Gender, religion and higher education: a century of Catholic women at the University of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto

This article explores the experience of Catholic women as students, teachers, scholars and administrators at the University of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. The article is set within the context of current international scholarship on women and higher education, social history and feminist theory. The article focuses on two women's colleges - St. Joseph's College, established by the French-founded and initially diocesan Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, and Loretto College, established by the Irish-founded, pontifical Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The article argues that Catholic women in general, and women religious in particular, negotiated complex paths. Not only were they confronting the patriarchies of both the university and the Roman Catholic church, but they were also dealing with the pressures, supports and discrimination emerging from their religious, social and intellectual peers. The article concludes with suggestions for further international comparative studies.