Alex Mikulich - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alex Mikulich

Research paper thumbnail of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell

American Catholic Studies, Jun 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Interruptions: Mysticism, Politics, and Theology in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz

Anglican theological review, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of White Complicity in US Hyper-incarceration

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

When James Baldwin spoke the words above in 1961, he was speaking of the fact that African Americ... more When James Baldwin spoke the words above in 1961, he was speaking of the fact that African Americans are a target of physical violence in the United States and of the impossibility for African Americans to find redemption within the narrow confines of Western European and white American Christianity and metropolitan segregation.3 Scarsdale is “covered” by the fact of being white. Society does not target white communities for exclusion, police brutality, or imprisonment. Whites, in their own mind, are good, innocent, and redeemed. Baldwin indicts the gap that exists between the white ghetto4 and black ghetto. That gap reveals an enduring marker of the soul of whites.

Research paper thumbnail of Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty eds. by Vicki Schieber, Trudy D. Conway, and David Matzko McCarthy

American Catholic Studies, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Catholic Social Teaching and Race

Journal of Catholic social thought, 2019

<jats:p />

Research paper thumbnail of Catholic Social Teaching: Toward a Decolonial Praxis

Journal of moral theology, Apr 24, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Theology in Dialogue: The Social Sin of Racism and the Social Sciences

Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, May 10, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Hyper-incarceration of African Americans and Latinos in Historical Context

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

This book represents a journey into our past, present, and future. My journey took a critical tur... more This book represents a journey into our past, present, and future. My journey took a critical turn 12 years ago when I was working on my doctoral dissertation. It was a fairly mundane commute on the Chicago El (the short term Chicagoans use for the elevated metropolitan train system) from my home in the far North Side neighborhood of Rogers Park to Olive Harvey College on the far South Side. I was attending a black scholars conference on the economic empowerment of Chicago’s South Side African American neighborhoods. For starters, a critical piece of this story that I will relate in Chapter 2 is my own fear of going to the South side. I feel ashamed to admit this fear because I had already experienced the profound welcome of African Americans at parishes and when working with social activists in Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. In fact, it was their welcome and stories that drew me to Olive Harvey College.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping "Whiteness

Journal of The Society of Christian Ethics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: The Church We Want: African Catholics Look to Vatican III. Edited by Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theological Studies, Aug 21, 2017

In some circles, it is stated that Christianity is global geographically, but not theologically. ... more In some circles, it is stated that Christianity is global geographically, but not theologically. In other words, the aims and constructs of Western theology retain a privileged position in the global Church. In contrast, Theology Without Boarders offers a fresh vision and methodology towards a truly global theology. Dyrness and García-Johnson, professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, open with counterbalancing chapters. García-Johnson (Honduran-American) champions a disruptive "transoccidental" theology liberated from the methodical presuppositions that privilege Western theology in Christian thought. Dyrness (American of Scandinavian descent) then describes the role, both positive and negative, of the Western heritage in theology. Subsequent chapters discuss revelation, God/humanity, Christ, the Church, and eschatology in global theology. Theology Without Boarders features various contextual theologies (mostly Latin, African, and Western), but primarily aims to construct an epistemological foundation for the ongoing development of global theology. The book is theoretical and conceptual, aimed primarily at fellow academicians and theorists. Missiologists claim, "context matters," but often fail to grasp the full implications of that catchphrase. Theology Without Boarders masterfully uncovers and untangles the complete impact of context upon Christianity, especially in Western theology. Theology is a conversation "between some version of the Christian tradition and the indigenous traditions of that place," not simply between Scripture and culture as naively assumed (p. 43). Therefore, the author's insistence on and explanation of the inherently contextual nature of all theological reflection is most impressive. The book insinuates that Western theology is innately imperial and global theology is automatically de-colonial (cf. pp. 132-33), reflecting an overly politicized reading of theology at times. The disconnect between the book's form and content seemed ironic: this academic, abstract text with chapter titles mirroring systematic theology (form) critiques the Scholastic categories and abstract rationalizing of Western culture (content). How might the mediums of global theology also become transoccidental? Overall, Theology Without Boarders is essential for serious practitioners of Christian mission and theology. Bold and concise, this book succeeds by advancing the global conversation about theology.

Research paper thumbnail of The Scandal of White Complicity in US Hyper-incarceration

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Becoming Authentically Catholic and Truly Black

Research paper thumbnail of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell

American Catholic Studies

Research paper thumbnail of Andolsen, Barbara Hilkert. "Social Justice, the Common Good, and New Signs of Racism. " In Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence

*This fine essay provides an overview of some data to current racial discrimination in housing an... more *This fine essay provides an overview of some data to current racial discrimination in housing and employment. It also uses the Catholic understanding of justice and the common good to promote change. Barndt, Joseph R. Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century

Research paper thumbnail of Becoming Authentically Catholic and Truly Black

Research paper thumbnail of Interruptions: Mysticism, Politics, and Theology in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz

Research paper thumbnail of Bryan Massingale, Trayvon Martin, y la permanente complicidad de los blancos

Research paper thumbnail of Asian American Christian ethics: voices, methods, issues

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology. Edited by Katie G. Cannon and Anthony B. Pinn

Theological Studies, 2016

In this volume Jost highlights how interpersonal rapport of women theologians contributes to cont... more In this volume Jost highlights how interpersonal rapport of women theologians contributes to contemporary methodological discussion. Based on an earlier book edited by Kate Cannon about seven feminist theologians, God’s Fierce Whimsy (1985), and using the work of these women as models, she compellingly argues that theological method is living theology in dialogue with oneself, others, and God, and that it is not merely an academic exercise triangulating revelation, doctrine, and culture (82). Looking at the work of these women theologians over several years reveals how they negotiated personal differences by underscoring and attending directly to their own individual context, and by realizing that differences build—rather than weaken— authentic, transforming relationships (179). Dialogic theological method thus becomes for this author a prescription for building human society. Especially helpful is chapter 3 in which J. employs the work of Martin Buber and Mikhail Bakhtin to provide a foundation for analyzing the project in Cannon’s work. Acknowledging the significant differences in the theorists’ approaches, she nevertheless teases out their common affirmation of interpersonal encounter and “life as fundamentally dialogic” (88). She formulates four characteristics for method as dialogue: (1) a discerned posture of openness leaving one vulnerable; (2) sensitively prioritizing the stories that partners bring to the dialogue; (3) investing in others’ well-being to build solidarity through “agapic orientation” and “epistemic humility”; and (4) communicative amenability wherein partners are open to authentic transformation. Instead of directly engaging other theorists’ work in theological method (for example, Stephen Bevans’s work), J. concludes by challenging the notion of an “all theology is contextual” learning model that does not actually demand dialogue with people from different cultural perspectives. She writes with refreshing directness: “[T]o do theology with an acontextual orientation perpetuates a privileged body of academic literature, which often lacks concrete effectiveness and fails to be open to critique beyond academia” (183). Thus she offers a prescription for an authentic interpersonal encounter that, if embraced, may lead to change within oneself and in the world— which, arguably, is the point of theology.

Research paper thumbnail of Theology in Dialogue: The Social Sin of Racism and the Social Sciences

Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, Oct 5, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell

American Catholic Studies, Jun 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Interruptions: Mysticism, Politics, and Theology in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz

Anglican theological review, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of White Complicity in US Hyper-incarceration

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

When James Baldwin spoke the words above in 1961, he was speaking of the fact that African Americ... more When James Baldwin spoke the words above in 1961, he was speaking of the fact that African Americans are a target of physical violence in the United States and of the impossibility for African Americans to find redemption within the narrow confines of Western European and white American Christianity and metropolitan segregation.3 Scarsdale is “covered” by the fact of being white. Society does not target white communities for exclusion, police brutality, or imprisonment. Whites, in their own mind, are good, innocent, and redeemed. Baldwin indicts the gap that exists between the white ghetto4 and black ghetto. That gap reveals an enduring marker of the soul of whites.

Research paper thumbnail of Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty eds. by Vicki Schieber, Trudy D. Conway, and David Matzko McCarthy

American Catholic Studies, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Catholic Social Teaching and Race

Journal of Catholic social thought, 2019

<jats:p />

Research paper thumbnail of Catholic Social Teaching: Toward a Decolonial Praxis

Journal of moral theology, Apr 24, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Theology in Dialogue: The Social Sin of Racism and the Social Sciences

Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, May 10, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Hyper-incarceration of African Americans and Latinos in Historical Context

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

This book represents a journey into our past, present, and future. My journey took a critical tur... more This book represents a journey into our past, present, and future. My journey took a critical turn 12 years ago when I was working on my doctoral dissertation. It was a fairly mundane commute on the Chicago El (the short term Chicagoans use for the elevated metropolitan train system) from my home in the far North Side neighborhood of Rogers Park to Olive Harvey College on the far South Side. I was attending a black scholars conference on the economic empowerment of Chicago’s South Side African American neighborhoods. For starters, a critical piece of this story that I will relate in Chapter 2 is my own fear of going to the South side. I feel ashamed to admit this fear because I had already experienced the profound welcome of African Americans at parishes and when working with social activists in Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. In fact, it was their welcome and stories that drew me to Olive Harvey College.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping "Whiteness

Journal of The Society of Christian Ethics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: The Church We Want: African Catholics Look to Vatican III. Edited by Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator

Theological Studies, Aug 21, 2017

In some circles, it is stated that Christianity is global geographically, but not theologically. ... more In some circles, it is stated that Christianity is global geographically, but not theologically. In other words, the aims and constructs of Western theology retain a privileged position in the global Church. In contrast, Theology Without Boarders offers a fresh vision and methodology towards a truly global theology. Dyrness and García-Johnson, professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, open with counterbalancing chapters. García-Johnson (Honduran-American) champions a disruptive "transoccidental" theology liberated from the methodical presuppositions that privilege Western theology in Christian thought. Dyrness (American of Scandinavian descent) then describes the role, both positive and negative, of the Western heritage in theology. Subsequent chapters discuss revelation, God/humanity, Christ, the Church, and eschatology in global theology. Theology Without Boarders features various contextual theologies (mostly Latin, African, and Western), but primarily aims to construct an epistemological foundation for the ongoing development of global theology. The book is theoretical and conceptual, aimed primarily at fellow academicians and theorists. Missiologists claim, "context matters," but often fail to grasp the full implications of that catchphrase. Theology Without Boarders masterfully uncovers and untangles the complete impact of context upon Christianity, especially in Western theology. Theology is a conversation "between some version of the Christian tradition and the indigenous traditions of that place," not simply between Scripture and culture as naively assumed (p. 43). Therefore, the author's insistence on and explanation of the inherently contextual nature of all theological reflection is most impressive. The book insinuates that Western theology is innately imperial and global theology is automatically de-colonial (cf. pp. 132-33), reflecting an overly politicized reading of theology at times. The disconnect between the book's form and content seemed ironic: this academic, abstract text with chapter titles mirroring systematic theology (form) critiques the Scholastic categories and abstract rationalizing of Western culture (content). How might the mediums of global theology also become transoccidental? Overall, Theology Without Boarders is essential for serious practitioners of Christian mission and theology. Bold and concise, this book succeeds by advancing the global conversation about theology.

Research paper thumbnail of The Scandal of White Complicity in US Hyper-incarceration

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Becoming Authentically Catholic and Truly Black

Research paper thumbnail of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell

American Catholic Studies

Research paper thumbnail of Andolsen, Barbara Hilkert. "Social Justice, the Common Good, and New Signs of Racism. " In Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence

*This fine essay provides an overview of some data to current racial discrimination in housing an... more *This fine essay provides an overview of some data to current racial discrimination in housing and employment. It also uses the Catholic understanding of justice and the common good to promote change. Barndt, Joseph R. Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century

Research paper thumbnail of Becoming Authentically Catholic and Truly Black

Research paper thumbnail of Interruptions: Mysticism, Politics, and Theology in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz

Research paper thumbnail of Bryan Massingale, Trayvon Martin, y la permanente complicidad de los blancos

Research paper thumbnail of Asian American Christian ethics: voices, methods, issues

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology. Edited by Katie G. Cannon and Anthony B. Pinn

Theological Studies, 2016

In this volume Jost highlights how interpersonal rapport of women theologians contributes to cont... more In this volume Jost highlights how interpersonal rapport of women theologians contributes to contemporary methodological discussion. Based on an earlier book edited by Kate Cannon about seven feminist theologians, God’s Fierce Whimsy (1985), and using the work of these women as models, she compellingly argues that theological method is living theology in dialogue with oneself, others, and God, and that it is not merely an academic exercise triangulating revelation, doctrine, and culture (82). Looking at the work of these women theologians over several years reveals how they negotiated personal differences by underscoring and attending directly to their own individual context, and by realizing that differences build—rather than weaken— authentic, transforming relationships (179). Dialogic theological method thus becomes for this author a prescription for building human society. Especially helpful is chapter 3 in which J. employs the work of Martin Buber and Mikhail Bakhtin to provide a foundation for analyzing the project in Cannon’s work. Acknowledging the significant differences in the theorists’ approaches, she nevertheless teases out their common affirmation of interpersonal encounter and “life as fundamentally dialogic” (88). She formulates four characteristics for method as dialogue: (1) a discerned posture of openness leaving one vulnerable; (2) sensitively prioritizing the stories that partners bring to the dialogue; (3) investing in others’ well-being to build solidarity through “agapic orientation” and “epistemic humility”; and (4) communicative amenability wherein partners are open to authentic transformation. Instead of directly engaging other theorists’ work in theological method (for example, Stephen Bevans’s work), J. concludes by challenging the notion of an “all theology is contextual” learning model that does not actually demand dialogue with people from different cultural perspectives. She writes with refreshing directness: “[T]o do theology with an acontextual orientation perpetuates a privileged body of academic literature, which often lacks concrete effectiveness and fails to be open to critique beyond academia” (183). Thus she offers a prescription for an authentic interpersonal encounter that, if embraced, may lead to change within oneself and in the world— which, arguably, is the point of theology.

Research paper thumbnail of Theology in Dialogue: The Social Sin of Racism and the Social Sciences

Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, Oct 5, 2013