The Ramonat Seminar reconvened this week after a holiday hiatus. This semester, the Scholars will delve into independent research projects exploring diverse histories of American Catholics and politics. Check out their latest blog posts to learn more about what topics sparked their interest last semester and what direction their research might take over the next four months:

Allison, Amy, Jenna, and Kristin will pursue projects focused on gender and sexuality. Allison‘s research focuses on the 1968 Humanae Vitae, and Amy will research how Catholic women like Patty Crowley participated in the birth control movement. Jenna is interested in the history of women in Jesuit medical schools, and Kristin hopes to explore how Catholic women struggled with gender conventions in the 20th century.

Mark and Niko will both investigate topics with continued political relevance to American Catholics: the expansion of Catholic media and television networks, and teaching evolution in schools.

Alice, Laura, Sam, Sarah, and Kathleen hope to study Catholicism on the local level. Alice‘s project will explore how Italian Catholics responded to Chicago’s controversial Balbo Monument. Laura is interested in how Catholics contributed to segregation in Chicago, and Sam plans to explore Catholicism in the ethnically-diverse neighborhood of Pilsen. Sarah will uncover political tensions between Irish and Italian Catholics during the construction of UIC’s campus in the heart of Little Italy. Kathleen is interested in a different city, New Orleans, and the relationship between Catholicism and creole folk culture.