Patriarchy, Technology and the Lives of Hutterite Women: a Field Study
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Patriarchy, Technology and the Lives of Hutterite Women: A Field Study A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Lesley C. Masuk Spring 1998 © Copyright Lesley C. Masuk, 1998. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Sociology Arts 9 Campus Drive University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 1 • ",,� I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my love and appreciation to my mother and father, Catherine and Archie Masuk for all the support they have given me. They have supported me throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies. This thesis is for them as they lived through the good times and the bad with me. I received a great deal of support from family and friends. These include Evelyn Waldner, Edna and Albert Wurtz, Samuel Hofer and George Maendel. Many of the individuals who were sources of information must remain nameless. My thanks goes out to all who contributed to this thesis. Thanks must also be given to my thesis committee: David Hay and Michael Gertler. I would also like to thank my external reviewer, John Conway, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan. My heartfelt thanks goes my advisor, John Thompson. Without his support and wisdom, this thesis would have never evolved into what it is. I must also credit Dawn Sinclair, Administrative Assistant to the President, St. Thomas More College for all of her help arranging long distance appointments with John Thompson. I would also like to thank the Department of Graduate Studies and Research for the travel grant I received to carry out my travels to colonies in Manitoba and Alberta. Credit must also be given to the staff of the Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan. Their interest in this research project enabled me to fulfil many of my goals. Special appreciation must be given to residents of Waldnerhof colony, Manitoba. Although they must remain anonymous, to each individual who contributed to my research: donchn. Lastly, thanks goes to Edward. He is my foundation and my strength. i ABSTRACT The Hutterite Brethren are a religious communal society found in rural areas of Western Canada and in several American states. Although there is considerable published research on Hutterites, little new research has been published since 1987. Few scholars have questioned the effects of either the patriarchal organization of Hutterite colonies or the isolation of Hutterite women within the communal domestic sphere of the colony. The focus of this research is on the contemporary situation of Hutterite colonies in Canada with specific focus on the effects of the introduction of technology on the lives of Hutterite women in the context of colony patriarchal structure. In order to carry out this research, the author drew on her Hutterite heritage to gain access to a Hutterite colony in the province of Manitoba. The author lived on a Schmiedeleut colony for nine weeks during which she observed the lives of Hutterite women in the context of contemporary Hutterite colony organization. She was treated as a dien (single young woman) and participated in the daily activities and conversations of the dienan (young women). Given their location both in the life cycle and Hutterite stages of life, the dienan are the most sensitive to tensions and conflicts within Hutterite colony life. Participation observation provided the researcher a window -- the vantage point of the dienan -- on the lives of Hutterite women as effected by technological change within the colony patriarchal structure. Habermas' distinction between pre-modern society and modern society as types, along with his notion of the colonization of the lifeworld, provided the framework for locating and analyzing the effects of technology on the lives of Hutterite women. Drawing on field data from the nine weeks of participant observation at the colony, the researcher was able to document and identify elements in the colonizing effect of technology on the communal domestic lifeworld of Hutterite women. This thesis concludes that Hutterite male leaders have introduced advanced technology applications into nearly every aspect of colony production, including the communal domestic sphere of Hutterite women. The colonizing effect of the patriarchal intrusion of technology into the communal domestic sphere of Hutterite women has resulted in loss of traditional work roles for Hutterite women, in loss of the religious meaning of their work, and in resentment toward the patriarchal decision-making structure of colony life. Hutterite women display anger and depression, and, in number of instances, defect either temporarily or permanently from the colony. This colonization of the lifeworld of Hutterite women presents significant challenges to the communal patriarchal structure of the Hutterite Brethren in terms of providing new, meaningful work roles in a more diversified and egalitarian productive sphere and of providing some decision making opportunities for Hutterite women in areas that directly effect their lives. Since participant observation was central to this research, the author also discusses issues related to the relationship between emotion and knowing. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vi 1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Focus and Purpose of Research 2 . 1.3 Overview . 3 1.4 Summary 6 2. THE HUTTERITE BRETHREN IN HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT 2.1 Origins of Anabaptism 7 2.2 The Formation of the Hutterite Brethren 8 2.3 Articles of Faith: Key Hutterite Beliefs 8 2.4 Organization of Hutterite Society 9 2.5 Opposition Towards the Hutterite Brethren 11 2.6 Renewed Intolerance and the Demise of Living in Community of Goods 13 2.7 Hutterite Migration to Russia . .. 15 2.8 Hutterite Exodus to North America . .. 17 2.9 Intolerance Towards Hutterites in Canada 20 2.10 Hutterites in Canada Today . .. 22 2.11 Conclusion 25 3. THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN OF THE HUTTERITE BRETHREN IN LITERATURE 3.1 Introduction 26 3.2 Women Within Hutterite Colonies: Patriarchy 26 3.3 Hutterite Women and Work: Silent But Needed Workers 29 3.4 The Dilemma of Modernization 32 3.5 The Effect of Modernization on Hutterite Women's Work Roles 36 3.6 Hutterite Housing 37 . .. 3.7 Hutterite Possessions . 38 3.8 Clothing 39 3.9 Religion and Maintenance of the Traditional 40 3.10 Baptism 41 . 3.11 Courtship and Marriage . .. 42 3.12 Hutterite Family Size and Health . .. 43 . .. 3.13 Hutterite Defection . 45 3.14 Conclusion 47 iii 4. A HABERMASIAN TYPOLOGY: PRE-MODERN SOCIETY, MODERN SOCIETY AND COLONIZATION OF THE LIFEWORLD 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Defmition of Type 49 4.3 Pre-Modern Society as a Type 49 4.4 Modern Society as a Type 53 4.5 Colonization of the Lifeworld . .. 56 4.6 COnclusion........................................... 62 5. METHODOLOGY 5.1 Genesis of a Question: Research Problem and Project . .. 63 5.2 Family Roots as a Connection 64 5.3 Attempting to Gain Access/Entrance to the Field 65 5.4 Contact 67 5.5 Entrance Into the Field 68 5.6 Participant Observation: Outside-Insider 69 . 5.6.1 My Life as a Dien . .. 71 5.6.2 The Work of the Dienan 72 5.7 Consequences of Being an Outside-Insider. .. 73 5.8 Research Strategies: An Overview 74 5.9 Perceptions of an Outside-Insider 75 5.10 Outsider Again: Debriefing 77 5.11 Reflection on Emotions and Knowing. .. 80 5.12 Conclusion 81 6. THE LIFE OF A HUTTERITE WOMAN: A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT THROUGH THE EYES OF A DIEN 6.1 Introduction 83 6.2 From Birth to Dindla (Birth to Two and Half Years of Age) 84 6.3 Kindergarten (Two and Half Years of Age to Five Years of Age) 87 6.4 Leaving Kindergarten (Five Years of Age) . .. 89 6.4.1 Church Services 90 6.4.2 Sunday School 92 6.5 School Aged Children (Six to Fifteen Years of Age) . .. 93 6.6 The Life of a Dien (Fifteen to Thirty Years of Age) .. .. 95 6.6.1 Work in the Communal Kitchen 102 6.6.2 Dating and Marriage 105 6.6.3 Baptism....................................... 107 6.6.4 Hutterite Family Size . .. 109 6.6.5 Defection...................................... 110 6.6.6 The Hutterite Home . .. 115 6.6.7 Other Aspects of Change Within the Hutterite Colony. .. 117 6.7 The Life of a Married Woman 119 6.8 Old Age and Death . .. 121 6.9 COnclusion.......................................... 123 iv ,}C1;; ;\1irlf:� .'.... ,�,. 7. APPLICATION OF TYPOLOGY TO SCHMIEDELEUT HUTTERITE COLONIES 7.1 COnclusion.......................................... 132 8. CONCLUSION 8.1 Introduction 134 8.2 Overview of Research 134 8.3 Findings 138 8.4 Limitations of Study 138 8.5 Contributions of Study 139 .