{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/89607"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/89607","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Building Cultural Bridges: American Women Missionaries in Korea 1885-1910","abstract":"In this thesis, I explore the role of American women missionaries to Korea and how they built cultural bridges that Korean women crossed to become Christian converts. American women missionaries opened their homes to and deliberately sought out relationships with Korean women, relationships centered on evangelism, a common search for Korean language literacy, a shared identity as women and on something missionary women termed a \"friendship.\" These actions by the American women missionaries created opportunities -- bridges -- for Korean women to step into Christianity along a uniquely female path. The bridges I discuss are the intentional actions by women missionaries to make connections with Korean women, the creation of spaces within American homes that met Confucian expectations for women and the production of a \"middle ground,\" a conceptual space of (mis)understanding and new understandings that facilitated cross-cultural interaction. These bridges helped a significant number of Korean women to convert to Christianity and also shed light on the development of a syncretic Korean Christianity.","abstract_html":"In this thesis, I explore the role of American women missionaries to Korea and how they built cultural bridges that Korean women crossed to become Christian converts. American women missionaries opened their homes to and deliberately sought out relationships with Korean women, relationships centered on evangelism, a common search for Korean language literacy, a shared identity as women and on something missionary women termed a "friendship." These actions by the American women missionaries created opportunities -- bridges -- for Korean women to step into Christianity along a uniquely female path. The bridges I discuss are the intentional actions by women missionaries to make connections with Korean women, the creation of spaces within American homes that met Confucian expectations for women and the production of a "middle ground," a conceptual space of (mis)understanding and new understandings that facilitated cross-cultural interaction. These bridges helped a significant number of Korean women to convert to Christianity and also shed light on the development of a syncretic Korean Christianity.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Skiles, Debra Faith"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought","degree_department":"Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Schneider, Helen M.","Agmon, Danna"],"committee_members":["Schmitthenner, Peter L.","Debrix, Francois"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-05-17","date_published":"2016-05-17","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:17Z","subjects":["Missionaries","Korea","Women","Cross-Cultural","1890s"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:8275"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:8275","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/89607","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Schneider, Helen M.","Agmon, Danna"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Schmitthenner, Peter L.","Debrix, Francois"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Skiles, Debra Faith"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2019-05-24T08:00:44Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-05-24T08:00:44Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-05-17"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Missionaries","Korea","Women","Cross-Cultural","1890s"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:8275"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/89607"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis, I explore the role of American women missionaries to Korea and how they built cultural bridges that Korean women crossed to become Christian converts. American women missionaries opened their homes to and deliberately sought out relationships with Korean women, relationships centered on evangelism, a common search for Korean language literacy, a shared identity as women and on something missionary women termed a \"friendship.\" These actions by the American women missionaries created opportunities -- bridges -- for Korean women to step into Christianity along a uniquely female path. The bridges I discuss are the intentional actions by women missionaries to make connections with Korean women, the creation of spaces within American homes that met Confucian expectations for women and the production of a \"middle ground,\" a conceptual space of (mis)understanding and new understandings that facilitated cross-cultural interaction. These bridges helped a significant number of Korean women to convert to Christianity and also shed light on the development of a syncretic Korean Christianity."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Building Cultural Bridges: American Women Missionaries in Korea 1885-1910"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Schneider, Helen M.","Agmon, Danna"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Schmitthenner, Peter L.","Debrix, Francois"],"dc:contributor.department":["Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought"],"dc:creator":["Skiles, Debra Faith"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2019-05-24T08:00:44Z"],"dc:date.available":["2019-05-24T08:00:44Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-05-17"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this thesis, I explore the role of American women missionaries to Korea and how they built cultural bridges that Korean women crossed to become Christian converts. 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