Kristine Gunnell | Claremont Graduate University (original) (raw)
Videos by Kristine Gunnell
Co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Foundation and Ascension Health, Seton Institute raised ... more Co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Foundation and Ascension Health, Seton Institute raised and distributed funds to support relief and recovery efforts sponsored by Catholic sisters after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. While the disaster attracted unprecedented amounts of international aid, Seton Institute supported sisters’ projects which targeted marginalized communities, those who would not receive international attention or government aid. These included Daughters of Charity efforts to aid Burmese migrant laborers in Thailand, the Good Shepherd Sisters’ program to aid fishermen and their families in Sri Lanka, and the Sisters of St. Ann of Luzern who offered material and emotional support in refugee camps in southern India. Seton Institute’s grant program promoted collaboration among diverse communities of Catholic sisters, while also prioritizing locally driven solutions that emphasized the dignity and agency of all involved.
2 views
Research on Catholic sisters, nuns, and laywomen helps to disrupt stereotypes and bring out colla... more Research on Catholic sisters, nuns, and laywomen helps to disrupt stereotypes and bring out collaborations and partnerships in the fight to disrupt poverty.
26 views
Discusses the oral history components of my book project, "First the Heart, then the Work: The D... more Discusses the oral history components of my book project, "First the Heart, then the Work: The Daughters of Charity Foundation and Catholic Efforts to Disrupt Poverty in the United States, 1984-2015." Its focus on funding demonstrates women's sustained engagement in anti-poverty efforts and their power to shape social change.
13 views
Papers by Kristine Gunnell
My research centers on the intersections of gender and religion in the American West, particularl... more My research centers on the intersections of gender and religion in the American West, particularly the role of Roman Catholic sisters in public and private life. Gender and religion play a pivotal role in the development of the welfare state, and my research on Catholic sisters' efforts to combat poverty contributes to scholars' understanding of the social and political implications of race and class divisions in California's multiethnic communities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Through the use of oral history, my current project explores the Daughters of Charity Foundation's efforts to meet poor person's immediate needs through education and social services, while also promoting long-term, systemic changes to reduce poverty and maintain their religious community's sustainability.
U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 38 no. 4, 2020
Daughters of Charity in California founded the Seton Institute for International Development in 1... more Daughters of Charity in California founded the Seton Institute for International Development in 1985 to support the efforts of Catholic sisters striving to improve the health of those struggling in poverty in Latin America. The institute offered training, disaster relief, medical equipment, and grants for capacity-building projects. Positioned as a fundraising and grant distributing entity, Seton Institute solicited funds from government sources, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. Leaders sought to balance their need for funds with the commitments of their charism. As the expectations and priorities of U.S. government-funded programs and Latin American sisters did not always align, Seton Institute chose to put the desires of Catholic sisters first and shifted efforts towards private aid. These Daughters of Charity prioritized building transnational relationships that reinforced their community's mission to serve those in poverty rather than accept funds from any available resource.
U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 31 no. 2, 2013
In early twentieth-century Los Angeles, California, the Daughters of Charity employed their reli... more In early twentieth-century Los Angeles, California, the Daughters of
Charity employed their religious identity as sisters to cross cultural boundaries, acting as intermediaries between the church, the city’s charitable
establishment, and the Japanese and Mexican immigrant communities. As
the Catholic Church’s support for Americanization programs grew in the
1910s and 1920s, the sisters shaped their charitable efforts to fit within this
framework, providing personnel to teach English in a Japanese school,
expanding their settlement work by providing disaster relief to flood victims
in 1914, and by encouraging the efforts of middle and upper-class Mexican
immigrants who wished to aid their less fortunate countrywomen by forming Las Señoritas de la Caridad (“Spanish Ladies of Charity”). This article questions the sisters’ role in Americanization and suggests that they used
these programs primarily as a vehicle to further their long-standing commitment to aid those in poverty irrespective of race or ethnicity.
Southern California Quarterly, volume 93, number 4, 2012
From 1858 to 1880 the Daughters of Charity religious order held an annual "fancy fair" in Los Ang... more From 1858 to 1880 the Daughters of Charity religious order held an annual "fancy fair" in Los Angeles to support the work of its orphanage and school. The women of the town's elite families—Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish—managed the event and made the hand-crafted wares. Women across the class spectrum attended the fairs and purchased the wares. The important role of the fairs in community formation and in building a philanthropic culture enriches our understanding of the complexity of this frontier town beyond the focus on economic, political, and male-oriented events that dominate the standard literature.
Vincentian Heritage Journal, Jan 1, 2011
Books by Kristine Gunnell
This collection of historical and contemporary writing by women argues that, in addition to gende... more This collection of historical and contemporary writing by women argues that, in addition to gender, identity markers such as race, class, religion, citizenship, sexuality, and marital status have influenced women's lives in the United States for more than 200 years.
Voices of American Women's History illustrates that gender alone has never defined women's experiences in America. Women from diverse backgrounds are represented in media and documents that include pamphlets, book excerpts, personal narratives, photographs, advertisements, congressional testimonies, and Supreme Court rulings. Such issues as abortion, marriage equality, domestic violence, and gender parity are shown from historical and contemporary angles, as this collection of primary sources allows readers and students to easily trace how women's lives and histories have and continue to intersect. With a historical context for each selection, the book also features structured activities to help teachers with class discussion and exams, including suggestions for further reading, document analysis, essay questions, and manageable research assignments. (Bloomsbury.com)
Includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, sample essay questions, and suggestions for add... more Includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, sample essay questions, and suggestions for additional readings for Daughters of Charity: Women, Religious Mission, and Hospital Care in Los Angeles, 1856-1927.
DePaul Vincentian Studies Institute, 2013
A captivating story, culled from extensive historical research, documents how ingenuity, determin... more A captivating story, culled from extensive historical research, documents how ingenuity, determination, and faith enabled mission-driven Daughters of Charity to establish, develop, and provide healthcare in Los Angeles. This work contains multiple examples of their flexibility to overcome barriers of culture, religion, language, and scarce resources in the context of frontier politics but without comprise of their faith-based mission of service to persons in need.
The first women to incorporate a business in Los Angeles, the Daughters of Charity played a pivot... more The first women to incorporate a business in Los Angeles, the Daughters of Charity played a pivotal role in shaping the quality of health services for the county’s indigent sick. As hospitals transformed from social welfare institutions to medically oriented businesses in the late nineteenth-century, these Roman Catholic sisters developed innovative business strategies to retain their historic leadership position in the city’s hospital industry without relinquishing their religious commitment to care for the poor. This work provides new insights into women’s entrepreneurial activities and social advocacy work in the West, while documenting the rich heritage of a religious community and its impact on nursing history.
Talks by Kristine Gunnell
Tips and sample questions for recording a personal narrative. Handout from Simi Valley Library's... more Tips and sample questions for recording a personal narrative. Handout from Simi Valley Library's Women's History Event, March 14, 2024.
Celebrating Women's History Month, Kristine Gunnell presented selections from her edited collecti... more Celebrating Women's History Month, Kristine Gunnell presented selections from her edited collection "Voices of American Women's History from Reconstruction to the Present" (Bloomsbury, December 2024). Highlighting the advocacy efforts of Thocmetony Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, Lillian Wald, and Feminista Jones, Gunnell discusses activists' efforts to improve the lives of women in their communities, and encourages audience members to record personal narratives.
Kristine Gunnell discusses the selection and editing process for her collection of primary docume... more Kristine Gunnell discusses the selection and editing process for her collection of primary documents, Voices of American Women's History from Reconstruction to the Present (Bloomsbury, December 2023). Presentation given at Claremont Graduate University, February 22, 2024.
Surrounded by our most recent publications we discussed "Opportunities and Adventures in Scholarl... more Surrounded by our most recent publications we discussed "Opportunities and Adventures in Scholarly Publishing" at the Humanities Forum at Claremont Graduate University. Rosanne Welch shared ideas for gaining your first academic credits – from doing book reviews in journals to writing entries for encyclopedias to submitting essays or chapters to anthologies and discussed creating working relationships with editors. Kristine Gunnell went in-depth into working in archives when researching and writing books on very specific subjects and how to find connections in the lives of other women whose lives you are bringing to the attention of modern readers.
My research on supported social purpose enterprises re-evaluates the place of brick-and-mortar co... more My research on supported social purpose enterprises re-evaluates the place of brick-and-mortar community centers as spaces to create social capital for low-income women, particularly those who find themselves on the other side of the digital divide. This talk examines the history of Give Me a Chance, Inc., a ministry of the Daughters of Charity in Ogden, Utah.
Presented at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), November 2019, San Diego, CA.
The history of the Daughters of Charity Foundation demonstrates the impact of women’s sustained e... more The history of the Daughters of Charity Foundation demonstrates the impact of women’s sustained engagement in anti-poverty efforts and the influence of religious organizations in shaping the delivery of these services.
Part of the roundtable, “Women, Religion, and Oral History: Stories Moving through Time, Space, and Virtual Geographies.” Oral History Association Conference, October 2021.
Kristine Gunnell will be speaking about her book, Daughters of Charity, and her upcoming research.
In 1858, the Daughters of Charity opened the first hospital In Los Angeles and instituted their ... more In 1858, the Daughters of Charity opened the first hospital In Los Angeles and instituted their holistic approach to health care--dignified care for body and soul. By 1900, surgery, science, and medical technology pushed the Daughters to adapt their traditional approach, leading them to reinvent their institution as a modern charity hospital. Continually striving to preserve their values while maintaining the hospital’s vitality, the Daughters also developed nursing education programs that blended scientific training with the spirit of service for the sick poor.
Co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Foundation and Ascension Health, Seton Institute raised ... more Co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Foundation and Ascension Health, Seton Institute raised and distributed funds to support relief and recovery efforts sponsored by Catholic sisters after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. While the disaster attracted unprecedented amounts of international aid, Seton Institute supported sisters’ projects which targeted marginalized communities, those who would not receive international attention or government aid. These included Daughters of Charity efforts to aid Burmese migrant laborers in Thailand, the Good Shepherd Sisters’ program to aid fishermen and their families in Sri Lanka, and the Sisters of St. Ann of Luzern who offered material and emotional support in refugee camps in southern India. Seton Institute’s grant program promoted collaboration among diverse communities of Catholic sisters, while also prioritizing locally driven solutions that emphasized the dignity and agency of all involved.
2 views
Research on Catholic sisters, nuns, and laywomen helps to disrupt stereotypes and bring out colla... more Research on Catholic sisters, nuns, and laywomen helps to disrupt stereotypes and bring out collaborations and partnerships in the fight to disrupt poverty.
26 views
Discusses the oral history components of my book project, "First the Heart, then the Work: The D... more Discusses the oral history components of my book project, "First the Heart, then the Work: The Daughters of Charity Foundation and Catholic Efforts to Disrupt Poverty in the United States, 1984-2015." Its focus on funding demonstrates women's sustained engagement in anti-poverty efforts and their power to shape social change.
13 views
My research centers on the intersections of gender and religion in the American West, particularl... more My research centers on the intersections of gender and religion in the American West, particularly the role of Roman Catholic sisters in public and private life. Gender and religion play a pivotal role in the development of the welfare state, and my research on Catholic sisters' efforts to combat poverty contributes to scholars' understanding of the social and political implications of race and class divisions in California's multiethnic communities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Through the use of oral history, my current project explores the Daughters of Charity Foundation's efforts to meet poor person's immediate needs through education and social services, while also promoting long-term, systemic changes to reduce poverty and maintain their religious community's sustainability.
U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 38 no. 4, 2020
Daughters of Charity in California founded the Seton Institute for International Development in 1... more Daughters of Charity in California founded the Seton Institute for International Development in 1985 to support the efforts of Catholic sisters striving to improve the health of those struggling in poverty in Latin America. The institute offered training, disaster relief, medical equipment, and grants for capacity-building projects. Positioned as a fundraising and grant distributing entity, Seton Institute solicited funds from government sources, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. Leaders sought to balance their need for funds with the commitments of their charism. As the expectations and priorities of U.S. government-funded programs and Latin American sisters did not always align, Seton Institute chose to put the desires of Catholic sisters first and shifted efforts towards private aid. These Daughters of Charity prioritized building transnational relationships that reinforced their community's mission to serve those in poverty rather than accept funds from any available resource.
U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 31 no. 2, 2013
In early twentieth-century Los Angeles, California, the Daughters of Charity employed their reli... more In early twentieth-century Los Angeles, California, the Daughters of
Charity employed their religious identity as sisters to cross cultural boundaries, acting as intermediaries between the church, the city’s charitable
establishment, and the Japanese and Mexican immigrant communities. As
the Catholic Church’s support for Americanization programs grew in the
1910s and 1920s, the sisters shaped their charitable efforts to fit within this
framework, providing personnel to teach English in a Japanese school,
expanding their settlement work by providing disaster relief to flood victims
in 1914, and by encouraging the efforts of middle and upper-class Mexican
immigrants who wished to aid their less fortunate countrywomen by forming Las Señoritas de la Caridad (“Spanish Ladies of Charity”). This article questions the sisters’ role in Americanization and suggests that they used
these programs primarily as a vehicle to further their long-standing commitment to aid those in poverty irrespective of race or ethnicity.
Southern California Quarterly, volume 93, number 4, 2012
From 1858 to 1880 the Daughters of Charity religious order held an annual "fancy fair" in Los Ang... more From 1858 to 1880 the Daughters of Charity religious order held an annual "fancy fair" in Los Angeles to support the work of its orphanage and school. The women of the town's elite families—Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish—managed the event and made the hand-crafted wares. Women across the class spectrum attended the fairs and purchased the wares. The important role of the fairs in community formation and in building a philanthropic culture enriches our understanding of the complexity of this frontier town beyond the focus on economic, political, and male-oriented events that dominate the standard literature.
Vincentian Heritage Journal, Jan 1, 2011
This collection of historical and contemporary writing by women argues that, in addition to gende... more This collection of historical and contemporary writing by women argues that, in addition to gender, identity markers such as race, class, religion, citizenship, sexuality, and marital status have influenced women's lives in the United States for more than 200 years.
Voices of American Women's History illustrates that gender alone has never defined women's experiences in America. Women from diverse backgrounds are represented in media and documents that include pamphlets, book excerpts, personal narratives, photographs, advertisements, congressional testimonies, and Supreme Court rulings. Such issues as abortion, marriage equality, domestic violence, and gender parity are shown from historical and contemporary angles, as this collection of primary sources allows readers and students to easily trace how women's lives and histories have and continue to intersect. With a historical context for each selection, the book also features structured activities to help teachers with class discussion and exams, including suggestions for further reading, document analysis, essay questions, and manageable research assignments. (Bloomsbury.com)
Includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, sample essay questions, and suggestions for add... more Includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, sample essay questions, and suggestions for additional readings for Daughters of Charity: Women, Religious Mission, and Hospital Care in Los Angeles, 1856-1927.
DePaul Vincentian Studies Institute, 2013
A captivating story, culled from extensive historical research, documents how ingenuity, determin... more A captivating story, culled from extensive historical research, documents how ingenuity, determination, and faith enabled mission-driven Daughters of Charity to establish, develop, and provide healthcare in Los Angeles. This work contains multiple examples of their flexibility to overcome barriers of culture, religion, language, and scarce resources in the context of frontier politics but without comprise of their faith-based mission of service to persons in need.
The first women to incorporate a business in Los Angeles, the Daughters of Charity played a pivot... more The first women to incorporate a business in Los Angeles, the Daughters of Charity played a pivotal role in shaping the quality of health services for the county’s indigent sick. As hospitals transformed from social welfare institutions to medically oriented businesses in the late nineteenth-century, these Roman Catholic sisters developed innovative business strategies to retain their historic leadership position in the city’s hospital industry without relinquishing their religious commitment to care for the poor. This work provides new insights into women’s entrepreneurial activities and social advocacy work in the West, while documenting the rich heritage of a religious community and its impact on nursing history.
Tips and sample questions for recording a personal narrative. Handout from Simi Valley Library's... more Tips and sample questions for recording a personal narrative. Handout from Simi Valley Library's Women's History Event, March 14, 2024.
Celebrating Women's History Month, Kristine Gunnell presented selections from her edited collecti... more Celebrating Women's History Month, Kristine Gunnell presented selections from her edited collection "Voices of American Women's History from Reconstruction to the Present" (Bloomsbury, December 2024). Highlighting the advocacy efforts of Thocmetony Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, Lillian Wald, and Feminista Jones, Gunnell discusses activists' efforts to improve the lives of women in their communities, and encourages audience members to record personal narratives.
Kristine Gunnell discusses the selection and editing process for her collection of primary docume... more Kristine Gunnell discusses the selection and editing process for her collection of primary documents, Voices of American Women's History from Reconstruction to the Present (Bloomsbury, December 2023). Presentation given at Claremont Graduate University, February 22, 2024.
Surrounded by our most recent publications we discussed "Opportunities and Adventures in Scholarl... more Surrounded by our most recent publications we discussed "Opportunities and Adventures in Scholarly Publishing" at the Humanities Forum at Claremont Graduate University. Rosanne Welch shared ideas for gaining your first academic credits – from doing book reviews in journals to writing entries for encyclopedias to submitting essays or chapters to anthologies and discussed creating working relationships with editors. Kristine Gunnell went in-depth into working in archives when researching and writing books on very specific subjects and how to find connections in the lives of other women whose lives you are bringing to the attention of modern readers.
My research on supported social purpose enterprises re-evaluates the place of brick-and-mortar co... more My research on supported social purpose enterprises re-evaluates the place of brick-and-mortar community centers as spaces to create social capital for low-income women, particularly those who find themselves on the other side of the digital divide. This talk examines the history of Give Me a Chance, Inc., a ministry of the Daughters of Charity in Ogden, Utah.
Presented at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), November 2019, San Diego, CA.
The history of the Daughters of Charity Foundation demonstrates the impact of women’s sustained e... more The history of the Daughters of Charity Foundation demonstrates the impact of women’s sustained engagement in anti-poverty efforts and the influence of religious organizations in shaping the delivery of these services.
Part of the roundtable, “Women, Religion, and Oral History: Stories Moving through Time, Space, and Virtual Geographies.” Oral History Association Conference, October 2021.
Kristine Gunnell will be speaking about her book, Daughters of Charity, and her upcoming research.
In 1858, the Daughters of Charity opened the first hospital In Los Angeles and instituted their ... more In 1858, the Daughters of Charity opened the first hospital In Los Angeles and instituted their holistic approach to health care--dignified care for body and soul. By 1900, surgery, science, and medical technology pushed the Daughters to adapt their traditional approach, leading them to reinvent their institution as a modern charity hospital. Continually striving to preserve their values while maintaining the hospital’s vitality, the Daughters also developed nursing education programs that blended scientific training with the spirit of service for the sick poor.
Drawn from the research for her book, Dr. Gunnell discussed how the Daughters of Charity negotiat... more Drawn from the research for her book, Dr. Gunnell discussed how the Daughters of Charity negotiated the economic and political realities associated hospital management in Los Angeles during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As hospital owners, administrators, and nurses, the Daughters sought to shape hospital conditions to reflect the values of their religious community. However, the sisters were not the only ones with vested interests in the county's first hospital, and the Daughters needed to negotiate with politicians and physicians to maintain the institution's viability without compromising its mission to assist those in poverty. Founding a nursing school proved to be the most sensible strategy to secure the Daughters' autonomy in the early twentieth century.
To improve critical thinking/writing skills, to promote productive discussion, and to understand ... more To improve critical thinking/writing skills, to promote productive discussion, and to understand the basic framework of American history and the contested nature of its meaning. Students will also be introduced to the methods and tools used by professional historians.
25% Oral History Project 15% Final 25% Class Assignments 15% Quizzes 10% Participation 10%
Each aspect of the project is graded according to its thoroughness, accuracy, organization, and a... more Each aspect of the project is graded according to its thoroughness, accuracy, organization, and ability to connect each source to the overall argument. The quality of a student's work will be graded according to the following range: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Incomplete, Missing. This evaluation will then be translated to the appropriate point value.
Project Summary: The purpose of this oral history project is to capture one woman's voice and pla... more Project Summary: The purpose of this oral history project is to capture one woman's voice and place her story in historical context. Each one of us has a different story to tell; we experience events differently depending on our family background, age, education, occupation, neighborhood, politics, and other personal circumstances. Students will develop a proposal, evaluate an oral history interview, create sample questions, and conduct an interview with any woman over age 50. Students will then write a 4-6 page paper that places that person's experience in historical context. If students desire, they may also prepare a short (5-7 minute) oral presentation as extra credit.
American Catholic Studies, 2022
Pacific Historical Review, 2015
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
The Catholic Historical Review, 2015
Women's Studies, 2020
Review of No Straight Path. Women's historians reflect on their experiences in academia.
UCLA Center for the Study of Women Blog, 2018
Oral History can be a powerful tool to capture the sense of community created by board members at... more Oral History can be a powerful tool to capture the sense of community created by board members at the Daughters of Charity Foundation.
Update, UCLA Centers for Study of Women Newsletter, Jan 2014
Philanthropy Journal, 2019
Like in the settlement houses of a century ago, the Daughters of Charity continue to provide spac... more Like in the settlement houses of a century ago, the Daughters of Charity continue to provide spaces to empower low-income women and children and strengthen community.
Blog post with a short history of the Research Affiliates Program at UCLA's Center for the Study ... more Blog post with a short history of the Research Affiliates Program at UCLA's Center for the Study of Women