RS 138D: Catholicism and U.S. History

 

Professor Ann Taves                                                                                       Spring 2007

Office: HSSB 3085                                                                                       TR 2:00- 3:15

Office Hours: TR 3:30-4:30                                                                             HSSB 1233

taves@religion.ucsb.edu                                                                               

 

Course Description: The course examines the emergence and development of Catholicism in the U.S. from a transnational and comparative perspective with particular attention to the interactions between the Catholic tradition and the cultural, political, and social life of the U.S. and between the American Church and the wider Catholic Church.

 

Most courses and textbooks on Catholicism in the U.S. treat the American Catholic Church as a thing in itself independent of the larger Catholic Church of which it is a part.

At the same time, many such treatments seem to assume that there is something unique or exceptional about the American Catholicism due to its interaction with the American socio-political context.  This can’t really be established, however, without looking at American Catholicism comparatively.  This course starts from the obvious fact that the American Catholic Church is part of a complex international organization.  To better understand what is and is not distinctive about American Catholicism, we will consider the emergence and development of Catholicism in the U.S. in relation to developments in Europe and the development of Catholicism in other colonial and immigrant contexts with particular attention to church-state relationships.

 

The course is structured around three books and a selection of supplementary readings.  Morris and McGreevy provide two distinctly different perspectives on the Catholic Church in the U.S. from the mid-19th century to the present.  McLeod allows us to compare developments in the U.S. with those in Europe.  The class will be a mixture of lecture and discussion of the readings.

 

Course Requirements and Grading: Attendance and participation in class discussions (5%), midterm (30%), final (45%), and a 5-7 page paper (20%). 

o        The exams will have identifications, short answer questions, and an essay.  There will be a study guide provided for the exams and time to review in class. 

o        The short paper may explore a historical or contemporary issue raised by the course in more depth or you may use oral historical interviewing to explore the experience of Catholics of your parents’ or grandparents’ generations.  Brief paper proposals indicating the question you want to pursue and how you plan to pursue it are due on May 1st.

o        Extra credit (5%) for attending and writing a brief two page summary of the issues as discussed in the Sixth Arthur N. Rupe Great Debate with Rabbi Michael Lerner and Michael Novak on "Religion in American Politics -- Too Much or Too Little?"

 

Textbooks:

Course Reader, available at Grafikart, 6550 Pardall Road, Isla Vista (968-3575). REQUIRED.

Charles R. Morris, American Catholic: The Saints and Sinners Who Built America’s Most Powerful Church (Vintage, 1997).  REQUIRED.

John T. McGreevy, Catholicism and American Freedom: A History (Norton, 2003).  REQUIRED.

Hugh McLeod, Religion and the People of Western Europe, 1789-1989 (Oxford, 1997).  REQUIRED – Order from Amazon.com.

Michael Walsh, Roman Catholicism: The Basics. RECOMMENDED.

Course Outline and Assignments

 

04/03/07 (1.1) – Introduction – Rethinking the history of American Catholicism

 

04/05/07 (1.2) – Catholics in the U.S. today

o       Chester Gillis, Roman Catholicism in America, 8-47

o       NCR: “Survey of U.S. Catholics” at http://www.ncronline.org/index0930.htm

 

04/10/07 (2.1) – Catholicism in the Colonies: Relations between church, state, and native peoples the North American colonies (French, Spanish, and British) through the French, American, and Mexican Revolutions.

o       James T. Fisher, Communion of Immigrants, 1-23.

 

04/12/07 (2.2) – Post-Revolutionary Patterns of Church-State Relations in Europe & North America

o       McLeod, 1-22, 36, 47-53.

o       Fisher, 24-42.

 

04/17/07 (3.1) – The Irish Diaspora and the Romanization of Catholicism in the British Empire

o       Morris, 26-53.

 

04/19/07 (3.2) – Catholics Engage the Dominant Culture: Schools & Devotions

o       McGreevy, pp. 7-42. 

 

04/24/07 (4.1) – Catholics Engage the Dominant Culture: Americanism

o       Morris, 81-112.

 

04/26/07 (4.2) – Catholics Engage the Dominant Culture: Nationalism

o       McGreevy, 91-126.

 

05/01/07 (5.1) – An Irish-Dominated Multi-Ethnic Church

o       Morris, 113-138.

o       Robert A. Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street, 1-13, 50-74.

o       PAPER PROPOSALS DUE

 

05/03/07 (5.2) Recap and Review

o       VIDEO: Beth Harrington, The Blinking Madonna and Other Miracles (1994).

 

05/08/07 (6.1) – Midterm. 

 

05/10/07 (6.2) – Catholics and the Social Question - Labor

o       McGreevy, 127-165; McLeod, 118-31.

o       Morris, 196-227 (optional).

 

05/15/07 (7.1) – Anti-Catholicism  

o       McGreevy, 166-188.

 

05/17/07 (7.2) – Anti-Communism

o       Morris, 228-254.

 

05/22/07 (8.1) -- Church and State Reconsidered

o       McGreevy, 189-215 (Maritain & Murray).

o       Vatican II, “Dignitatis Humanae: Declaration on Religious Freedom” (excerpts).

 

05/24/07 (8.2) – What Happened in the Sixties? – Europe and America Compared

o       Morris, 253-57, 266-81, 285-94; McLeod, 133-54. 

 

05/29/07 (9.1) – Hispanicization of the American Church

o       Morris, 261-66, 295-315.

o       Timothy Matovina, “An Evolving Tradition,” in Guadalupe and Her Faithful, 1-23.

o       David Rieff, “Nuevo Catholics,” New York Times Magazine, December 24, 2006.

 

05/31/07 (9.2) – Catholics and Politics – The Life Issues

o       McGreevy, 216-281 (Life I-II).

o       Mark Stricherz, “Goodbye Catholics,” Commonweal, November 4, 2005.

o       John T. McGreevy, “Shifting Allegiances: Catholics, Democrats, and the GOP,” Commonweal, September 22, 2006. 

o       John Allen, “Right and left join forces to oppose brave new world of biotechnology,” National Catholic Reporter, February 9, 2007.

 

06/05/07 (10.1) – Mega-trends and the future of the American Church

o       John Allen, “Ten mega-trends shaping the Catholic church,” NCR, December 22, 2006.

o       John Allen, “The top five ‘missing mega-trends’ shaping Catholicism,” NCR, December 28, 2006.

o       John Allen, “Ecology makes the Catholic mega-trend list,” NCR, March 2, 2007.

 

06/07/07 (10.2) – Recap and Review

 

 

RS138D: CATHOLICISM AND U.S. HISTORY

READER -- CONTENTS

 

o       Chester Gillis, Roman Catholicism in America (Columbia), 8-47.

o       James T. Fisher, Communion of Immigrants (Oxford, 2002), 1-42.

o       Hugh McLeod, Religion and the People of Western Europe, 1789-1989 (Oxford, 1997), 1-22, 36, 47-53.

o       Robert A. Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street, 1-13, 50-74.

o       Vatican II, “Dignitatis Humanae: Declaration on Religious Freedom” (excerpts).

o       Timothy Matovina, “An Evolving Tradition,” in Guadalupe and Her Faithful, 1-23.

o       David Rieff, “Nuevo Catholics,” New York Times Magazine, December 24, 2006.

o       Mark Stricherz, “Goodbye Catholics,” Commonweal, November 4, 2005.

o       John T. McGreevy, “Shifting Allegiances: Catholics, Democrats, and the GOP,” Commonweal, September 22, 2006. 

o       John Allen, “Right and left join forces to oppose brave new world of biotechnology,” National Catholic Reporter, February 9, 2007.

o       John Allen, “Ten mega-trends shaping the Catholic church,” NCR, December 22, 2006.

o       John Allen, “The top five ‘missing mega-trends’ shaping Catholicism,” NCR, December 28, 2006.

o       John Allen, “Ecology makes the Catholic mega-trend list,” NCR, March 2, 2007.