Twenty-nine in-depth interviews with women involved in local sanctuary sites
Women in the Sanctuary Movement
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The sanctuary movement in the United States began in the 1980s in response to growing numbers of Central American refugees seeking political asylum. While the media portray male clerics as the leaders of this religious-based political movement, women outnumber men at all levels of organization. Using twenty-nine in-depth interviews with women involved in eight local sanctuary sites, Robin Lorentzen explores the workings of the sanctuary movement; the reasons for their commitment to this illegal activity; the relationship between their activism, liberation theology, and feminism; and the tensions among the women and between women and men in the movement.
Lorentzen documents how womenprimarily white, middle-class housewives and nunsactually produce the movement in religious and community settings, mobilizing family, church, and community resources to reconstruct the refugees’ lives. This richly detailed ethnographic study is supported throughout with colorful excerpts from the author’s interviews with participants. The women themselves relate the intense commitment, frenetic preparation, heartrending joy, and exhaustive burnout that constantly accompany their involvement with the refugees, Lorentzen explores the inherent tensions between humanitarian and political impulses within this woman-based movement and describes the challenges faced by various religious and civic communities.
2. A Natural History of the Chicago Movement
3. Ideological Splits
4. Patterns and Conflicts in Women's Activities
5. Stages in Activist Women's Lives
6. The Effects of Life Structure
In the series
Women in the Political Economy, edited by Ronnie J. Steinberg.
No longer active.
Women in the Political Economy, edited by Ronnie J. Steinberg, includes books on women and issues of work, family, social movements, politics, feminism, and empowerment. It emphasizes women's roles in society and the social construction of gender and also explores current policy issues like comparable worth, international development, job training, and parental leave.