EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Department of Religious Studies, Northwestern University, 2015
- Dissertation: Catholicism Remixed: Catholic Prayer and the Making of Millennial Catholic Subjectivity
- M.T.S., American Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2007
- B.A., Departments of Peace Studies and Theology, College of Saint Benedict, 2002, summa cum laude
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
- 2021- : Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Humanities & Social Sciences Department, Springfield College
- 2020- : Director of the Core Curriculum, Springfield College
- 2016-20: Assistant Professor of Religion, Humanities Department, Springfield College
- 2015-16: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Northwestern University
- 2015: Visiting Lecturer of History and Catholic Studies, History Department, University of Illinois-Chicago
PUBLICATIONS
Books
- Millennial Missionaries: How a Group of Young Catholics is Trying to Make Catholicism Cool, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
- From the Pews in the Back: Young Women & Catholicism, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009; co-editor with Jennifer Owens.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- “Finding Rhythm on Catholic eBay,” Material Religion Pages (November 2021): 658-659.
- “eBay Method and the Study of Religion,” Material Religion (November 2021): 652-53, with Alyssa Maldanado-Estrada, Monica Mercado, and James Bielo.
- “Manly Natural Family Planning: Cultivating Catholic Masculinity,” American Catholic Studies (Summer 2021): 34-38.
- “Studying Masculinities, Catholic Style,” Forum Co-editor, with Alyssa Maldanado-Estrada, American Catholic Studies (Summer 2021): 1-38.
- “Humanae Vitae, Natural Family Planning, and US Catholic Identity: The Founding of the Couple to Couple League,” US Catholic Historian (Spring 2021): 113-32.
- “#Adoration: Holy Hour Devotions and Millennials’ Twenty-first Century Catholic Identity,” U.S. Catholic Historian (Winter 2018): 103-127.
- “Gendering Prayer: Millennial-generation Catholics and the Embodiment of Feminine Genius and Authentic Masculinity,” Religion and Gender 7 (Vol 7, No 1, 2017): 1–17.
- “‘Gemma is My Girl!’ Devotional Practices of Millennial Catholic Women and the Making of Contemporary Saints,” American Catholic Studies (Winter 2016): 1-21.
- “Buddhist Women and Interfaith Work in the United States,” Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies 27 (2007): 31-50.
Book Chapters
- “Natural Family Planning Online: The Porous Religious Spaces of Social Media,” in Mediating Catholicism: Religion and Media in Global Catholic Imaginaries, eds. Eric Hones del Pinal, Marc Roscoe Loustau, and Kristin Forget, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.
- “iPrayer: Catholic Prayer Apps and Twenty-first Century Catholic Subjectivities,” in The Anthropological Study of Religious and Religion-Themed Mobile Apps, ed. Jacqueline Fewkes, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2019.
- “Young Adult Catholics: Telling Our Own Stories,” in Future of Religion: Traditions in Transition, with Jennifer Owens; ed. Kathleen Mulhern, Englewood, CO: Patheos Press, 2012.
Book under Contract
- American Patroness: Marian Shrines and the Making of US Catholicism, New York: Fordham University Press, 2023; co-editor with Karen Park.
Book Reviews
- Review, Julie Leininger Pycior, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and the Greatest Commandment: Radical Love in Times of Crisis (Orbis Books, 2020), The Journal of Social Encounters, 2021.
- Review, Patrick Carey, Confession: Catholics, Repentance, and Forgiveness in America (Oxford University Press, 2018), The Journal of Religion, 2020.
- Review, Andrew R. Lewis, The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics: How Abortion Transformed the Culture Wars (Cambridge University Press, 2018), American Academy of Religion’s Reading Religion, 2019.
- Donna Bowman, Prayer Shawl Ministries and Women’s Theological Imagination (Lexington Books, 2015), Religion and Gender (Winter 2018).
- Review, Jill Krebs, Our Lady of Emmitsburg, Visionary Culture, and Catholic Identity: Seeing and Believing (Lexington Books, 2015), American Academy of Religion’s Reading Religion, 2016.
- Review, Joseph Laycock. The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism (Oxford University Press, 2014), “Religion in American History Blog,” July 2015.
- Quarterly Book Reviewer, CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries Book Reviews, Topics: Women and Religion, Catholicism in the U.S., American Religion.
Web-based Publications
- “Why Gen Z Catholics Want a Patron Saint of the Internet,” Slate’s Future Tense, October 29, 2020.
- “Unplanned and Contemporary Pro-Life Activism,” Feminist Studies in Religion Blog, June 6, 2019.
- “Catholic missionaries are evangelizing on college campuses and trying to bring back the ‘nones,’” The Conversation, April 8, 2019.
- “Navigating Ethnography,” Feminist Studies in Religion Blog, May 19, 2018.
- “Catholicism as Contradiction: Review of Anthropology of Catholicism: A Reader,” Marginalia Review of Books, March 30, 2018.
- “Reform in American Catholicism? Not really. Re-emphasis? Yes,” Berkley Forum, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs, December 17, 2017.
Manuscripts in Preparation
- “Three Generations of Catholic Laywomen Building Natural Family Planning Communities” in American Catholic Laywomen in the 20th century, eds. Nicholas Rademacher and Sandra Yocum.
GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND AWARDS
- 2019, Individual Research Grant, American Academy of Religion
- 2019-20, Appleton Fund Grant, Springfield College
- 2019-22, Davis Assessment Grant, Springfield College
- 2019, Faculty Research Grant, Springfield College
- 2018. Campus Innovation Grant, Interfaith Youth Core
- 2018, Faculty Development Grant, Springfield College
- 2017, Teaching Interfaith Understanding Faculty Development Seminar, Council of Independent Colleges and Interfaith Youth Corps
- 2017, Research Travel Grant, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame
- 2017, Curriculum Development Grant, Interfaith Youth Corps
- 2017, Writing Fellow, Springfield College
- 2016-17, Faculty Development Grant, Springfield College
- 2015-16, Educational Technology Teaching Fellow, Northwestern University
- 2015, Course Enhancement Grant, Weinberg College of Arts and Science, Northwestern University
- 2014-15, Writing Fellow, The Graduate School, Northwestern University
- 2013-15, Teaching Fellow, The Graduate School Northwestern University
- 2014, Alternate, Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship
- 2013, Recipient, Graduate Research Grant, The Graduate School, Northwestern University
- 2010, Second Place, Gender Issues, with Jennifer Owens, 2010 Catholic Press Association Book Awards
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
Papers Presented
- 2021. “Man Up!” Natural Family Planning and the Formations of Catholic Masculinities in the 21st century,” American Academy of Religion, November
- 2021. “The Kippleys, Natural Family Planning, and Catholic Sex Lives,” US Intellectual History, Virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic, March 1.
- 2021. “The New Emangelization:” Crafting Masculinity and Cultivating Catholic Men,” Virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic, January 15.
- 2020. “‘It’s about Women’s Health!’ Catholic Family Planning Meets Secular Science,” American Catholic Historical Association, New York, NY, January 3-5.
- 2019. “Natural Family Planning, Social Media, and the Ethnographic Method Online,” American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 23-26.
- 2019. “Creating ‘Chicago’s Youth Ministry Model,’” American Catholic Historical Association, Chicago, IL, January 3-6.
- 2018. “Divine Mercy, the Cold War, and a Polish Pope: The International Context of an American Catholic Devotion,” American Society for Church History, Washington, DC, January 4-6.
- 2017. “Catholic in Fly-over Country: Studying Rural Catholicism in the U.S.,” American Academy of Religion Meeting, Boston, MA, November 17-22.
- 2017. “‘If you Pray About It, God’ll Give you an Opportunity to Do it:’ Gendering Prayers, Catholic Millennials, and the Rhythms of Ethnography,” Society for the Anthropology of Religion Biennial Meeting, New Orleans, LA, May 15-17.
- 2017. “‘Guard your Hearts:’ Dating, Sex, and Chastity among Millennial-generation Catholics,” New England Maritime American Academy of Religion Regional Meeting, Boston, MA, April 8.
- 2017. “A Hipster Saint and Cool Catholics: Crafting Millennial-Generation Catholic Identity in the U.S.,” American Catholic Historical Association, Denver, CO, January 6-7.
- 2016. “Ethnography Pedagogy, Pedagogical Ethnography: Using and Teaching Ethnography in Religious Studies Classrooms,” American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, TX, November 19-22.
- 2016. “‘Life App:’ Catholics and Grassroots Pro-Life Activism in the Twenty-first Century,” Boston College Biennial Conference on the History of Religion, Boston, MA, April 1-2.
- 2016. “Pope Francis: Media Re-Presentations,” American Catholic Historical Association, Atlanta, GA, January 7-10.
- 2015. “‘Dynamically Orthodox’ Catholics: The Mass and Technologies of Catholic Group Formation,” Society for Anthropology of Religion Biennial Conference, San Diego, CA, April 16-19.
- 2014. “Devotions Remixed: Millennial Catholics and 21st Century Devotionalism,” American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 22-24.
- 2014. “Millennial Missionaries: Recycling Jesuit Fragments for the 21st Century,” Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience, 1814-2014, Chicago, IL, October 16-19.
- 2014. “Making Catholicism Hip: Young Adult Catholics and Cool American Catholicism,” Midwest Region American Academy of Religion, Ada, OH, April 4-5.
- 2014. “Hip Catholicism: Crafting a Catholic Cool,” Chicago Ethnography Conference, Evanston, IL, March 15.
- 2012. “A Space Set Apart: Sacred Texts From the Pews in the Back,” West Region, American Academy of Religion, Santa Clara, CA, March 24-26.
- 2011. “Forgive Me, iPhone, for I have Sinned: Catholic Engagement with the Confession App,” American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, CA, November 19-22.
Panel Organizer
- 2021. “Studying Masculinities, Catholic-Style: A Roundtable,” American Catholic Historical Association, Virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic, January 15. Co-organizer with Alyssa Maldanado-Estrada.
- 2020. “Catholics and Interfaith Conversations on Reproduction,” Organizer, American Catholic Historical Association, New York, NY, January 3-5.
- 2019. “Critical Terms of the ACHA: “Catholic,” Presider, American Catholic Historical Association, Chicago, IL, January 3-6. Co-organizer.
Conference Discussant
- 2020. “Renew, Re-voice, Re-imagine: Ethnographies of Religion and Technology,” Respondent, American Academy of Religion, Virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic, November 21-24.
- 2017. “Between the Imperial and the Intimate: Practicing Catholicism in a Global Media,” Presider, American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA, November 17-22.
- 2015. “The Evolution of the Papacy: Modernity, Media, and Mission,” Northwestern University Department of Religious Studies Conference, Evanston, IL, October 17.
- 2014. “Where Religion Takes Place,” Northwestern University Religious Studies Graduate Student Conference, Evanston, IL, October 31-November 2.
- 2012. “Transnational Transitions,” Northwestern University Religious Studies Graduate Student Conference, Evanston, IL, October 12-14.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Springfield College
- Religion and Gender (developed)
- African American Religions (developed)
- Honors Seminar: Religions of Ireland
- What is Religion?
- Religion, Health, and Healing
- Religion in America (master course for online curriculum)
- Honors First-year Seminar
- Springfield College Seminar
- Contemporary Catholicism
- Religion and Sports
- Interfaith Studies: Engaging a Religiously Diverse World
- Religions of the World
- Religion in America: American Religious History
- Religion in America: Religion in New England
- Short-term Study Abroad: Ireland: Culture, Sights, and Sounds
- Introduction to Philosophy
Northwestern University
- Introduction to Religion
- Christian Thought in Global Perspective
- Introduction to Christianity
- Women and Religion
- Chicago Catholicism: A Case Study
- Contemporary American Catholicism
University of Illinois-Chicago
- Catholics and Catholicism in U.S. History (spring 2015)
Northwestern University, Teaching Assistant
- Introduction to Buddhism
- American Religious History
- Religion, Medicine, and Suffering in the West
- Methods of Observing Human Behavior
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Religion and Identity
- Introduction to Religion
- Introduction to Judaism
- Introduction to Buddhism
Other Teaching Experience
- English Language Learning Teacher, Mason County Literacy, Shelton, WA
- English Teacher, Instituto Intercultural, Mendoza, Argentina
SERVICE
Discipline Service
- Committee Member, Roman Catholic Studies, American Academy of Religion (2020-2024)
- Executive Committee Member, American Catholic Historical Association (2018-2022)
- Peer Reviewer, Palgrave Macmillan
- Peer Reviewer, Journal of Global Christianity
- Peer Reviewer, Religion Compass
- Peer Reviewer, Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief
- Teaching Consultant, Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching (2013-16)
- Coordinator, North American Religions Workshop, Northwestern University (2012-14)
College Service
- Director of the Core Curriculum (2020-current)
- Faculty, Honors Program (2019-current)
- Member, Faculty Senate (2019-20)
- Member, Core Curriculum Committee (2019-20)
- Member, Online Education Taskforce (2019-20)
- Member, NECHE Committee (2019-20)
- Faculty Mentor for New Faculty (2019-20)
- Member, First-Year Seminar Committee (2018-19)
- Chair, ASPS Curriculum Committee (2018-19)
- Member, ASPS Curriculum Committee (2017-18)
- Member, Learning-Living Communities Task Force (2017-18)
- Workshop Presenter, Center for Teaching and Learning (2017-19)
Community Service
- Communications Coordinator, Interfaith Council of Greater Springfield
- Co-Organizer, Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Event
- Vice President, Mapleshade Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization
- Organizer, Meadow Brook Elementary School Garden (2016-18)
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
- 2017-18, Writing Fellows, Springfield College
- 2017, Faculty Bootcamp, Center for Teaching and Learning, Springfield College
LANGUAGES
- Spanish, reading and speaking proficiency
- French, reading proficiency with dictionary
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- American Academy of Religion (2010-present)
- American Catholic Historical Association (2015-present)
- American Society for Church History (2017-2019)
- American Academy of Anthropology (2018-2020)
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
- 2008-2009: Nutrition Educator, Squaxin Island Tribe, Washington State University Extension, Shelton, Washington
- 2007-2008: Community Engagement Educator, Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement, Alaska Association of School Boards, Juneau, Alaska
- 2005-2007: Research Associate, Women’s Networks and Religious Diversity News, The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 2004-2005: Executive Director and Marketing Coordinator, Columbia Gorge Winegrowers, Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, University of Oregon, Bingen, Washington
- 2003-2005: Planning Specialist, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, University of Oregon, The Dalles, Oregon
- 2002-2003: Regional Program Coordinator, Women’s Housing, McAuley Institute, Jesuit Volunteer Corps Raleigh, North Carolina.