Redeeming Indian ‘Christian’ Womanhood?: Missionaries, Dalits, and Agency in Colonial India

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    Abstract

    This study of dalit Christians in colonial North India suggests that women who converted to Christianity in the region often experienced a contraction of the range of their activities. Bauman analyzes this counterintuitive result of missionary work and then draws on the work of Saba Mahmood and others to interrogate the predilection of feminist historians for agents, rabble-rousers, and gender troublemakers. The article concludes not only that this predilection represents a mild form of egocentrism but also that it prevents historians from adequately analyzing the complexity of factors that motivate and influence human behavior.

    Original languageAmerican English
    JournalScholarship and Professional Work - LAS
    Volume24
    Issue number2
    StatePublished - Jan 1 2008

    Keywords

    • Christianity
    • colonial North India
    • dalit
    • missionaries
    • women

    Disciplines

    • History of Religions of Eastern Origins
    • Religion

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