The aim of this paper is to figure out how to write the role of women in mission by analysing two writings of mission history: one from women's history (Dana Lee Robert's writing)and the other from feminist history (Lesley Orr Macdoland). This paper aims to demonstrate the historical perspective and methodology for women in mission and identifies a certain view of Asian women in mission in the fields of western historiography for women. This paper adapts critical analysis in terms of methodology and perspectives on the writings. Two important works on mission history have been published: firstly, American Women in Mission: A Social History of Their Thought and Practice written by Dana Lee Robert in 1997; secondly, A Unique and Glorious Mission; Women and Presbyterianism in Scotland, 1830-1930 written by Lesley A. Orr MacDonald in 2000. The two writings share some similarities and at the same time differences in terms of the women's and feminist concepts of history. Both historians' writings are overlapped and integrated in the same theme, namely women in mission. There are some discussible issues on the writings of women from a Asian perspective. First of all, the limited use of materials was problematic. Both historians used only English sources writing about women in mission fields where were located out of the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. Even though the stories were about western missionary women, the historians objectively needed to deal with the indigenous women's feeling and assessment of missionary women. Their use of sources thus reflects a kind of favouritism. Secondly, Women's history emphasises only the clear lack of historical achievements by male-centred studies in the existing histories. Feminist history stresses upon the dual structure between men and women with the analysis and method of women's story. Their historiographies are not appropriate in order to clarify the significance of women's role in the relationship between people in mission fields. The absence of such practical aspects of mission impairs their analysis of the story of women in history. Thirdly, they mainly focus on the public work and try to justify women's status in mission in terms of concord and discord between women and institutions, thus using the same criteria for success. If we regarded a lot of hidden women in mission in practice, the historical research has to possess much wider insight of research objects, women, in mission history. Through the research of this thesis and with an Asian view, the researcher obtains how to develop historical research on the role of women in mission into the way of historical writing for women in a manner that reflect the strengths of the methodologies review in this paper, and redress their weaknesses.

• 장성진(별세목회연구원, 선교역사)