by Antonia Teresa Pérz-Franco / Original physical format: Typescript. / Ph. D.--Florida State University--2001 / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-275) / Text in Spanish with an abstract in English

This essay examines whether and how activist theology can be a force for creating peace and presents some practical examples through women who broke new ground and in the midst of raging world wars organized to stop violence and militarism. Through various actions, they wanted to establish not only themselves but also create social change where women were invited and had an obvious place in the society. The purpose of this essay is to examine theological resources for resistance to violence in the peace actions carried out in Sweden by women during the period 1890-1940 through the concepts of activist and lived theology. The peace actions themselves are described and connected with different theological themes to see if the actions can be understood in new ways through these frameworks. The aim is not only to dress peace actions in a new coat and new theological concepts, but also to visualize the womens organization and methods as well as the results of their actions. Women whose contribution is particularly highlighted for this essay are Elin Wägner, Emilia Fogelklou and to some extent Fredrika Bremer as a foreground figure, this as these women particularly expressed theological and religious motivation in their peace work.

Racism and sexism pervaded American society during the nineteenth century, creating unusual disadvantaged conditions for Chinese immigrant women. As a weak minority in an alien and often hostile environment and as a subordinate sex in a sexist society, Chinese women suffered from double oppression of racism and sexism. In addition, the Chinese cultural values of women's passivity and submission existed within Chinese communities in America, and affected the lives of these immigrant women. This work uses government document, historical statistics, accounts from newspapers and literature to examine the life experiences of Chinese immigrant women and American attitudes towards them, and to analyze the roots of the oppression of racism and sexism. / Master of Arts

The history of western monasticism in the early middle ages has traditionally been viewed as a continuous process of development. Women religious have been excluded from this discourse, although early work which ‘rediscovered’ female communities has been built on to place them in the mainstream of thinking about monasticism. However, one way of approaching religious women has been largely overlooked. The production and circulation of normative works by and for female communities is of prime importance for evidence of interaction between male and female traditions of dedicated life. This thesis examines these issues through the works of Caesarius of Arles (470-542). Although his rule’s importance as the first western regula written specifically for women has long been recognised, the subsequent use of his monastic writings has never been adequately explored. In addition to being the inspiration for a number of later rules, his work was given a new purpose as part of the reforming activities of Benedict of Aniane in the opening decades of the ninth century. It is between these two vitally important figures that my thesis is framed. For the first time, this study shows that a core selection of Caesarian writings circulated between their composition in the early sixth century and the dates of the earliest existing manuscripts in the early ninth. This has unexplored implications for the understanding of the literary basis of dedicated life for both sexes. The thesis has significance for the study of female religious communities in two areas. Firstly, the relative popularity of Caesarius’ texts over time is of great interest as an indicator of values placed on different aspects of his work. The second area of investigation is the apparent fluidity of the texts’ gender, and how, in brief, texts written for women could be used equally effectively for men. This research opens up a new way of thinking about the relationship between female and male dedicated life. It is no longer possible to conceive of religious dedication along strictly gendered lines.

This thesis examines the role of women in the Parisian economy in the late thirteenth century. The Livre des metiers of Etienne Boileau offers normative provisions regarding societal structures that permitted but restricted the participation of women, while the tax rolls commonly known as the roles de la taille de Philippe le Bel furnish numbers which show their actual participation. While these sources are well known, they have not heretofore been rigorously examined. Conclusions about women based on them have been amorphous. Married women are nearly invisible in these records, but unmarried women and widows headed 13.6% of Parisian workshops. Women monopolized the Parisian silk industry. About one-third of Parisian women in the late thirteenth century worked in jobs traditionally considered "women's work," including the preparation of food and clothing, peddling food on the street, and providing personal services. The other two-thirds did nearly every kind of work that men did. A "putting out" system was well in place in Paris at this time. Women classified as chambrieres or ouvrieres worked at home, spinning and weaving raw materials provided by an entrepreneur and selling back to the entrepreneur the finished product. Working at home allowed a woman to combine household duties with production for the marketplace. Girls usually learned a trade by working alongside their parents. Formal apprenticeships were less common for girls than for boys. While women could and did participate in nearly every trade, their numbers were concentrated in the lowest-paid metiers. The few women who practiced trades dominated by men were much more successful financially.

The central theme of this work is the elucidation of the circumstances that led to the decline of the apothecaries’ assistants. The Apothecaries Act (1815) formerly recognised them as dispensers of medicine and provided an appropriate examination and qualification. Initially, starting in 1850, men were the only candidates for the examination and it was not until 1887 that the first woman qualified. From that time the occupation became increasingly popular among young women, as it provided them with respectable employment dispensing medicines in institutions and doctors’ surgeries. This situation prevailed until The National Insurance Act (1911) transferred almost all the dispensing to the chemists and druggists. This dissertation examines the aspirations of the Pharmaceutical Society, the Society of Apothecaries, the government and the assistants themselves, all of whom were intimately involved in the changes brought about by the Act. While much has been written about medical history in the nineteenth century, little interest has been shown in the apothecaries’ assistants who were the main dispensers of medicines for a period of about 70 years. This thesis advances our understanding on this subject. Additionally, as most of the assistants were women from middle class families, it opens a window on the social and cultural changes that these young women and their families were experiencing in the second half of the nineteenth century.

The concept which Martin Luther had of the nature of woman did a great deal to intensify the idea of woman's inferiority in the modern world. Framed by an investigation of the traditional and unique aspects of that concept and speculation about its effect on succeeding generations, a delineation of Luther's view will reveal his contribution to the concept of female inferiority and evil. As a formulator of religious and ethical concepts for modern man, Luther insured the continuance of this idea in the modern world. While it has adapted to changes in society's forms, the whole fabric of Luther's view of the female remains. Though some of his ideas remain as remnants reduced to truisms, the impact which they still have on human relationships and societal structure cannot be taken lightly.

Formal curricula, official curriculum documents and recommended resources, are revised periodically and have the opportunity to reflect feminist scholarship available at the time of writing. This feminist project analyzes the treatment of women's history in British Columbia's Social Studies 8-10 Integrated Resource Package 1997, the Social Studies 11 Integrated Resouces Package 1997, and the History 12 Integrated Resource Package 1997, all of which are due to be implemented in September, 1999. Informed by feminist historiography and pedagogy, the above curricula are analyzed using the following thematic organizers: degree of representation; segregation versus integration; experience, diversity and voice; and the construction and deconstruction of gender knowledge. A sampling of recommended learning resources found in the above Integrated Resource Packages are also examined for their treatment of women's history. The outcome of the research suggests that while limited gains have been made in the degree to which women are addressed in the new curricula, the manner of representation largely reflects her-story approaches that have been considered problematic by most feminist historians since the mid-1970s. Recommendations for future revisions are also included.

Formal curricula, official curriculum documents and recommended resources, are revised periodically and have the opportunity to reflect feminist scholarship available at the time of writing. This feminist project analyzes the treatment of women's history in British Columbia's Social Studies 8-10 Integrated Resource Package 1997, the Social Studies 11 Integrated Resouces Package 1997, and the History 12 Integrated Resource Package 1997, all of which are due to be implemented in September, 1999. Informed by feminist historiography and pedagogy, the above curricula are analyzed using the following thematic organizers: degree of representation; segregation versus integration; experience, diversity and voice; and the construction and deconstruction of gender knowledge. A sampling of recommended learning resources found in the above Integrated Resource Packages are also examined for their treatment of women's history. The outcome of the research suggests that while limited gains have been made in the degree to which women are addressed in the new curricula, the manner of representation largely reflects her-story approaches that have been considered problematic by most feminist historians since the mid-1970s. Recommendations for future revisions are also included. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Contemporary conventional wisdom suggests that a radical change in environment produces a variety of conflicts for an individual’s perception of the world. Certain geographical, social or cultural environments are seen as either supporting or threatening corresponding value systems and life-styles, and alteration of one’s environment, such as moving to the suburbs, integrating schools, etc., is often sought as a reinforcement for a particular way of life. Correspondingly, value changes seen as undesirable are frequently attributed to environmental change, such as moving to the big city, ghettoization, etc. Indeed, environmental change itself, whatever its substance or direction, is usually assumed to produce some impact on the outlook and values of a person undergoing such change. This study seeks to examine such assumptions with reference to a group which underwent dramatic environmental and occupational change: Irish women immigrants employed in factories in the United States, 1870-1914. Did these Irish immigrant women who labored in factories retain their traditional set of personal values once they reached the highly industrial urban scene of the factory? Or did these values disintegrate under the strain of change? Did these women develop a new set of values? Or did their traditional values stretch to encompass the new demands of city and factory, retaining their initial character, but regenerating deep unresolved tensions? Close examination will point up some important aspects of personal adaptation to historical upheaval and perhaps suggest a legacy.