Actually, it's looking pretty certain these days. I'm finishing up the dissertation now (well, no, not now exactly, but you know what I mean. . .), and my defense is set for May 5. I have to have a good copy to my committee by Friday so they can, like, read it and stuff. So eventually, I figure, I should get a job. Well, I guess first I have to look and apply for some jobs. So I was wondering. . .
Since becoming Catholic, I have been thinking, Gee, wouldn't it be nice to teach at a nice Catholic school? Then I could raise the kinds of questions that you can't raise in a state school where you're supposed to respect everyone's religious identity to the point of annihilating your own (like when, post 9-11, one prof voluntarily removed his Divinity Degree from the wall, and another was advised to hide her icons!!), and where there would, presumably, be some sense of Catholic identity, and opportunities for faith formation among the faculty and. . . well, that's the kind of thing I was thinking. Except that even in the first fervor of conversion, I wasn't sure Ave Maria or Steubenville would be for me. I'm an orthodox kind of gal, but I'm not ready for any Catholic versions of those protestant colleges that won't let faculty drink alcohol (yet the one I have in mind has the bar and cash register from the Bird and the Baby--the Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings met--in its library--yeah. . .), and I believe that those schools might be a teensy evangelical in flavor for a recovering protestant.
So then I found the blogosphere. Specifically, the Catholic blogosphere. And I learned that not all Catholic colleges are created equal. And that precious few are deemed "Catholic enough" for the orthodox crowd who want their kids to have a degree. I've been to a bunch of the web sites that give you the scoop on the adherence of the various Catholic colleges to the Magesterium, read many a lament about the state of Catholic higher education, many tirades against the Jesuits, and, frankly, I'm confused. The scholarly, prominent Catholic universities with whom every new Ph.D. would LOVE to have an interview are apparently unworthy of being termed Catholic, while the most orthodox of all hire mainly clergy or have 5-person English departments or 300-student enrollments and the ones in between have low pay, high teaching loads, nominal research requirements--not the kind of place to go, in short, if teaching and research are on your agenda, that is, if you want your ideas to be heard by the scholarly community. So is it worth investigating positions at Catholic colleges at all? If you risk being associated with heterodoxy or heresy, or exposed to and manipulated by such ideas? If, by avoiding those pitfalls, you are compromising the chance of having a Catholic voice in the cacophany of scholarly opinions? Not to mention compromising your ability to pay those loans--you know, the ones that are equal to or surpass the price of a really nice house? The ones that you will not pay off before you die? The ones that are, in fact, a lease on your education rather than a purchase? Yeah, those. Is it O.K. for a Catholic academic to take a position at a Catholic college or university that is Catholic in name only? In hopes of influencing others, maybe? Or do you just give up on Catholic education altogether in order to avoid this sticky issue?
14 comments:
"Is it O.K. for a Catholic academic to take a position at a Catholic college or university that is Catholic in name only?"
I would think so. How else are those schools to recover their Catholic identities?
As for the usual blogosphere rant regarding "orthodox" schools vs. those that are CINO, ignore most of what you read. I would be delighted, for example, to send all of my children to allegedly "Catholic in name only" Notre Dame, but wouldn't dream of allowing them to set foot in the so-called "orthodox" Ave-Maria-Monaghanville-USA.
Congrats on scheduling your defense!
Well schools filled with chaff certainly need some wheat. The leaven is not suppose to concentrate in one place.
Look at places like Boston College that no one will confuse with an orthodox Catholic college, but they do have Peter Kreeft there and I am sure that he would argue that it is good for him to be there.
By all means, look for a job at one of the historical Catholic universities! We need renewal as much as we need the new Catholic colleges. Each serves a purpose. For one thing, it helps to have someone friendly around when your small Catholic college is dissolved by the crazy founder and you need to find somewhere else to finish your undergraduate/begin your graduate degree.
(No, I'm not bitter at all. ;-) But I do have a number of friends who ended up at either CUA or Dallas after Ave Maria Michigan was shut down.)
Of course, the real question is - where does God want you to be?
hi! I hadn't seen it yet but thanks for the comment drawing attention to it. I am interested in this issue, not only because I've considered it with regard to my own placement but because I have a good friend who is catholic and employed by school that hires protestants but isn't really happy about it. He actually really dislikes that they hire protestants at all and it's the source of some institutional strife.
his diss director is also a very orthodox catholic (she's maronite, actually) and she told him that she didn't want him to seek employment in a catholic school, especially not such a conservative one. She thought he could do more good in the world by going in another direction. She also thought it would be better for him intellectually and spiritually to be in an environment where not everyone shares his views. You can take that for what it's worth but that was her view on the issue, as an orthodox catholic employed by a non-catholic university in a field that is notoriously anti-religious.
now, my take on CINO schools is yes, definitely should seek a position. I see no reason not to. I'm sure you'd find a range of positions there, not all of them orthodox. That could be good for you and it might be irritating. What I think you're less likely to find, though, at a CINO school is a prevailing ethos that is anti-religious belief.
I actually discovered out I was pretty happy with a christian school (HLC on my blog) where the ethos and students are generally and generically christian without there being any requirements as far as what you believe or how you live. In that environment, specific religious views aren't officially sponsored, so there's no sense of fitting myself into what they want me to believe. And yet, they clearly understood religious commitment as a legitimate option.
long comment. This is something I've thought about a lot.
No reason not to look at (e.g.) Marquette U.
Although the English Dep't is full of PC twits, and the school is Jesuit (rather than Catholic), there are a number of VERY Catholic faculty members; enough, anyway, to require more than all your fingers and toes to count them.
And in Milwaukee, teetotalers are outlawed.
The more I think about this, the more I think that my questions have to do with whether, when faced with a compromise in religious orthodoxy vs. academic standards, what an academic should choose. At least when a parent is helping an 18-year-old decide on a school (and much of the literature on this subject has the prospective student rather than the prospective faculty member in mind), s/he has the 18-year-old in question to help in the decision-making process (I know, weird rationale, huh? But there are majors to consider, and campus life, proximity to home, and numerous other concerns). All I have to worry about is whether they're hiring and whether they'll hire me--O.K., yes, there will be an act of God involved! ;) I would have to be a very, very good scholar indeed for the next few decades to have any of the biggies even look at me!
So on the other hand, say I do apply and land a position at a nominally Catholic college. Apart from being glad that there is not an overtly anti-religious sentiment (or at least, that it is better concealed), do I then have the obligation to organize the one-woman protest of the Vagina Monologues and picket Obama and Hillary speeches and other pro-choice venues (to cite some of the more prominent criticisms of Catholic colleges)? I'm being a little tongue-in-cheek, but really, doesn't it beg a couple of questions about the moral responsibility of the faculty members who consider themselves orthodox Catholics? The temptation would be to keep a low profile--especially as junior faculty. But wouldn't that seem like implicit acceptance of the university's politics and/or policies?
On the other hand, I know that when the time comes, it will be clear where God wants me to be. I'm still reeling from the knowledge that God wants me to graduate in August! ;)
"... do I then have the obligation to organize the one-woman protest of the Vagina Monologues and picket Obama and Hillary speeches and other pro-choice venues (to cite some of the more prominent criticisms of Catholic colleges)?"
Get tenure first!
;-)
Aha! Let the orthodox infiltration of heterodox Catholic institutions (hear "renewal") begin! ;)
I say, loudly and with much emphasis and offers of play dates (I am nothing if not single-minded and selfish)..."LOOK IN OHIO!!!!!!!!"
I'm staying out of the convo on "Catholic enough" though Jay's wisdom is pretty clear to me (and points straight to Ohio!!!).
:) Nice to have you back, my friend, and I'm glad to hear graduation is a certainty!
Mwah!
This is coming from the perspective of having been a student rather than a faculty member, but: The thing about getting involved in a Catholic institution is that all quarrels are family quarrels.
As with family, this can be good or bad. I'm generally glad that I went to Steubenville, though it is a flawed place in some ways, and they simply do not give their faculty enough time and resources for research and publishing. (A five class load is pretty standard, and sometimes more.)
But while at a self-identified "orthodox Catholic college" you'll run into a certain amount of, "But should we be reading this at a Catholic college" and members of the administration who say that academic achievement isn't as important as making sure that the "kids" are well formed in their faiths [sarcasm] Because, you know, not being well educated is an important part of being well formed.... [/sarcasm] at a "liberal" Catholic college you will (at least judging by some of the statements put out that I've read) run into those who insist that all sorts of odd or appauling things are _required_ by "our Catholic commitment to freedom of conscience and inquiry".
I'd tend towards the "get in if you can, it'll only be better for your presence" line of thinking, but be prepared for the occasional annoyance of having really outrageous things pitched as being part of a "Catholic sensibility".
Thanks, Darwin! Truthfully, the idea of "family quarrels" is singularly unappealing. At least you can discount the perspectives of those who disagree with you fundamentally on all things--or else they won't take the slightest bit of interest in your perspective (except to sneer) because it doesn't interest them in the least. Not that religion generally comes up in the everyday life of academia as I've experienced it. The starry-eyed dreamer in me (thought I got rid of her long ago...) says "but maybe it should..." Or maybe I just want daily mass on campus. *shrug* Confidentially, BIG STATE SCHOOL where I am currently *has* Mass on campus twice a week! Some students & the former pastor of the Catholic student center here fought for it! Anyway, this makes me think, wouldn't it get in the way to *living* the Faith if you had to *argue* about it all of the time? Hmmm... More food for thought.
Sarah,
Point me in the direction of the colleges and universities in Ohio!!!
Well, I've been a student at an orthodox Catholic college, a student and teacher at an "in the Jesuit tradition" college, and a teacher at a secular state school. I feel like I should have some words of wisdom, but can't think of any.
Each poses it's own challenges and I don't think there is a right answer as to where a Catholic academic should be. I suppose you already know the issues of the secular institution. I think Jay had good advice and Darwin had a good insight as to family quarrels at Catholic schools.
I think there's not one right answer. Some academics will be better off in one environment, others in the other. That was not at all helpful, I suppose since you still have to figure out what's right for you.
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