Panel: CATHOLIC WOMEN AND GENDER DYNAMICS IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY CHINA: AGENCY, SERVICE, AND REPRESENTATION



570.1 - THE FEMINIZATION OF CATHOLIC MISSIONARY EDUCATION: THE COMMITMENT OF THE INGENBOHL SISTERS IN THE 1930S AND 1940S MANCHURIA

AUTHORS:
Cicci F. (University of Bologna ~ Bologna ~ Italy)
Text:
The paper delves into the contributions of the Ingenbohl Sisters, a Swiss Catholic congregation, to the advancement of female education and the transformation of women's roles in Manchuria during the 1930s and 1940s. How did they contribute to the feminization of Catholic education? What impact did their efforts have on the status of women, cultural exchange, and identity formation within the dynamic socio-political context of the region? Focusing on the role of local women as educated catechists and the different types of mission schools, the paper analyses how professional efforts made by Ingenbohl Sisters in the education field contributed to modeling new ideas of women's roles within Chinese society. By employing a multidimensional approach encompassing archival research, media analysis, and visual representations, this study explores the transnational Catholic sisters' enduring legacy and its impact on the status of local women in the broader context of societal transformation during the first decades of twentieth-century Manchuria.