For so many students this year, the cancellation of commencement meant the lack of an important milestone. And in this unsettling time, with it many demands on our attention, it’s possible to overlook the extraordinary accomplishment involved in completing a PhD in History. So we decided to take this opportunity to celebrate the 2019-2020 class […]
African Catholic Decolonization and the Transformation of the Church by Elizabeth A. Foster (2019)
by David Whitehouse (This article was originally posted on Imperial and Global Forum) On July 1, 1888, Charles Lavigerie, founder of the White Fathers Catholic missionary order, gave a speech to a packed Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris in which he denounced the evils of slavery in Africa. The event was a public relations triumph, with […]
The Visitor: André Palmeiro and the Jesuits in Asia by Liam Matthew Brockey (2014)
By Abisai Pérez This book addresses the life of Jesuit father André Palmeiro (1569 [Lisbon] – 1635 [Macau]), who was the first inspector, or Visitor, of the Jesuit Company in India and East Asia with the mission of consolidating and expanding religious conversion in the remote regions of the Portuguese empire. Through the analysis of […]
Giordano Bruno and the Spirit that Moves the Earth
By Alberto A. Martinez Before Galileo did anything in astronomy, the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno argued that the Earth moves around the Sun. Bruno believed that the Earth is a living being, with a soul. These were unusual beliefs for a Christian. In 1592, Bruno was captured by the Inquisition in Venice and imprisoned. The next […]
Notes from the Field: The Pope in Manila
This week my attempts to carry out archival research in Manila have been interrupted by Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines.
State of Virginity: Gender, Religion, and Politics in an Early Modern Catholic State by Ulrike Strasser (2004)
Munich’s central square, Marienplatz, is best known today for its magnificent Rathaus-Glockenspiel that delights tourists and townspeople alike with its melodies. But until the nineteenth century, the square’s main attraction was a golden pillar adorned with the Virgin Mary known as the Mariensäule.