Imperial Childhoods and Christian Mission
Book Description
This scholarly exploration reveals how Christian missionary work in colonial India became deeply intertwined with competing visions of childhood and emotional development. Karen Vallgårda examines the complex dynamics that emerged when Danish Evangelical missionaries arrived in South India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bringing with them particular ideas about nurturing and educating children.
The book uncovers a striking paradox: while these missionaries sent their own children back to Denmark for upbringing, they simultaneously took South Indian children into their care, believing they were rescuing them from their families and cultural contexts. Through extensive literary efforts, they also worked to shape how Danish children understood the wider world and their place within the colonial system.
Vallgårda demonstrates how different categories of children became carriers of heavy ideological burdens, serving both local community needs and broader imperial political goals. Using a postcolonial approach that centers emotional experiences, she documents how feelings and emotional labor became central to evolving concepts of what childhood should be.
This work challenges conventional Western narratives about childhood development by revealing how colonial encounters across different regions contributed to reshaping contemporary understanding of children's emotional and scientific needs. The research illuminates how missionary projects of child welfare became tools for justifying imperial expansion as a benevolent endeavor, offering readers insight into the complex intersections between spirituality, power, and cultural transformation.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 279 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Missions
- ✓ Explore Tamil Missions
- ✓ Explore Education
- ✓ Explore Danish Missions
- ✓ Explore History
- ✓ Explore Poor children
- ✓ Explore Social conditions
- ✓ Explore Evangelicalism
