If our recent review of the film "The Mighty Macs" sparked your interest in the real-life individuals who helped catapult the basketball team of a small, Catholic, women's college into the national spotlight, you may want to head over to Fordham University for the 7th Annual Rita Cassella Jones Lecture tonight. Julie E. Byrne will be speaking about her book "O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs" (Columbia University Press, 2003). Byrne is an associate professor of religion at Hofstra University, and the Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman, Endowed Chair in Catholic Studies there.
The Web site's description of the lecture is as follows:
How does the story of Catholic women's collegiate sports reveal important aspects of U.S. Catholicism in the 20th century? Professor Byrne will reflect on her 2003 volume, "O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs" and the movie, which examined evolving Catholic gender norms through a study of Catholic women's basketball in the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1930-75. For the Immaculata players and coaches, sports provided a venue for recasting Catholic women's sense of themselves in mid-twentieth century America. What legacy might they bequeath to young Catholic women athletes and their peers in the 21st century?
The lecture will take place at Duane Library, Tognino Hall, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx. NY. If you can't make it tonight, you can learn more by ordering the book.
