The Catholic Counterculture in America, 1933-1962

By James Terence Fisher

The Catholic Counterculture in America, 1933-1962

324 pp., 6.125 x 9.25

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4949-1
    Published: February 2001

Studies in Religion

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Awards & distinctions

A 1991 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

James Fisher argues that Catholic culture was transformed when products of the "immigrant church," largely inspired by converts like Dorothy Day, launched a variety of spiritual, communitarian, and literary experiments. He also explores the life and works of Thomas A. Dooley and Jack Kerouac to show that their experiences signaled a new Catholic appreciation of the American tradition of creative freedom.

About the Author

James Terence Fisher is the Danforth Chair in Humanities and Professor in Theological Studies and History at Saint Louis University. His other works include Dr. America: The Lives of Thomas A. Dooley, 1927-1961.
For more information about James Terence Fisher, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"[A] ground-breaking study. . . . [Fisher illuminates] the conflicting definitions of Catholic differentness co-existing in early twentieth-century America, as well as the tentativeness and subjectivity of those definitions."--American Quarterly

"Fisher presents solidly useful results in this elegant analysis of selected figures in modern American Catholicism."--American Studies

"A fascinating book that puts into conversation certain figures (Day, Dooley, Merton, Kerouac) in the pluralistic strands of twentieth-century America in ways that illuminate each."--David Tracy