Out of the Shadows:
Exploring Women’s Roles in Early Christianity
WOX Grant Report
Gillian Ahlgren and Anna Miller
Summary of the Project: This project involved the acquisition and exhibition of photographs from the first six centuries of Christian history chronicling the multiple ways that women were portrayed and, from material and textual evidence, the variety of roles that they played in the formation and growth of early Christian communities. Xavier students helped to procure and catalog images, and worked with Dr. Miller to create image labels for the exhibition. An exhibit of 40 images was mounted on two floors of the Gallagher Student Center for two months. Carolyn Osiek and Christine Schenk, prominent scholars working in this area, were brought to campus. 150 people attended their public lecture on Friday, October 28. On Saturday, October 29, a three-hour workshop was held in which Dr. Osiek, Dr. Miller, and Sr. Schenk gave historical context for the images and engaged audience questions and reflection. 80 people attended that workshop. Several Xavier theology classes visited the exhibit.
Timeframe for the Project:
Summer 2015 Dr. Anna Miller began taking photographs at the Vatican Museums with a student assistant, Emily Whalen. In Cincinnati, a sub-committee of community partners worked with us to locate the venue for the exhibit and the lecture.
Fall 2015In conversation with our community partners, Dr. Ahlgren and Dr. Miller selected and purchased catacomb photographs from the Vatican.
Summer 2016 Dr. Miller acquired more photographs in Rome. On Xavier’s campus, students helped to catalog the images. Photographs were developed, mounted and framed over the course of three months of late summer and early fall.
Early Fall 2016 Dr. Miller introduced her class on Women in Early Christianity with a discussion about archaeology and its benefits and drawbacks for reconstructing the history of women in the early church. Students were given an initial research project on topics relating to images from the exhibit. After writing a paper on this topic, students learned about writing museum description labels. Students then wrote labels based on their longer research paper. Dr. Miller worked closely with students to edit and refine these labels. The final products were mounted and included as a critical part of the exhibit.
October 2016The exhibit was mounted at the Gallagher Student Center. The photographs were exhibited from October 28, 2016 through December 15, 2016
October 28-29, 2016Chris Schenk spoke in both sections of Dr. Miller’s Women in Early Christianity classes on Friday before the public lecture. On Friday night, Professor Osiek spoke before a large crowd in the Conaton Board Room. A half-day workshop followed on Saturday morning.
Highlights
Xavier students worked with Dr. Miller to procure, edit, and catalog images of early Christian women. 60 students took Dr. Miller’s Women in Early Christianity class in fall of 2016. These students carried out significant research and writing on topics directly related to the images for the Out of the Shadows exhibit. The students also had a direct role in creating the descriptions that accompanied the images for the exhibition.
The public lecture on Friday, October 28 was attended by 150 people, and there was extensive engagement of the topic, with many questions.
The half-day workshop on Saturday, October 29 served 80 participants.