AMERICAN CATHOLICISM

Winnifred Sullivan
email: sullivanw@wlu.edu

Winter 1998; 15 students

 

General Information

This course considers the history and experience of the Roman Catholic church in America, from the first French and Spanish missionaries, through the rise of the largely Irish and German immigrant church in the 19th century, to the coming of age of the American Catholic community and its participation in and response to Vatican II. Attention is given to the theology, ritual forms and cultural style of Catholic religious practice and to the history of the Catholic community and its participation in the public life of the larger American community.

The overarching questions for this course will be: What makes American Catholicism Catholic? What makes it American? and What do we learn about religion from studying American Catholicism?

Course Requirements

Preparation for class, quizzes and participation in class discussion. Each student will be asked to prepare a short (2-3 pages) reflection paper on the readings each week (except the first and last week) in response to an assigned question.(50% of grade).

Midterm (25% of grade) and final (25% of grade).

All assignments, including preparation for class, are expected to be timely, unless prior approval is given. Lateness will be penalized.

Required texts (all in paper)

Jay P. Dolan, The American Catholic Experience

Richard McBrien, Inside Catholicism

Thomas Merton, Seven Story Mountain

Brian Moore, Black Robe

Robert Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street

Packet of readings (available from Karen Lyle)

 

 

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND ASSIGNMENTS

wk.1

1/6 Introductory lecture: The Late Medieval European Church

Colonial Catholicism

1/8 Spanish Missions

Assignment: read Las Casas, In Defense of the Indians

In Class: Lecture/discussion on early Spanish missions

wk.2

1/13 Spanish Missions cont.

Assignment: read Junipero Serra, Diary

Dolan, pp. 15-30

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Southwest missions

1/15 French Missions

Assignment: read Moore, Black Robe

Dolan, pp. 31-68

Lalemant, "How Father Jogues was Taken. . ."

In class: Lecture/discussion on French missions

wk. 3

1/20 English Catholics in the New World

Assignment: read John Carroll selections Dolan, pp. 69-97

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Maryland Catholics

1/22 Catholics in the new republic

Assignment: read Dolan, pp. 101-124

In Class: Quiz on colonial Catholicism

 

The Immigrant Church

wk. 4

1/27 NB: this class will be held in the evening

Who were the Immigrants?

Assignment: read Dolan, pp. 127-157

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Immigrant Catholicism

1/29 The parish and the neighborhood

Assignment: read Dolan, pp. 158-220

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Immigrant Catholicism cont.

 

 

 

wk. 5

2/3 Devotional Catholicism

Assignment: read Taves, The Household of Faith (in packet)

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture/discussion on devotional Catholicism

2/5 Black Catholics (NOTE: this will be an evening class)

Assignment: read Davis, History of Black Catholics, chs. 3-6

Afro-American and Catholic

In Class: lecture by Prof. Delaney

 

wk. 6

2/10 Anti-Catholicism and Nativism

Assignment: read nativism and anti-Catholicism selections (in course packet)

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture by Dr.Stephanie Wilkinson

2/12 MIDTERM

 

WASHINGTON HOLIDAY

 

wk. 7

2/24 Conversion

Assignment:read Brownson selections

In Class: discussion of conversion

2/25 Evening lecture by Professor Scott Appleby

2/26 Americanism and Modernism

Assignment: read Appleby and Sullivan selections

In Class: Visit by Prof. Appleby

 

Coming of Age

wk.8

3/2 Italian Catholics

Assignment: read Orsi, The Madonna of 115th St.

In Class: Discussion of Orsi

reflection paper due

3/4 Social Gospel

Assignment: read Dolan, pp. 321-348

In Class: view and discuss The Radio Priest

 

 

 

 

wk. 9

3/9 Schools

Assignment: read Dolan, pp. 262-293, 384-420

Everson v. Bd. of Education

Reflection paper due

In Class: Discussion of Everson

3/11 Triumphal Catholicism

Assignment: read Morris selection

In Class: view The Bells of St. Mary’s

 

wk. 10

3/16 Thomas Merton

Assignment: read Merton, Seven Story Mountain

reflection paper due

In Class: View film on Merton/discussion of Merton

 

Vatican II and Aftermath

3/18 Religious Freedom

Assignment: read Dignitatis Humanae

Murray, We Hold These Truths selections

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Dignitatis Humanae

 

wk. 11

3/23 American Catholicism and Vatican II

Assignment: read Dolan pp. 423-454

Gaudium et Spes

reflection paper due

In Class: Lecture/discussion on Vatican II

3/25 Vatican II and religious orders

Assignment: reading to be assigned

In Class: view and discuss Breaking Silence

 

wk. 12

3/30 Indigenization and syncretism

Assignment: reading to be announced

In-Class: Discussion of definition of Catholicism

4/2 American Catholicism today

Assignment: reading to be announced

In class:to be announced