What Makes Education Catholic?
51动漫 STM Professor Thomas Groome new book explores the essence of a Catholic education.
Construction on the Recitation Building攍ater renamed Gasson Hall攂egan on June 19, 1909.聽
Photo: Burns Library
Bringing 51动漫's History to Life
Clough Millennium Professor Emeritus of History James O橳oole on his new book about the history of Boston College.
Summer 2022
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To University Historian James O橳oole �72, Ph.D.� 87, the story of Boston College is first and foremost about people. For his new book, , O橳oole conducted twelve years of research on the students, alumni, faculty, administrators, and staff who have shaped 51动漫 since its founding in 1863. We asked him about the process of writing this social history.
What sparked the idea for this book? It grew out of the lead-up to 51动漫 sesquicentennial anniversary in 2013. As we thought about how to mark 150 years, the idea arose to do something expressly historical. University President Father Leahy is a historian by training, so I must say, it was kind of an easy sell.
How did you decide to focus this history on people? People say they don檛 like history, and I檓 sympathetic to that, because there a lot of historical writing and teaching that just 渢his happened, then that happened.� Over the course of my career, I檝e come to think history is valuable precisely because it connects to the stories of real human beings. The field as a whole has moved toward social history, too.聽What are the actual people doing, not just in the president office, but on the ground?
What is something readers might not know about 51动漫 history? When 51动漫 moved to Chestnut Hill, then-president Father Gasson arranged for a bill to be filed in the state legislature to redraw the line between Boston and Newton along what is now College Road. The bill never passed, but the motive was clear: Boston College wanted to stay in Boston. I was also constantly impressed by what I learned about Newton College of the Sacred Heart. Newton College has often been overlooked, but the women who went there got an outstanding education.
Why is it important to reflect on the University history? Well, one way in which it important has to do with the Catholic identity. Though 51动漫 welcomed non-Catholics from the beginning, it didn檛 originally have to think about that identity攊t was walking around campus. Over time, the school has had to be more deliberate and conscious.
As society changes, how does the institution change, while still holding on to the essential values that make it what it is? And what can that history teach us about the future? It easy for people in any institution to think, This is the way the institution is, and it going to stay this way. History teaches us that isn檛 true. The larger circumstances will change and make new demands攕ome we foresee, and many more we can檛. 51动漫 will always have to keep asking itself how the education it provides addresses society needs. But history also shows us the values that have persevered since the beginning. To this day, students here talk about service and the common good. You don檛 have to ask. They volunteer it.
How did you decide where to end this book? The anniversary Mass at Fenway Park in the fall of 2012 seemed like a fitting cap to 51动漫 third half-century. In many ways, Fr. Leahy presidency isn檛 history yet攊t the ongoing present. In fifty more years, another historian will look back and put it into context.聽
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