win a hearing for his ascetic works. It examines how he played on his own experience as the quality that gave him the right to overrule both native Gallic ascetic experiments and the works of other western ascetic writers. It also examines how Cassian created a semi-mythical set of monastic laws (the instituta Aegyptiorum) and used this construct as an additional source of authority for his recommendations. Having established Cassian's method for winning a hearing for his work, the thesis then examines what Cassian offered that was in some way different from the practices offered by his contemporaries. The most important difference was Cassian's emphasis on a literal renunciation of all ties with the world before someone could enter the ascetic life. Finally, this thesis argues that a proposal made by Owen Chadwick in 1968, that certain chapters in Book III of De institutis were later forgeries, is indeed correct. This is demonstrated by examining these chapters in the broader context of Cassian's thought and work. This traditional, textual analysis is then followed by a computerized stylometric study of the disputed passages, which confirms the likelihood that these chapters were written by someone other than John Cassian.

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Michel Foucault has exerted a pervasive influence on the concept of power in the twentieth century. By expanding the definition of power, and its horizons, beyond the state or organized institutions, he has bestowed power upon the weak as well as the strong, reconceptualized it from a one-dimensional, to an all-pervasive entity. / This thesis has adopted this expansive view of power and applied it to a study of the religious life within the Congregation de Notre-Dame of Montreal between 1693 and 1796. On a general level, the study, working within the framework of other research that has attempted to broaden the perception of female religious institutions, firmly links the congregation to the cultural, spiritual, political and economic life of its surrounding society. More precisely, it establishes the Congregation de Notre-Dame, within the Canadian historical context, as an institution not primarily founded, developed and centred solely on the work of one sanctified individual---Marguerite Bourgeoys---but one which, from its inception, owed its establishment and its existence to the network of linkages it formed through its mission. On a more specific level, the thesis moves to focus upon the relationship of power to the religious life in terms of three individual convent superiors---Marie Barbier, Marie-Josephe Maugue-Garreau and Marie Raizenne---and it explores these women as agents within their own social, political and spiritual frameworks. / In the process of this entire examination, this thesis set out to widen the perspective of much research surrounding the religious life. It has endeavoured to view the religious existence outside of the traditional dichotomies separating its active and contemplative dimensions, and to explore and give integrity and empowerment to its entirety. The study has also attempted to avoid depicting the existence of these women in terms of binary oppositions, of oppressed vs. the oppressor, and endeavoured to analyze them in terms of exchange. However, in spite of substantial evidence establishing these women as agents in their own right, the thesis inevitably returned, in one form or another, to the conclusion that, in the end, theirs was, indeed, a fragile authority.

The purpose of is dissertation is to bring together theories of gender, religion and the mass media in an analysis of the representation of American Catholic women religious in popular culture from 1950 till 1971. In so doing, I argue for the development of research frameworks in feminist cultural studies which acknowledge those women who sought alternatives to dominant positions of marriage and motherhood, but who did not reject outright traditional notions of femininity. Furthermore, I suggest that claims to religious virtuosity have been a source of moral and political authority for women in the past. Through such claims, women have gained greater access to educational and professional opportunities during eras of incipient feminism. I link the reform efforts of sisters in the fifties and sixties to two concurrent movements: the rise of the second wave of feminism, and the modernization of the American Catholic church according to the initiatives set forth by the Second Vatican Council (1962--1965). Together, these three areas provide a context for the analysis of the meanings and values mediated by the representation of nuns in films, television, popular literature and music. The wide-spread interest in the religious life for women by all areas of the mass media occurred at a time when American society was undergoing massive shifts not only in gender relations but also in terms of how religion was valorized. Images of nuns seemed to help audiences negotiate the changes in the discourses surrounding gender, religious and national identity. At the same time, American sisters were struggling with their own sense of identity as women and as members of the Catholic church. This conflict between images and identity for women religious highlights a number of issues within feminist cultural studies. Not the least of which is articulating the relationship between history, agency and ideology in theories of women's cultural representation in ways which can take into ac

Most studies of monasticism have concentrated on the religious discourse of asceticism as a withdrawal from the secular world. Based on three months of field research in a Taoist monastery at a holy mountain in Wenzhou, China, however, this thesis describes the close relationship between the monastery and the local society and economy. Social and economic factors influence the decisions of individuals to become monks or nuns. Through networks of lay disciples, the monastery maintains close social links to society. Furthermore, the monastery is intricately tied to the economy as a provider of ritual and tourist services. It is hoped that this thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the place of religious institutions in rural Chinese society.

In discussing the organization and institutions of fourth century female asceticism I attempt to apply methods used in the study of history to a topic generally regarded as theological, and therefore almost neglected by scholars of Ancient History. I concentrate on monasticism neither as generic phenomenon, nor on its spiritual aspects. Rather, I try to identify the social, economic and legal basis of a specific form (female asceticism) in a specific environment (fourth century Cappadocia and Egypt). By reconstructing the process of organization and the developing institutions of female asceticism one discerns a great variety of models, starting with those most akin to the model of the family, and ending with models which call for a complete rupture with society, while based on scrupulous observance of the Scripture. Out of a constant interaction of these two extreme forms models of integration eventually developed, which were specifically created to suit ascetic needs. The survival of these synthesized organizational models depended on their practicality, and on the personality and doctrinal affiliation of charismatic leaders associated with them. The process of the organization of female asceticism is not isolated; it is important to the general development of early Christianity. It illustrates a problem central to Church History: the conflict between institutions and sectarian enthusiasm. The study of this process highlights the methods employed by the hierarchy in solving the paradoxical task of restraining extremes which grow from the teachings of the very Gospel the hierarchy propagates.