I research and write about American religious history & the history of Catholicism. I specialize in the 20th century, especially the period around the Second Vatican Council; I also work on the history of architecture, the history of cities, the history of race and religion, and the history of visual and building technology.
Books
American Catholics and the Church of Tomorrow, 1925-1975 (University of Chicago Press, 2018)
American Catholic History: A Documentary Reader (New York University Press, 2017)
Exhibition
Outsider at the Vatican: Frederick Franck’s Drawings from the Second Vatican Council
Articles and Book Chapters
“‘So That One Day We May Be One:’ The Interfaith Center at Columbia, Maryland.” U.S. Catholic Historian, Vol 35, No. 3 (Summer 2017).
“Introduction” and Guest Editor, forum on “Writing Catholic History After the Sexual Abuse Crisis.” American Catholic Studies, Vol. 127, No. 2 (Summer 2016): 1-27. First place, Best Feature Article in a Scholarly Magazine, Catholic Press Association Awards, 2017
“‘Anarchy in Our Churches:’ The American Architectural Press and the Quest for Coherence in Catholic Architecture, 1944-1965.” The European Legacy: Towards New Paradigms, Journal of ISSEI, Vol 22, No. 1 (February 2017).
“From Sputnik to Spaceship Earth: American Catholics in the Space Age.” Religion & American Culture, Vol 25, No. 2 (Summer 2015).
“Renovating for the New Liturgy: The Boston College Students’ Chapel.” Cover essay for American Catholic Studies, Vol 125, No. 3 (Fall 2014): 93-104.
“Managing and Quantifying Grace? Reverend Robert G. Howes, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the Origins of ‘Pastoral Planning.'” American Catholic Studies, Vol 125, No. 1 (Spring 2014).
“Migrant Domestic Careworkers: Between the Public and the Private in Catholic Social Teaching.” Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol 40, No. 1 (Winter 2012).
“Visual Literacy and Catholic Studies,” in The Catholic Studies Reader, ed. James Fisher and Margaret McGuinness (New York: Fordham University Press, 2011): 235-56.