Augustana College

Keynote Address - Dr. Anne Butler

“Placing Nuns Inside the Women's West: Convent Archives and Academic Research” 

For her current project, Dr. Butler consulted numerous archival depositories. But unlike much historical research, which often takes place in the archives of states or universities, Dr. Butler’s enquiries took her into numerous religious archives—records produced by and for (and preserved by and for) religious congregations themselves. In many cases, she was the first “secular” person to examine these records. On one level, her discussion will outline the joys of challenges when executing such an ambitious historical research plan. But on another level, the very procedure raises questions. What does a historian owe her subjects, particularly if they are offering previously “private” records? What does it mean to examine “religious” records for “secular” purposes? What does it mean to the study of history that many voices of the past remain hidden away in obscure or unexamined collections?

Finally, Dr. Butler will also present some broader conclusions about what the history of the American West looks like once Catholic sisters are given their place in the narrative. Are the familiar characters of western history—the rugged frontiersman, the individualistic cowboy, the violent outlaw—adequate or even accurate evocations of western America? Dr. Butler’s presentation promises to suggest that the complexity of gender history in the West includes more women than the pioneer wife, schoolteacher, and prostitute.