Dissertation Defense: Krysta Beam

Join the History Department in support of Krysta Beam, who will defend her dissertation, "Transnational Child-Saving, Hogar Bíblico Roblealto, and Latin America Mission in Costa Rica, 1921-1980," on Wednesday, October 21 from 5-7PM EST over Zoom.

Founded in 1932 by missionaries of the Latin America Mission, Hogar Bíblico Roblealto, a children's residential home in Heredia, Costa Rica, serves as a compelling case study for examining twentieth-century evangelical engagement in Latin America. Its significance is heightened by the Costa Rican context: a nation defined by strong political mobilization and a burgeoning welfare state. This study traces transnational encounters, exchanges and negotiations between missionaries, international financial supporters, local workers, state reformers, and children. Employing a multi-scalar approach, the study addresses methodological and theoretical challenges in the history of childhood. By pairing adult-curated archival records with oral history interviews, it recovers the voices of former child-residents, highlighting how their memories were informed by spiritual experiences and religious identities. Ultimately, this work demonstrates that while Protestant mission in Latin America shifted from career missionaries to youth-focused short-term mission trips, the imperative of child-saving consistently anchored evangelical presence through residential homes, schools, clinics, and summer camps.

Chair: Lara Putnam

Committee: Michel Gobat, Ruth Mostern, Lisa Brush (Sociology), and David Díaz -Arias (Universidad de Costa Rica)

This is an all-remote defense. To attend, please email [email protected] for the Zoom link and password.