Syllabus- American Catholicism Fall 2004

RS 231A/HI 231A: American Catholicism

Syllabus- Fall 2004
MW 8:05-9:20 pm
STE 102

Instructor:	Dr. Raymond A. Patterson
Office:	SE 225
Phone:	ex. 2427
E-mail:	rpatterson@smcvt.edu
Web Page:	http://academics.smcvt.edu/rpatterson
Office Hours:	M Tu	10-11:30 am 4-5:30 pm and by appointment

Course Description:

RS 231A: American Catholicism is an historical overview of the Roman Catholic experience in the United States, divided into four major periods:

1)	The Catholic presence in the New World during the age of exploration and colonial America
2)	The struggles of an immigrant Roman Catholic Church in the period before the Civil War
3)	The challenges to Catholics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century
4)	The American Catholic experience since the Second Vatican Council
During each period, certain reoccurring themes will be considered, including the changing practice and ecclesiastical structures of American Catholicism, the contributions and conflicts of immigrant Catholics, the relationship between American Church leadership and Roman authorities, the Catholic encounter with American social and political structures, and the periodic rise of anti-Catholic sentiments among the American public.

Required Texts:

The text for the class, available at the bookstore, is:

Dolan, Jay. The American Catholic Experience. Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1987.

Other readings will be made available on Reserve. Students should search the library catalog for the reserve readings, which are organized under my name listed by the title of the articles. Select the title to see the folder number of the article. Please do not mark the Reserve readings when taking notes.

Class Requirements:

Regular attendance is expected of all students. If a student is unable to attend class, he or she should notify the instructor. More than one absence without the instructor’s permission will negatively impact the final grade. Frequent absences will result in a failing grade.

Students should be on time for class. Arriving late or leaving during the class period is disruptive for the class and the instructor. Excessive tardiness will be reflected in a lower grade for class attendance.

A student who fails to show up for an exam without the permission of the instructor will receive a zero. A make-up exam will only be given for a student experiencing a serious family emergency or illness, which must be verified by the Dean’s office.

All assignments should be handed in during class. I will consider an assignment completed when I receive a hard copy- you should not submit a paper as an E-mail attachment.

Students will be evaluated on the following course work:

Mid-term Exam	25%
Final Exam	25%
Term Paper	40%
Class Participation/Attendance	10%

Academic Integrity:

Students are expected to adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy established by St. Michael’s College and distributed to all students. Plagiarism of any kind will result in a failing grade and could result in dismissal from Saint Michael’s College.

Class Schedule

(The instructor reserves the right to change the schedule. Students will be notified in class of any changes.)

August 30	Class Requirements Late Medieval Roman Catholic Church (ca. 1500)-I
September 1	Late Medieval Roman Catholic Church (ca. 1500)-II Spanish Missions Dolan, pp. 15-68.
September 6	Spanish Missions in US Missions Handout
September 8	French Missions Marie of the Incarnation, “Letters,” pp. 221-224; 229-231; 237-258; 262-275. (on reserve- PAT FO 46) Related documents: Jesuit Relations Film: Black Robe
September 13	English Reformation Act of Supremacy, 1559 Act Against Papists, 1593 Toleration Act, 1689 Maryland and the English Colonies Dolan, pp. 69-97 Related documents: Maryland Toleration Act New England Primer, or New England Primer Descriptions of "Pope Day"	Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
September 15	Catholics and the American Revolution Ellis, Documents I, pp. 128-141. (on reserve- PAT FO 47)
September 20	John Carroll and the Origins of the American Church Dolan, pp. 101-124. The Jesuit American Mission
September 22	Mission in America Ellis, Documents II, pp. 202-220, 233-236. (on reserve- PAT FO 48) DeTocqueville
September 27	Immigrant Church: Irish and German Dolan 158-169.
September 29	Freedom and Catholic Authority Nativism and the Know-Nothings Morris, “Whore of Babylon Learns How to Vote,” 54-67. (on reserve- PAT FO 49) Gardella, “American Anti-Catholic Pornography,” 452-465. (on reserve- PAT FO 83) Know Nothing Platform
October 4	Catholic Revival Abolition Public Voices, "Slavery," pp. 36-47. (on reserve- FO 54)
October 6	American Frontier Civil War Public Voices, "Civil War," pp. 54-69. (on reserve- FO 55 ) New York Draft Riots
October 11	Columbus Day Break
October 13	Encounter with Liberalism: Syllabus of Errors and Vatican I McGreevy, Catholicism and American Freedom, 7-15, 37-42, 49-67
October 18	Mid-Term Exam
October 20	Catholic Intellectuals Issac Hecker and Orestes Brownson
October 25	Industrial Immigration Catholic Ethos Dolan 170-194, 204-240.
October 27	Schools Question Dolan, pp. 262-293. Schools: The Story of American Public Education
November 1	Americanist Controversy Dolan, pp. 294-320
November 3	Social Gospel Fr. D'Agostino and the Winooski Mills Dolan, pp. 321-346.
November 8	Catholics and American Foreign Policy Nativism Revisited: Klu Klux Klan and Al Smith Ellis, Documents III (on reserve- PAT FO 59)
November 10	Between the Wars Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Dolan, 384-417. Dorothy Day, From Union Square to Rome, Ch 1, "Why" and Ch 12, "Wheat and Cockle" Film: Entertaining Angels: the Dorothy Day Story Catholic Worker website Charles Coughlin speech
November 15	Catholics and the Media: Legion of Decency, Fulton Sheen, and Thomas Merton Morris, "On Top of the World," pp. 196-209, 221-227. (on reserve- PAT FO 61) Sorrowful Mother Novena
November 17	Political Catholics: Anti-Communists and JFK Vatican II: John Courtney Murray and Religious Freedom Carey, “Cold War Catholicism,” 93-114. (on reserve- PAT FO 72) Joseph McCarthy speech
November 22	Catholic Activism: Peace Movement and Civil Rights African-American Catholics Davis, "God of Our Weary Years," 17-46, 281-285. (on reserve- PAT FO 65)
November 24	Thanksgiving Day Holiday
November 29	Asian and Hispanic Catholics Reception of Vatican II in America Sandoval, "The Struggle for Rights," 61-87 (on reserve- PAT FO 73)
December 1	Profile of American Catholics-2004 American Catholic Institutions and Identity US Catholic Fact sheet US Hispanic Catholic Fact Sheet Term Paper Due
December 6	Scandal and its Aftermath
December 8	Future Trends in American Catholicism
December 17 (Friday)	Final Exam 9-11:30 am