Mission Propaganda: A Study of Form, Colonial Attitudes, and Feminism in Maria Theresia Ledóchowska's Newspaper Publication

Author

Jakob N. Jarvis

Degree Name

BA

Department

Germanic and Slavic Languages

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2007

Publication Date

2007-6

First Faculty Advisor

Cindy Brewer

Honors Coordinator

Brandie Siegfried

Keywords

Feminism, Africa, Sodality of St. Peter Claver for the African Missions

Abstract

This thesis examines Mission Propaganda, a newspaper-style publication distributed by the St. Peter Claver Sodalität, an association of nuns, lay-members, and subscribers founded by Maria Theresia Ledóchowska in 1894. The “sodality” was dedicated to supporting Catholic missionary work in Africa, and advocated for the liberation of African slaves. Ledóchowska used Mission Propaganda to encourage Europeans to support the African missions. She also used it to inform Europeans about African culture. She attempted to create a connection between the need for Catholic missionary work in Africa and the need for reform in Europe. She believed Europeans needed moral, religious, and social reform just as the Africans did. One are of social reform Ledóchowska focused on was women’s rights. Although tame in comparison to other more vociferous feminists of the day, Ledóchowska dedicated much of her effort toward encouraging women to take a more active role in society. She masterfully employed both innovative formatting and interesting content to make Mission Propaganda an effective tool to achieve her purposes.

Copyright Statement

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Jarvis, Jakob N., "Mission Propaganda: A Study of Form, Colonial Attitudes, and Feminism in Maria Theresia Ledóchowska's Newspaper Publication" (2007). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 6.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studentpub_uht/6

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/uht0004