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, and the history of race and religion.
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.