Following the news of the appointment of the first American pope, the Vere Harmsworth Library has selected a number of books on the theme of Catholicism in the United States for our latest book display.
For those seeking a broad overview of the history and features of Catholicism in the US, The Cambridge companion to American Catholicism is a good place to start, while titles such as Catholicism at a Crossroads : The Present and Future of America’s Largest Church and Catholics in America : a social portrait serve as guides to American Catholicism today. Other books on display examine the intersection between Catholicism and race, such as Authentically Black and truly Catholic : the rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migration, Native American Catholic studies reader : history and theology and Desegregating dixie : the Catholic church in the South and desegregation,1945-1992.
For those interested in the role Catholicism plays in American politics, we have selected titles such as In Rome we trust : the rise of Catholics in American political life, Catholic social activism : progressive movements in the United States and Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right. Narrowing the focus to the faith of two different Catholic presidents, we also have The making of a Catholic president : Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960 and Joe Biden’s Policies on Abortion and Immigration : The Challenges of a Catholic President.
Looking beyond our own collection here at the Vere Harmsworth Library, the display highlights some digital resources which may be of interest to those undertaking further research into the topic. American Catholic studies is a journal which can be accessed online via SOLO, and a wide range of digital collections are available to all through the American Catholic Historical Society Digital Library, the Marquette University e-Archives and the Catholic University of America Digital Collections.
The book display can be found on the ground floor on the left hand side, near the armchairs and low table. Many of these books can be loaned out, and some are also available as ebooks via SOLO.
To find out more about using the Vere Harmsworth Library collections please contact the Vere Harmsworth Library (vhl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk).