Most scholars who have researched on missionaries in British Columbia have not taken gender into account. This dissertation narrates and analyzes the biographies of the two founding generations of the Sisters of Saint Ann and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It compares their origins in Quebec and Europe, their life histories, their experiences teaching school, and their formation of the next generation of their religious communities in British Columbia. The role of gender in shaping these individuals' lives and identities can be seen in each aspect of the comparison. Both the Oblates and the Sisters experienced the asymmetry of the female and male organizations within the larger church. Over time two Roman Catholic missionary systems evolved in British Columbia: the Sisters' system of educative and caring institutions for the peoples of the province and the Oblates modified reduction system for Aboriginal peoples, known in academic literature as the Durieu system. School teaching, particularly work in residential schools for Aboriginal children, linked the two systems. The French Oblate leaders aimed to masculinize the missions and feminize school teaching. The Canadian Sisters of Saint Ann, however, set most of the educational policies within both their own institutions and those they ran at Oblate Aboriginal missions. Case studies of Oblate brothers and Sisters of Saint Ann work as teachers in 1881 show that the nuns, as members of a separate religious congregation, could negotiate with the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic church, whereas the Oblate brothers could not. Such factors affected generational continuity. The Canadian sisterhood reproduced itself in the region as a local family 'dynasty,' whereas the French Oblate order did not. Taking gender into account in a study of pioneer missionaries in British Columbia does not simply reverse the standard history where the Oblates, as men, appear central, and the Sisters of Saint Ann, as women, appear on the margins. Rather the evidence of gender widens the range of discussion and increases awareness of the complexity of the province's social and educational history.

Most scholars who have researched on missionaries in British Columbia have not taken gender into account. This dissertation narrates and analyzes the biographies of the two founding generations of the Sisters of Saint Ann and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It compares their origins in Quebec and Europe, their life histories, their experiences teaching school, and their formation of the next generation of their religious communities in British Columbia. The role of gender in shaping these individuals' lives and identities can be seen in each aspect of the comparison. Both the Oblates and the Sisters experienced the asymmetry of the female and male organizations within the larger church. Over time two Roman Catholic missionary systems evolved in British Columbia: the Sisters' system of educative and caring institutions for the peoples of the province and the Oblates modified reduction system for Aboriginal peoples, known in academic literature as the Durieu system. School teaching, particularly work in residential schools for Aboriginal children, linked the two systems. The French Oblate leaders aimed to masculinize the missions and feminize school teaching. The Canadian Sisters of Saint Ann, however, set most of the educational policies within both their own institutions and those they ran at Oblate Aboriginal missions. Case studies of Oblate brothers and Sisters of Saint Ann work as teachers in 1881 show that the nuns, as members of a separate religious congregation, could negotiate with the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic church, whereas the Oblate brothers could not. Such factors affected generational continuity. The Canadian sisterhood reproduced itself in the region as a local family 'dynasty,' whereas the French Oblate order did not. Taking gender into account in a study of pioneer missionaries in British Columbia does not simply reverse the standard history where the Oblates, as men, appear central, and the Sisters of Saint Ann, as women, appear on the margins. Rather the evidence of gender widens the range of discussion and increases awareness of the complexity of the province's social and educational history. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

With the rising popularity of Mary's mother, St. Anne, Birth of the Virgin images proliferated at the beginning of the sixteenth century. However, these images have not been analyzed in great depth by any previous art historical scholarship. This thesis indicates the broader significance of these images by considering Birth of the Virgin compositions by Jan de Beer, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, and Adriaen van Overbeke. First, this thesis considers how these artists derived iconography from Robert Campin to connect Mary's nativity to the birth of her son. Thus, the artists invite the viewer to witness the significance and purity of both babies. Next, I argue that the sacrificial imagery of these panels cultivates a sacerdotal space, in which midwives become pseudo-priests and everyday objects are conflated with ritual material culture. These panels, which draw upon Old and New Testament covenants, present Mary as co-sacrifice, indicating a sixteenth-century expansion of the Virgin's co-redemptive role alongside Christ. The paintings emphasize the beginnings of the Virgin's life to explore the life-giving quality of mankind's redemption. Finally, I explore the viewership possibilities of these paintings for a lay audience, who could interpret their own experiences with birth through these images. Many of the objects in the artworks bear similarities not only to priestly objects but also to the material culture associated with birth. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the important role that Birth of the Virgin images played in interpreting the role of the Virgin Mary and her mother Anne in increasingly affective piety. The subject matter was a way to explore the doctrinal implications of Mary's sacrificial, life-giving power even as it invited viewers to frame their own day-to-day experiences with childbirth in more religious terms.

The diploma thesis describes the development of St. Anne and St. Lawrence Dominican convents in The Old Town of Prague during early modern period (mainly in the 17th and the 18th centuries). Both the indoor life and contacts with outside world are included in the description. Only three topics of the above-mentioned specialization could be seamlessly elaborated due to fragmentary sources. The introduction and first three chapters constitute a summary of sources and literature. Furthermore, they chronologically depict the history of the Dominican order and the particular convents. The fourth chapter deals with the relationship between the nuns and their dependants in the municipality of Radlice. The system of servile taxes withdrawals and visitations of the monastic farms are emphasized. The chapter finally records a concrete discord between the convent and Barbora Wlaška in the 16th century. The fifth chapter focuses on baroque sermon that were held during ceremonies of admission aspirants among the other nuns. The preachments were analyzed in light of their contents and spiritual thoughts. The last chapter studies the performance of the archiepiscopal authority to the convents in the 18th century and the relationships between the Dominican nuns and aristocratic families or bourgeoisie in the...