Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920

If you are looking for a book that extolls the virtues of self-sacrifice and non-feminist heroism, and that records the profound influence of Catholicism on the American culture, you may very well enjoy this scholarly but readable book. It has 19 photographs of sisters in traditional habits. Many picture sisters working in the pre-1920 classroom, hospital, operating room, and orphanage. For the collector of books about nuns, there is a 9 page bibliography that lists other nun books. If you went to pre-Vatican II grammar school,it makes you feel grateful to those young women who educated you! Thank you, Sisters!

In sophisticated and multilayered arguments, Spirited Lives describes how the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet emigrated to North America, expanded their work and influence in the West, created an American identity for themselves, and then helped to "Americanize" generations of mostly poor Catholic immigrants in the United States. They did so by developing and staffing a myriad of educational, health and social service institutions. This work called forth generations of sisters who were educated, hard working, and committed to a spiritual life, women who worked within gender boundaries to affect change in the larger society. This book is meticulously researched and written with precision and honesty, providing a wealth of new information on religion in America, the contributions of a particular group of women to American society, and how American culture was shaped by them. The fact that the book was conceptualized, researched and written by two historians makes this a project unusual for the vigor of the questions, experience and approach brought to bear on the topic. Still, the most exciting aspect of this work lies in two other important areas.For decades, women's historians have based the emergence of American feminism on the influence of Evangelical Protestantism on white, middle-class women. For that matter, the historiography on American social movements generally has been shaped by this interest in the intersection between religion and reform, more recently adding gender to the mix. Such a focus has, I believe, caused scholars to ignore the committed and growing numbers of Catholic women religious who came to America on missions of mercy and stayed to help build America. Using the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a case study, Carol Coburn and Martha Smith's Spirited Lives has both filled the void and analyzed the process. Catholicism, as well as Protestantism, formed this culture we call American, and women were leaders in both instances. This is an important conclusion overlooked for the most part by American social historians. More importantly for women's history is the growing realization that the intersection of religion, gender and reform is more complicated than previously thought. Catholicism, as well as Evangelical Protestantism, shaped women's lives and shaped American society. Women's history has argued for decades that religion and family role moved women from the private space of the home to the reform activities of public space. Now, thanks to the work of Carol Coburn and Sister Martha Smith, we see that the power gained by nuns from their role in "sacred space" gave them the authority to work for change in the larger secular and public spaces of society. These women, in fact, because of their vows of chastity were free to pursue education and work unfettered by the demands placed on Evangelical women who drew their authority from t

This well-written book argues persuasively that Catholic sisters, who by 1920 numbered 90,000, played a unique and powerful role in providing education, health care, and social services for the nation's immigrant and native populations. Using the experiences of a large religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the authors demonstrate how sisters significantly extended the "sphere of influence" of their sex and made lasting contributions to the public welfare. Coburn and Smith effectively set to rest lingering stereotypes about Catholic sisters and show graphically the diverse contributions of these women to the building of church and society in the critical 1836-1920 period. The scholarship is excellent and primary sources are used extensively. Skillful use of diaries and oral histories brings vividly to life the experiences of ordinary sisters as well as of their religious superiors. Highly recommended.

In SPIRITED LIVES we are given the opportunity to witness the depth and breadth of the commitment of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to serve humanity. Dr. Coburn's and Sr. Smith's research gives voice to the history and experiences of CSJs in a way which allows us to set aside stereotypes and see this group of remarkable women as full beings. Those who are interested in a well researched, well written, open account of the lives and experiences of these brave and intelligent women will find this book to be an excellent resource.

In SPIRITED LIVES: HOW NUNS SHAPED CATHOLIC CULTURE AND AMERICAN LIFE, 1836-1920, authors Carol Coburn and Martha Smith have crafted a model for integrating the history of women religious into mainstream history. Their narrative is very accessible to a broad readership. Using the Sisters of Saint Joseph as a case study, Coburn and Smith examine the early contributions of sisterhoods in America to education, health care, and social services. They skillfully weave into their narrative significant points of both contrast and comparison between Catholic and Protestant women's efforts in these areas. They perceptively address such issues as women's roles in a patriarchal society as well as the complexities of female agency within the confines of communal religious life. Beginning with a history of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in pre-revolutionary France, the authors then trace the sisters' adaptations to their American environment from 1836 and their rapid development of an American identity. The CSJS' responses to both Native American and African American populations and their institutional incorporation of members from different European nationalities prove but two of the fascinating aspects of the CSJS' process of Americanization. In their presentation of the sisters' instrumentality in the development of the parochial school system and select female academies as well as the administration of hospitals and orphanages, the authors effectively highlight the evolution of the sisters' roles in these areas when principles of "scientific" benevolence, professionalization, and bureaucratization replace earlier concepts of maternity governing such institutions and services. This meticulously researched work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impact of Catholic sisterhoods on American life during this formative period of our history.