It's been a while since I've added to it, but I've had an occasional series here on the blog called "Nuns on Film," highlighting various movie portrayals of women religious. If memory serves me correctly, I've written about a few literary portrayals of women religious as well.If such things interest you, you may want to check out James Martin's recent article on Busted Halo.
Today when a nun comes on screen—TV, film or Youtube—it’s usually for a cheap laugh. Even books based on the lives of real-life sisters provide much of the same images.This is pretty surprising when you consider what these supposedly “nutty” sisters have accomplished throughout American history. During times when women were routinely denied opportunities for leadership, sisters founded colleges and universities on a shoestring; ran inner-city schools for vast immigrant populations; and managed far-flung hospital systems for people of all faiths. All this while living together in cramped residences, earning little money, and putting up with those penguin jokes.
In recognition of just a few of their incredible accomplishments, here are three books that take a serious, more accurate look at the lives of those “first feminists.” Hopefully they’ll get you thinking there’s something inspiring about three words you don’t hear too often — poverty, chastity and obedience. Read more...
1 comment:
That's a pretty interesting post...Another book to add is A Right to be Merry. How I avoided reading that one for so long, I'll never know.
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