Screening Catholicism: The Church comes to the Movies

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This History departmental seminar investigates how Catholicism was represented in fourteen American and European movies debuting between 1928 and 2019. The movies, which we’ll watch, discuss, and write about in the chronological order of their appearance, begin (The Passion of Joan of Arc) and end (A Hidden Life) with martyrdoms. Some are Hollywood entertainments, and others are prized as works of art. Five questions will occupy our class discussions during the semester: (1) what are your reactions to the film; (2) what’s the film’s context in its ambient culture, both secular and Catholic; (3) how does the film represent contemporaneous Catholicism and does that representation seem accurate; (4) how was the film received, critically and commercially, when it appeared, and how well has it held up; and (5) what, if anything, can the film tell us about the Catholic Church and being Catholic today. Brief readings will supplement each screening. In addition to watching, reading, and discussing, course requirements include submitting two original questions for discussion before each class, oral midterm and final exams (conversations) one-on-one with me, and a writing portfolio totaling about twenty pages, which will consist of either four five-page papers or an original research paper of fifteen to twenty pages.