Faith and the Historian: CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVES

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“I do not know of a better book on the recent history of lived Catholicism in America. The authors are skillful storytellers who convey vivid senses of what it felt like to inhabit Catholic worlds as children, and they weave evocative details about their experiences into narrative frameworks that reveal the structural dynamics of American Catholic cultures.” — A M A N D A P O R T E R F I E L D , Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion, Florida State University “This collection of original essays reveals deep self-analysis and reflection that will impress, provoke, and inspire a wide range of readers. It explores the faith/history nexus in surprising ways. This is high-level Catholic autobiography in the American context.” — WA LT E R N U G E N T , Tackes Professor of History emeritus, University of Notre Dame “Personal essays by academics can be vacuous exercises in self-indulgence, but not these thoughtful and thought-provoking reflections on what it means to function as both active historians and actively engaged Roman Catholics. Taken individually chapter by chapter or as a whole, this is illuminating writing of the best kind.” — M A R K A . N O L L , McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame University of Illinois Press Urbana and Chicago www.press.uillinois.edu R E L I G I O N / A M E R I C A N H I S T O R Y 6 6 ISBN-10: 0-252-07382-7 ISBN-13: 978-0-252-07382-3 6 FA I T H A N D T H E H I S T O R I A N collects essays from eight experienced historians discussing the impact of being “touched” by Catholicism on their vision of history. The authors—ranging from “cradle to the grave” Catholics to those who haven’t practiced in forty years, and everywhere in between— explicitly investigate the interplay between their personal lives and beliefs and the sources of their professional work. A variety of heartfelt, illuminating, and sometimes humorous experiences emerge from these stories of intelligent people coming to terms with their Catholic backgrounds as they mature and enter the academy. C O N T R I B U T O R S I N C L U D E Philip Gleason, David Emmons, Maureen Fitzgerald, Joseph A. McCartin, Mario T. Garcia, Nick Salvatore, James R. Barrett, and Anne M. Butler. N I C K S A LVAT O R E is Maurice and Hinda Neufeld Founders Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and professor of American studies at Cornell University. He is the author of Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist, winner of the Bancroft Prize and the American Historical Association’s John H. Dunning Prize in U.S. History, and We All Got History: The Memory Books of Amos Webber. For more, visit www.nicksalvatore.com. ...