Christopher Henry Dawson (12 October 1889, Hay Castle – 25 May 1970, Budleigh Salterton) was a British independent scholar, who wrote many books on cultural history and Christendom. Christopher H. Dawson has been called "the greatest English-speaking Catholic historian of the twentieth century".^[1]

Life[link]

Brought up at Hartlington Hall, in Yorkshire, Dawson was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Oxford. His background was Anglo-Catholic, but he became a Roman Catholic convert in 1914. As a post-graduate student, he studied economics, and then at Oxford history and sociology. He also read in the work of the German theologian Ernst Troeltsch. In 1916, Dawson married Valery Mills.

Writing[link]

He began publishing articles in The Sociological Review, in 1920. His starting point was close to that of Oswald Spengler and Arnold J. Toynbee, others who were also interested in grand narratives conducted at the level of a civilization. His first book, The Age of the Gods (1928), was apparently intended as the first of a set of five tracing European civilization down to the twentieth century; but this schematic plan was not followed to a conclusion.

His general point of view is as a proponent of an 'Old West' theory, the later term of David Gress, who cites Dawson in his From Plato to Nato (1998). That is, Dawson rejected the blanket assumption that the Middle Ages in Europe failed to contribute any essential characteristics. He argued that the medieval Catholic Church was an essential factor in the rise of European civilization, and wrote extensively in support of that thesis.

He received also a measure of academic recognition, and was considered a leading Catholic historian. From 1940 for a period he was editor of the Dublin Review. He was Chauncey Stillman Chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Harvard University from 1958-1962.

Influence[link]

His writings in the 1920s and 1930s made him a significant figure of the time, and an influence in particular on T. S. Eliot, who wrote of his importance. He was on the fringe of 'The Moot', a discussion group involving Eliot, John Baillie, Karl Mannheim, Walter Moberly, Michael Polanyi, Marjorie Reeves, Bernard Lonergan and Alec Vidler;^[2] and also the Sword of the Spirit ecumenical group. According to Bradely Birzer, Dawson also influenced the theological underpinnings of J. R. R. Tolkien's writings.^[3] Russell Kirk was another who greatly admired Dawson, although the two men never met. The topical approach outlined by Dawson for the study of Christian culture forms the core of the Catholic Studies program at Aquinas College (Michigan).

Comparable historians[link]

As a revivalist of the Christian historian, Christopher Dawson has been compared with Kenneth Scott Latourette and Herbert Butterfield. ^[4] Comparisons have also been made between the work of Dawson and German sociologist and historian Max Weber. Both employ a metahistorical approach to their subjects, and their subjects themselves bear similarities; namely, the influence of religion on aspects of western culture.^[5]

Works[link]

• The Age of Gods (1928)
• Progress and Religion: An Historical Inquiry (1929). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2001)
• Christianity and the New Age (1931)
• The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity (1932). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2003)
• The Spirit of the Oxford Movement (1933)
• Enquiries into religion and culture (1933). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2009)
• Medieval Religion and Other Essays (1934)
• Religion and the Modern State (1936)
• Beyond Politics (1939)
• The Judgment of the Nations (1942). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2011)
  • The Failure of Liberalism** (1942)
• Gifford Lectures 1947–49
  • Religion and Culture (1948) ISBN 0-404-60498-6
  • Religion and the Rise of Western Culture (1950) ISBN 0-385-42110-9
• Understanding Europe (1952). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2009)
• Medieval Essays (1954). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2002)
• Dynamics of World History (1957) edited by John J. Mulloy, with others
• The Movement of World Revolution (1959)
• Progress and Religion: An Historical Enquiry (1960) with others
• The Historic Reality of Christian Culture (1960)
• The Crisis of Western Education: With Specific Programs for the Study of Christian Culture (1961). Reissued by the Catholic University of America Press (2010)
• The Dividing of Christendom (1965)
• Mission to Asia (1966) [Originally published: The Mongol mission (1955)]
• The Formation of Christendom (1967)
• The Gods of Revolution (1972)
• Religion and World History (1975)
• Christianity and European Culture: Selections from the Work of Christopher Dawson edited by Gerald J. Russello

Notes[link]

1. ^ The Vision of Christopher Dawson, Araceli Duque,
2. ^ Marjorie Reeves (editor), Christian Thinking and Social Order: Conviction Politics from the 1930s to the Present Day (1999), p, 25.
3. ^ Bradely J. Birzer Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth, p. 136.
4. ^ W. A. Speck, "Herbert Butterfield: The Legacy of a Christian Historian" in A Christian View of History?, George Marsden, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975 P.100
5. ^ Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism, and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2002 P.xx

External links[link]

• Christopher Dawson Internet Archive
• The Failure of Liberalism (1942) by Chistopher Dawson.
• Full Dawson bibliography
• Overview of Dawson's Philosophy

Chris Dawson (born August 22, 1979 in Coventry, England) is a former English-born Seychelles football (soccer) player of English descent.

A prominent midfielder, Chris Dawson was once played for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

External links[link]

• Chris Dawson's profile at National-Football_teams.com website

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Gleaves Whitney is the director of Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. He has authored or edited 14 books. Whitney is also a senior scholar at the Center for the American Idea in Houston, Texas, and he is the first senior fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. His work has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, and journals.^[1]

Education[link]

Whitney graduated with honors from Colorado State University (1980), was elected into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society (1980), and was a Fulbright scholar in Germany (1984–85). He did his graduate work at the University of Michigan, where he was a Richard M. Weaver fellow (1987–88) and an H. B. Earhart Fellow (1988–91). Whitney has taught at the University of Michigan, Aquinas College^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Droste-Hulshof Gymnasium, Colorado State University, and Grand Valley State University. In 2006, he received the Doctorate of Humane Letters honoris causa from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, California.^[2]

Public service[link]

Prior to his arrival at Grand Valley State University, Whitney worked 11 years in Michigan Governor John Engler's administration, serving as senior writer, chief speechwriter, and historian. In 1993, the governor assigned him to a task force that helped bring sweeping education and school finance reforms to Michigan that The New York Times called "the most dramatic in the nation."^[3]

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies[link]

Whitney became the director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2003. The Center has experienced tremendous growth during his tenure. "Gleaves Whitney is a real treasure for those of us who do presidential studies and work in the field of presidential history," said award-winning biographer H. W. Brands. "He’s also one of the most effective entrepreneurs in the business of higher education," he continued. "You can tell this by the growth in the Hauenstein Center over the years that he’s been the director."

"Gleaves Whitney and his energetic team at the Hauenstein Center have become, in a remarkably short time, a force to reckon with -- and learn from -- in the presidential studies field," said historian Richard Norton Smith. "The Hauenstein Center is a jewel in the crown of Michigan."

Whitney has been the architect of more than 300 programs, including four national conferences covered by C-SPAN and one webcast live to more than 3,500 viewers in 18 countries. He has overseen tremendous growth of the Hauenstein Center's website, which has had more than 25 million visitors, and premiered a popular web column called Ask Gleaves -- the first presidential Q & A in the nation -- and created a leadership academy for students and young professionals committed to public service.

Partnerships Created[link]

In his current position as director of the Hauenstein Center, he has cultivated many institutional partnerships—e.g., the National Park Service, Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum—and numerous ongoing professional partnerships—e.g., H. W. Brands, Richard Norton Smith, William Barker, and George Nash.

Writing/Editing/Speaking[link]

In addition to his public work, Whitney is a scholar who writes and lectures nationally on a variety of historical topics. He is author or editor of thirteen books including most recently (with Mark Rozell) "Religion and the American Presidency" and "Religion and the Bush Presidency." Other books include "American Presidents: Farewell Addresses to the Nation, 1796-2001;" "John Engler: The Man, the Leader & the Legacy;" and 6 volumes of Messages of the Governors of Michigan. Another book, a collection of the wartime speeches of American presidents, is forthcoming.

Selected works[link]

• Testing the Limits: George W. Bush and the Imperial Presidency

Edited by Mark Rozell and Gleaves Whitney (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009)

• Religion and the Bush Presidency

Edited by Mark Rozell and Gleaves Whitney (Palgrave Macmillan, August 2007)

• Religion and the American Presidency

Edited by Mark Rozell and Gleaves Whitney (Palgrave Macmillan, May 2007)

• American Presidents:

Farewell Messages to the Nation, 1796–2001 Edited by Gleaves Whitney (Lexington, December 2002)

• John Engler: The Man, the Leader & the Legacy

Written by Gleaves Whitney Sleeping Bear Press (December 2002)

Speeches about American Presidents[link]

• George Washington: Less than Perfect, Greater than Us
• Indispensable Aide: Alexander Hamilton
• Abraham Lincoln's Unions
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Paradox of Power
• Shakespearean Drama in the American Republic: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon
• Gerald R. Ford: Republican
• Ronald Reagan
• Growth of Presidential Power in the Twentieth Century
• Presidents and the Moral Imagination

References[link]

1. ^ Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, "About Us"
2. ^ "Hauenstein Center gets new leader."GVNow, July 2003
3. ^ Official Website: Bio"

External links[link]

• The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies
• Grand Valley State University
• Gleaves Whitney's Official Website
• The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal
• Center for the American Idea
• Houston Museum of Natural Science
• National Park Service
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
• Gleaves Whitney on vacation