History Commons^™

The Cajun Traiteurs, Shelby Kathleen Robert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Traiteurs are traditional folk medicine healers who are a part of the culture of the Cajuns of Louisiana. These people are believed to possess special healing powers given to them by God. They are a significant part of the lifestyle and traditional culture of the Cajuns. The Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians, a group of French colonists who were forcibly removed from Nova Scotia and dispersed all over North America by the British in 1755. Though the Acadians were able to partially reassemble themselves in Louisiana, they still faced great adversity within the state. This project examines the …

The Borgia Reexamined: A New Look At The Borgia Family And The Influence Of Adoptions Within The Family, Nicholas Ryan Mason

Masters Theses

The Borgia’s were a powerful family that garnered a great deal of their influence through the Catholic Church during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The height of the Borgia was between 1492 and 1503, when Rodrigo Borgia was elected Pope Alexander VI. Throughout history they have been known for the rumors of murder, incest, greed, and corruption that have surrounded the family ever since they first came to power. An examination of the family may not only lead to a different perspective of the family but may also lead to a deeper understanding of how one's enemies may …

A Friend Who Does Me No Good: Aphorism In Matteo Ricci’S On Friendship, Maximilian Chan Weiher

Asian Languages and Cultures Honors Projects

This paper argues that Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) designed his aphoristic compilation, Jiaoyou Lun 交友論–On Friendship (1595)–to serve the Jesuit mission of converting the Chinese to Catholicism and express the conflict he may have felt exploiting friends to forward the Jesuit mission. Utilizing friendships to allow for greater social influence was central to the Jesuit proselytization strategy in China. However, Ricci’s moral education from youth taught him to judge utilitarian friendships as immoral. The extant scholarship regarding Ricci’s On Friendship fails to acknowledge the significance of the aphoristic form to this work. To illuminate the value of aphorism …

Review: Mary Kenny, The Way We Were: Catholic Ireland Since 1922, Eamon Maher

Articles

Book review: Mary Kenny, The Way We Were: Catholic Ireland Since 1922 (Dublin: Columba Books, 2022), 450 pages.

Carlton J. H. Hayes: Historian, Professor, And America's Forgotten Ambassador, Adam Prescott Manuel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes was born in Afton, New York, in 1882. His father was the town physician, and his mother was a music teacher. From his parents, he gained a love and appreciation for learning. Upon entering Columbia University at eighteen, young Carlton J.H. Hayes quickly found a niche in history. He was mentored for success by such historical titans as William R. Shepherd, Charles A. Beard, and James Harvey Robinson. Hayes quickly became a strong supporter of the New History School, and his A Political and Social History of Modern Europe is a prime example of that ideology. …

The Cross And The Coat Hanger: Catholics For A Free Choice And The Rise Of A Religious Movement, Claire Elizabeth Brady

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Despite the hardline anti-abortion position of the Catholic Church, the majority of American Catholics have shown support for abortion and other reproductive freedoms since the 1970s. The organization Catholics for a Free Choice, now known as Catholics for Choice, is a prime example of such support in the face of Church opposition. I posit that the prominence, position, and impact of Catholics for a Free Choice in the 1970s and 1980s displays the existence of a distinctly Catholic pro-choice movement. This movement is set apart by its direct confrontation of Church hierarchy and its primary existence within the Catholic sphere; …

As War Rages, Some Ukrainians Look To Mary For Protection – Continuing A Long Christian Tradition, Kayla Harris

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Ukrainian clergy demonstrating against the war in their country have appeared in media coverage carefully holding an image of the Virgin Mary, her outstretched hands lifting up the edges of a cloak. These pictures depict a particular religious icon known as the “Pokrova” in which Mary’s veil – a “pokrova,” or “cover,” in Ukrainian – is a sign of protection.

Brigid Of Kildare: The Saint Who Got A Facelift, Aimee Hunt

Student Research

On the outskirts of Papal authority, early medieval Ireland created its own Christian identity separate from other European nations closer to Rome. Saint Brigid of Kildare, one of the patron saints of Ireland, played important yet problematic roles in that identity. After her death, the church began to alter her history. Being a female bishop, performing the first recorded abortion, and having both men and women within her monastery, Brigid had trodden on the male-dominated system in a way that few women had. Deemed unacceptable but having already been sainted, the Catholic church gave Brigid a holy facelift.

What It Was & What I Know: Attempts At Family History, Katherine Reardon

Honors College

Family stories and family histories are contingent on how they are remembered. As these stories are passed down, the ways that they are remembered can change, with the truthful aspects of these stories disappearing over time. As a result, many family stories are not necessarily truthful, but this does not discount their value. The aim of this project is to explore these ideas while also answering the following question: to what extent are family stories bound by the ‘truth’? In order to answer this question, I have explored my own family stories that I know may not be true and …

Dream Visions As A Safe Space For Purgatorial Speculation, Tucker Douglass

History Class Publications

People have believed in something like purgatory for thousands of years. Their specific ideas reflect their cultural environments and their personal feelings about the human condition. By looking at the dream vision genre over the past 2,000 years we may get a better idea of the development of the doctrine of purgatory and, with it, how people have understood themselves in history.

Interview Of Margaret Mcguinness, Ph.D., Margaret Mcguinness Ph.D., Stephen Pierce

All Oral Histories

Dr. Margaret McGuinness was born in 1953, in Providence, Rhode Island. She went to an all-girls Catholic high school called St. Mary’s Academy Bayview in Providence where she graduated in 1971. McGuinness went on to major in American Studies and Civilization as an undergraduate at Boston University graduating with a B.A in 1975. She continued her work at Boston University where McGuinness earned a master’s of theological studies (M.T.S) focusing on Biblical and Historical Studies in 1979. She would move to New York to work on her dissertation at Union Theological Seminary finishing with her Ph.D. in 1985 concentrating on …

Interview Of Richard Kestler, F.S.C., M.A., Richard Kestler Fsc, Alexandria Moraschi

All Oral Histories

Brother Richard Kestler, FSC. was born John Kestler on January 8, 1942 to John and Alice Kestler. He grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brother Richard attended elementary school at his parish of St. Martin of Tours and went on to La Salle College High School, graduating in 1960. By this time, he made the decision to join the Christian Brothers and began this process for about a year before attending La Salle College. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and gained a Master’s in Theology soon after. Brother Richard also has Master’s …

On The Advantage And Disadvantage Of History For Life, Stephen Schloesser

History: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

After Vatican Ii: Renegotiating The Roles Of Women, Sexual Ethics, And Homosexuality In The Roman Catholic Church, Kenneth Brian Nauert Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Vatican II was one of the most seminal councils in Roman Catholic Church history, having far reaching effects on the universal institution.¹ One of the most important outcomes of Vatican II was not the reforming of orthopraxy, but the dialogue that developed regarding three specific issues – the transforming of women’s roles in Church life, Catholic sexual ethics, and the Church’s relationship with LGBTQ+ individuals.² The decades following Vatican II became a new era of religious dialogue among Catholic scholars and theologians, which established new discussions on women’s ordination, sexual ethics, and attitudes towards homosexuality in the contemporary …

White Eagle, Black Madonna: One Thousand Years Of The Polish Catholic Tradition [Table Of Contents], Robert E. Alvis

Religion

“Perhaps more than any other nation, Poland has been influenced throughout its history by its relationship to the Roman Catholic Church. For more than a millennium, Poles have defined themselves in great part as members of this church. White Eagle, Black Madonna is the first work in English to examine this important religious–national nexus from its beginnings to the present day. Profoundly researched and written in an engaging manner, this book deserves a broad readership.” —Theodore Weeks, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

A Catholic History Of The Heartland: The Rise And Fall Of Mid-America: A Historical Review, Theodore Karamanski

History: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Interview Of John Mackin, John Mackin, Alex Palma

All Oral Histories

John Mackin was born in 1943 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He moved to Longbeach, New York when his father returned home from WWII. Soon after his family moved there, they moved again to Collingswood, New Jersey. Finally, his family moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey when John was 16. John attended public and Catholic school growing up and attended Boston College for his higher education. John hit a rough page after college during which he struggled with alcoholism. At the time of the interview, he worked at the La Salle University Connelly Library. A position he got in 1984 while the …

At Home In The Bronx: Children At The New York Catholic Protectory 1865-1938, Janet Butler Munch

Publications and Research

The N.Y.C.-based New York Catholic Protectory was established in 1865 as the home of destitute or truant children. This article deals with such topics as the protectory's establishment, operation and management, education and industrial training, as well as societal factors leading to its changing mission and closing in the Bronx in 1938-- after serving the needs of over 140,000 boys and girls.

The Church And Its Economic Involvement In Colonial Latin America, Michael A. Jensen

Student Research

Because of the Church's prominence in colonial Latin American society, understanding the role of the Church in the economy of the times does not simply give insight into Church policies; it provides clarity, depth, and color to our understanding of the culture, society, and economy of the time. This paper begins by examining the part the Church as an institution played in the economy of colonial Latin America, and what effect that involvement had. Then, the discussion delves into a deeper assessment of what colonial Americans expected of the Church, what the Church expected of the people, and what happened …

Catholic Student Movements In Latin America: Cuba And Brazil, 1920s To 1960s, Joseph Holbrook

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the ideological development of the Catholic University Student (JUC) movements in Cuba and Brazil during the Cold War and their organizational predecessors and intellectual influences in interwar Europe. Transnational Catholicism prioritized the attempt to influence youth and in particular, university students, within the context of Catholic nations within Atlantic civilization in the middle of the twentieth century. This dissertation argues that the Catholic university movements achieved a relatively high level of social and political influence in a number of countries in Latin America and that the experience of the Catholic student activists led them to experience ideological …

Thomas F. Mayer, Ed. Reforming Reformation, Robert Bireley S.J.

History: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Ligia Grischa: A Successful Swiss Colony On The Dakota Territory Frontier, Todd Quinn, Karl Benedict, Jeff Dickey

Great Plains Quarterly

In 1877 a small group of Swiss immigrants from the Graubunden canton formed a cooperative with another Swiss group in Stillwater, Minnesota, to begin a colony in eastern South Dakota. These settlers founded the Badus Swiss colony on the open prairie in Lake County, Dakota Territory {later South Dakota}, based on cooperative rules written in Switzerland in 1424. This settlement was one of the last Swiss colonies created in the United States during the great nineteenth-century European migration, and one of the westernmost Swiss settlements in the United States.

There were two major factors that contributed to the Badus Swiss …

Review Of John Charles, Allies At Odds: The Andean Church And Its Indigenous Agents, 1583–1671, Jason Dyck

FIMS Publications

No abstract provided.

(Review) Walter Ziegler, Die Entscheidung Deutscher Länder Für Oder Gegen Luther..., Marc R. Forster

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Struggle Between Brothers: A Reexamination Of The Idea Of A Cohesive Conservative Movement Through The Intellectual Life And Personal Conflict Surrounding L. Brent Bozell, Kevin Michel

Kaplan Senior Essay Prize for Use of Library Special Collections

The conservative movement, while ultimately successful, was actually a story of failures and fracture. This reality is captured in the life of Brent Bozell. Historians should recognize that when writing the history of conservatism it is as important to look at the schismatic and often extreme experience of Brent Bozell as it is to consider the life of the leader of mainstream conservatism, William F. Buckley Jr. It is unfortunate that no biography has been written on Brent Bozell because his criticisms of mainstream conservatism can shed some light on the underlying reasons for the recent electoral demise of the …

"Who Would Believe What We Have Heard?": Christian Spirituality And Images From The Passion In Religious Art Of New Spain, June-Ann Greeley

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The colonial art of New Spain/Mexico provides the viewer with a locus of examination into the robust Christianity that emerged over time out of a native spirituality newly laden with the contours and images from the Old World theology of late medieval/early Catholic Reformation Spain. Franciscan and especially Jesuit missionaries, impelled by a devotional zealotry, championed an apocalyptic vision of hope and suff ering that was well suited for artistic expression. Religious art, whether or not patronized by European colonizers, became an instrument for the missionaries to teach and for the native artists to interrogate religious doctrine, and some artists, …

(Review) The World Catholic Renewal 1540-1770 By R. Po-Chia Hsia, Marc R. Forster

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Zouave Stories: Gender, Catholic Spirituality, And French Responses To The Roman Question, Carol E. Harrison

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Voice Of The People (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of student papers (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 83. The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Western Kentucky University Folk Studies project directed by Dr. Lynwood Montell, involving 9 students and 26 informants. Several of the interview transcriptions are available by downloading (Click "Download" button on the right) the finding aid and clicking on the hyperlinks in the text.

Ariel - Volume 3 Number 6, Eugenia Miller, Michael Leo, Richard Bonanno, Ron Souder, Peter Meissner, Joseph S. Gonnella, Terry Burt, Robert L. Breckenridge, Jr., Rev. Vincent M. Walsh

Ariel

Editors

Richard J. Bonanno

Robin A. Edwards

Associate Editors

Steven Ager

Tom Williams

Lay-out Editor

Eugenia Miller

Contributing Editors

Paul Bialas

Robert Breckenridge

Lynne Porter

David Jacoby

Mike LeWitt

Terry Burt

Mark Pearlman

Michael Leo

Editors Emeritus

Delvyn C. Case, Jr.

Paul M. Fernhoff