Assessing Statistical Data Gathering and Narrativeas Methods to Preserve the Wisdom Gathered

from Intergenerational Service-Learning

The American Women Religious Intergenerational Memoir Project

Dan Vaillancourt, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University ChicagoKathy Vaillancourt, Independent Scholar

Six Parts

1. Why American women religious (sisters or nuns)?

2. The literature

3. The methods 4. The project

5. Evaluation of the methods

6. Implications/Conclusions

Why American women religious (sisters or nuns)?

•Crisis of Legacy•185,000 members in 1965

•60,000 members in 2011•54,000 older than 50

•As they die, their stories die with them.

•Why does it matter?

The Literature(Representative research listed by publication dates.)

•1986 Wolf, Mary Alice. “Growth and Development with Older Women Religious: An Exploration in Life Review” in Lifelong Learning, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1986): 32-36.•1990 Wolf, Mary Alice. “The Crisis of Legacy: Life Review Interviews with Elderly Women Religious” in the Journal of Women and Aging, Vol. 2, No. 3 (1990): 67-79.•1997 Carey, Ann. Sisters in Crisis: The Tragic Unraveling of Women's Religious Communities. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1997.•2001 Snowdon, David, Ph.D. Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives (New York: Bantam, 2001).•2002 Perschbacher Melia, Susan. “Themes of Continuity and Change in the Spiritual Reminiscence of Elder Catholic Women Religious” in Jeffrey Dean Webster and Barbara K. Haight, editors, Critical Advances in Reminiscence Work: From Theory to Application (New York: Springer, 2002) 183-196.•2006 Briggs, Kenneth A. Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns. New York: Doubleday, 2006.•2006 Morey, Melanie M. and John J. Piderit. Catholic Higher Education: A Culture in Crisis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

The Methods

•Statistical Data Gathering

•Narrative

The Project in Seven Steps

1. Interviews: Students (solo or in pairs) interview retired women religious one hour a week for a month.

2. Transcriptions: Students transcribe the interviews.

3. Functional Art Memoirs: Students transform the transcriptions into functional art memoirs and then seek their approval from the women religious.

4. Fine Art Memoirs: Students select anecdotes from the functional art memoirs and then expand them into fine art memoirs using the tools of storytelling.

5. Cover Design: Students paint, draw, or photograph some symbolic aspects of their women religious for the covers of their memoir packages.

6. Prefaces: Students write prefaces to the memoir packages.

7. Archives: Project directors seek final approval of the memoir packages from the women religious and then deliver the packages to the appropriate archives.

EVALUATION: STATISTICAL DATA GATHERING9/2008-6/2011

Students150: Students who began the project (20 from Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa and 130 from Loyola University Chicago).

105: Students who completed the project.

Hours (per student)

4: Interviewing

12: Transcribing

5: Functional art memoir

8.5: Fine art memoir

1: Cover image and design

2: Preface

Women Religious4: Congregations (Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sisters of the Living Word, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur).

110: Sisters contacted

80: Sisters interviewed

78: Memoir packages to archives

Ages22: 60-69 years old

29: 70-79 years old

23: 80-89 years old 6: 90+ years old

EVALUATION: NARRATIVE9/2008-6/2011

PROJECT IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS