Changing gender roles in late twentieth-century America : the ordination of women in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 2003

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis She

Identifier: b2089491

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate History program. The holdings are bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts degree.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations Publishing website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2003

Creator

Shelley, Jacalyn (1953- ) (Author, Person)
McGlade, Jacqueline A. (Thesis advisor, Person)
Parkin, Katherine J. (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 79 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Introduction [excerpts]

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act gave women the legal support they needed to challenge American institutions in the 1960s....

This thesis attempts to illuminate this process through the experience of gender liberation in the Protestant Episcopal Church. In Chapter One, I explore the history of women's ordination in America and in the Episcopal Church....

This study also probes [how?] the resistance of those claiming female ordination jeopardized the ecumencical discussions of the early 1970s.

Along with institutional change, this work examines the lives of Alla Bozarth-Campbell and Carter Heyward, two of the fifteen women irregularly ordained in 1974 and 1975. In Chapter Two, the motivation behind these women's decision to stand as the vanguard for change is explored....

In a more detailed fashion, Chapter Three analyzes the life journey of seven women from the Diocese of New Jersey.... Their stories underscore the complexities of social response and networks of support that emerged through family life and marriages beyond feminist groups.

The study concludes with an analysis of the impact of shifting political action, social responses, and organizational changes on the gender liberation of church leadership and authority.

Partial Contents

Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. Is God an equal opportunity employer? : the debate over female Episcopal ordination begins -- 2. "The frightful fifteen" : the experience of the first fifteen female priests -- 3. Walking in their footsteps : the experience of seven female priests from the Diocese of New Jersey -- Conclusion -- Bibliography.