RT Article
T1 Curricular Conundrum: The Jesuit Ratio studiorum and Mary Ward’s Attempts to Balance Latin, Prayer, and Lace
JF Journal of Jesuit studies
VO 11
IS 2
SP 248
OP 268
A1 Brown, Laura Feitzinger
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1886969779
AB The 1599 Jesuit Ratio Studiorum effectively organized its educational mission. Catholic Englishwoman Mary Ward (1585–1645) adapted the Ratio as she sought to build a new order for women based on the Jesuit rule and open Catholic schools for girls across Europe. Despite remarkable success, she faced increasing opposition from Jesuits and other leaders. Scholars have explored objections raised against her schools; however, little research addresses objections to teaching girls Latin. In this article, I argue that Ward’s attempts to teach Latin ran into subtle cultural complications because of gendered expectations regarding the language’s uses and abuses, conflicts over time devoted to prayer, and parental and societal expectations regarding young women’s acquisition of handwork skills. Exploring these complications helps illuminate not only Ward’s adaptation of the Jesuit approach to teaching but also nuances in her own spirituality, especially regarding the relationship between active and contemplative lives.
K1 Prayer
K1 lace-making
K1 Needlework
K1 English Catholics
K1 girls’ education
K1 Mary Ward (1585–1645)
K1 Ratio studiorum
K1 Jesuit education
DO 10.1163/22141332-11020004