A (c)atholic English Education: The Development of the Discipline of English in Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Schools Run by American Catholic Women Religious

Abstract

“One area of study that may further understanding both the histories of pedagogy in composition and literature concerns centers on Catholic schools run by women religious. While Cinthia Gannett and John Brereton’s rich anthology of essays on the rhetorical tradition within the Jesuit education begins to explore the effect Catholic educators have had on American rhetorical education, less researched is the tradition of English education in schools taught by Catholic women religious--commonly termed “nuns.” Although Carol Mattingly and Nan Johnson have begun to address some of this evolution, there is still much to understand, especially because these women’s schools were influenced by but were independent from many of the other movements in American rhetorical education.”