Dawson Scholar Janice Harvey presents her new book

I was a member of the Dawson History-Classics department from 1975 to 2021 and during approximately 20 of those memorable years, I was also a researcher. I am grateful for the support provided by the College’s Research Office and many profitable discussions with colleagues.

Most of my research has focused on the ideological, religious, and gendered characteristics of the social services apparatus in 19th-century Montreal. At a time when no aid was forthcoming from the state, poverty relief was both private and organized along confessional lines.

My work examines Protestant Montreal and, in particular, the child charities managed by women of the bourgeois elite. In this context, female benevolence was focused on relieving poverty rather than forcing the poor to be self-reliant, and these women provided services for needy families that were not otherwise available.

Once I retired and became a Scholar in Residence, I had time to revise the manuscript based on this research and shepherd the book though the publishing process with the help of the amazing team at McGill-Queen’s University Press. Their Benevolent Design focuses on the two main Protestant child charities from 1822-1921, the families who used them, the women who ran them and their policies, and how children might have experienced institutional life. A book launch will be held at UQAM in late April or early May.

-By Janice Harvey