Protestant Missionary Children's Lives, C.1870-1950: Empire, Religion and Emotion

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Description

Protestant missionary children were uniquely 'empire citizens' through their experiences of living in empire and in religiously formed contexts. This book examines their lives through the related lenses of parental, institutional and child narratives.

To do so it draws on histories of childhood and of emotions, using a range of sources including oral history. It argues that missionary children were doubly shaped by parents' concerns and institutional policy responses. At the same time children saw their own lives as both 'ordinary' and 'complicated'. Literary representations boosted adult narratives. Empire provided a complex space in which these children navigated their way between the expectations of two, if not three, different cultures. The focus is on a range of settings and on the early twentieth century. Therefore, the book offers a complex and comparative picture of missionary children's lives.

Reviews

This is an impressive history of a group until now overlooked in studies of imperialism. In addition to institutional and other adult perspectives, extensive interviews give voice to the children themselves. Drawing upon the history of emotion and memory to enrich his analysis, Morrison sensitively captures the complex significance of missionary childrens lives.
Katie Pickles, The University of Canterbury/ Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha

Author Bio

Hugh Morrison is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Otago