Awards

• Short-listed for 2019 Best First Book in the History of Religions Prize awarded by the AAR 2019 (United States)
• Short-listed for The Waterloo Centre for German Studies Book Prize 2019 (Canada)

Overview

Disruptive Power examines a surprising revival of faith in Catholic miracles in Germany from the 1920s to the 1960s. The book follows the dramatic stigmata of Therese Neumann of Konnersreuth and her powerful circle of followers that included theologians, Cardinals, politicians, journalists, monarchists, anti-fascists, and everyday pilgrims. Disruptive Power explores how this and other similar groups negotiated the precariousness of the Weimar Republic, the repression of the Third Reich, and the dynamic early years of the Federal Republic. Analyzing a network of rebellious traditionalists, O'Sullivan illustrates the divisions that characterized the German Catholic minority as they endured the tumultuous era of the world wars. Analyzing material from archives in Germany and the United States, Michael E. O'Sullivan investigates the unsanctioned but very popular visions in several rural towns after World War II, providing micro-histories that illuminate the impact of mystical faith on religiosity, politics, and gender norms.

Full Product Details

9781487503437

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Disruptive Powers deals with a myriad of themes in a complex, ambitious narrative based to a great degree on primary sources from numerous state and church archives…O’Sullivan gives us much to ponder in his thought-provoking, challenging work."" -- Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College * <em>Contemporary Church History</em> * ""O’Sullivan’s wonderful study of early-twentieth-century German Catholic miracles, Disruptive Power, keeps social structures, clerical and lay leadership and institutions in view while also illuminating forms of popular piety and their political impact both within the Catholid community and at regional and national levels…Michael O’Sullivan has written a richly descriptive and carefully argued book that makes a serious and important contribution to a vibrant and expanding field."" -- Monica Black, University of Tennessee * <em>German History</em> * ""O’Sullivan aptly demonstrates the ways in which power from below – grassroots movements as well as localized individual efforts – can influence and shape figures and events at regional and national levels. While his book will be of most interest to German studies scholars, his subject also has broad appeal to social and cultural historians of modern Europe."" -- Lauren Faulkner Rossi * <em>German Studies Review</em> * ""O’Sullivan offers a compelling argument for reconfiguring the conventional narrative about piety and secularization in modern Germany."" -- Lauren N. Faulkner Rossi * <em>Journal of Modern History, Vol.92, No. 4</em> * ""O’Sullivan’s book is fascinating reading, meticulously researched, and well written."" -- Stephen Bevans, SVD, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago * <em>University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018</em> * ""Michael E. O’Sullivan’s deeply researched, equally imaginative and provocative book Disruptive Power tells the fascinating story of Therese Neumann (1898–1962)."" -- Benjamin Ziemann, University of Sheffield * <em>American Historical Review</em> * ""This beautifully written monograph deserves wide readership, especially by students and scholars of Europe and sexuality. Employing the case of Catholic mystic Therese Neumann, Michael O’Sullivan challenges conventional narratives about German history to argue for ‘the central place of Catholic miracles to the politics of modern Germany.’"" -- Maria Mitchell, Franklin & Marshall College * <em>EuropeNow</em> *

Disruptive Powers deals with a myriad of themes in a complex, ambitious narrative based to a great degree on primary sources from numerous state and church archives...O'Sullivan gives us much to ponder in his thought-provoking, challenging work. -- Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College * <em>Contemporary Church History</em> * O'Sullivan's wonderful study of early-twentieth-century German Catholic miracles, Disruptive Power, keeps social structures, clerical and lay leadership and institutions in view while also illuminating forms of popular piety and their political impact both within the Catholid community and at regional and national levels...Michael O'Sullivan has written a richly descriptive and carefully argued book that makes a serious and important contribution to a vibrant and expanding field. -- Monica Black, University of Tennessee * <em>German History</em> * O'Sullivan aptly demonstrates the ways in which power from below - grassroots movements as well as localized individual efforts - can influence and shape figures and events at regional and national levels. While his book will be of most interest to German studies scholars, his subject also has broad appeal to social and cultural historians of modern Europe. -- Lauren Faulkner Rossi * <em>German Studies Review</em> * O'Sullivan offers a compelling argument for reconfiguring the conventional narrative about piety and secularization in modern Germany. -- Lauren N. Faulkner Rossi * <em>Journal of Modern History, Vol.92, No. 4</em> * O'Sullivan's book is fascinating reading, meticulously researched, and well written. -- Stephen Bevans, SVD, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago * <em>University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018</em> * Michael E. O'Sullivan's deeply researched, equally imaginative and provocative book Disruptive Power tells the fascinating story of Therese Neumann (1898-1962). -- Benjamin Ziemann, University of Sheffield * <em>American Historical Review</em> * This beautifully written monograph deserves wide readership, especially by students and scholars of Europe and sexuality. Employing the case of Catholic mystic Therese Neumann, Michael O'Sullivan challenges conventional narratives about German history to argue for 'the central place of Catholic miracles to the politics of modern Germany.' -- Maria Mitchell, Franklin & Marshall College * <em>EuropeNow</em> *

Disruptive Powers deals with a myriad of themes in a complex, ambitious narrative based to a great degree on primary sources from numerous state and church archives...O'Sullivan gives us much to ponder in his thought-provoking, challenging work. -- Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College * Contemporary Church History, vol 25 no 2, June 2019 * O'Sullivan's wonderful study of early-twentieth-century German Catholic miracles, Disruptive Power, keeps social structures, clerical and lay leadership and institutions in view while also illuminating forms of popular piety and their political impact both within the Catholid community and at regional and national levels...Michael O'Sullivan has written a richly descriptive and carefully argued book that makes a serious and important contribution to a vibrant and expanding field. -- Monica Black, University of Tennessee * German History, volume 37, Issue 3, September 2019 * O'Sullivan aptly demonstrates the ways in which power from below - grassroots movements as well as localized individual efforts - can influence and shape figures and events at regional and national levels. While his book will be of most interest to German studies scholars, his subject also has broad appeal to social and cultural historians of modern Europe. -- Lauren Faulkner Rossi * <em>German Studies Review</em> * O'Sullivan offers a compelling argument for reconfiguring the conventional narrative about piety and secularization in modern Germany. -- Lauren N. Faulkner Rossi * <em>Journal of Modern History, Vol.92, No. 4</em> * O'Sullivan's book is fascinating reading, meticulously researched, and well written. -- Stephen Bevans, SVD, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago * <em>University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018</em> *

Disruptive Powers deals with a myriad of themes in a complex, ambitious narrative based to a great degree on primary sources from numerous state and church archives...O'Sullivan gives us much to ponder in his thought-provoking, challenging work. -- Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College * Contemporary Church History, vol 25 no 2, June 2019 * O'Sullivan's wonderful study of early-twentieth-century German Catholic miracles, Disruptive Power, keeps social structures, clerical and lay leadership and institutions in view while also illuminating forms of popular piety and their political impact both within the Catholid community and at regional and national levels...Michael O'Sullivan has written a richly descriptive and carefully argued book that makes a serious and important contribution to a vibrant and expanding field. -- Monica Black, University of Tennessee * German History, volume 37, Issue 3, September 2019 * O'Sullivan aptly demonstrates the ways in which power from below - grassroots movements as well as localized individual efforts - can influence and shape figures and events at regional and national levels. While his book will be of most interest to German studies scholars, his subject also has broad appeal to social and cultural historians of modern Europe. -- Lauren Faulkner Rossi * <em>German Studies Review</em> *

Disruptive Powers deals with a myriad of themes in a complex, ambitious narrative based to a great degree on primary sources from numerous state and church archives...O'Sullivan gives us much to ponder in his thought-provoking, challenging work. -- Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College * Contemporary Church History, vol 25 no 2, June 2019 *

Author Information

Michael E. O’Sullivan is an associate professor in the Department of History at Marist College.

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