A complicated calling : female British medical missionaries and professional identity, 1874-1924
This dissertation explores female involvement in British Protestant medical missions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It uses individual case studies to trace the work of female medical missionaries across Empire, interested in how they identified with and negotiated their position as medical women and how this understanding shaped relationships to each other, to their patients and non-medical colleagues, to Christian missions, and to wider imperial interests more broadly â both at home in Britain and on the mission field. Drawing from the personal and published writings of medical women, the project examines the contradictions and tensions inherent within the professional and private lives of the first generations of women who pursued medical mission work overseas as qualified doctors. The thesis is loosely structured as two main sections. Part one examines missionary recruitment among qualifying female doctors at home in Britain. It explores contributing factors which might have motivated medical candidates to pursue mission work and what training and knowledge these applicants held prior to field deployment about the cultural, religious and geographical differences they were to encounter.
Ingram, H. J.
A complicated calling : female British medical missionaries and professional identity, 1874-1924. This dissertation explores female involvement in British Protestant medical missions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It uses individual case studies to trace the work of female medical missionaries across Empire, interested in how they identified with and negotiated their position as medical women and how this understanding shaped relationships to each other, to their patients and non-medical colleagues, to Christian missions, and to wider imperial interests more broadly â both at home in Britain and on the mission field. Drawing from the personal and published writings of medical women, the project examines the contradictions and tensions inherent within the professional and private lives of the first generations of women who pursued medical mission work overseas as qualified doctors. The thesis is loosely structured as two main sections. Part one examines missionary recruitment among qualifying female doctors at home in Britain. It explores contributing factors which might have motivated medical candidates to pursue mission work and what training and knowledge these applicants held prior to field deployment about the cultural, religious and geographical differences they were to encounter.
complicate call female british medical missionary professional_identity explores female involvement british protestant medical mission use individual case_study trace work female medical missionary across empire interested identify negotiated position medical woman shape relationship patient non_medical colleague christian mission wider imperial interest broadly home_britain mission field drawing personal publish writing medical woman project examines contradiction tension inherent within professional private_life first_generation woman pursue medical mission work overseas qualified doctor loosely structure two_main section part_one_examine missionary recruitment among qualify female doctor home_britain explores contribute_factor might motivate medical candidate pursue mission work training knowledge hold prior field deployment cultural_religious geographical difference encounter