Rate My Professor Robert Alvis

Dr. Robert E. Alvis serves as Academic Dean and Professor of Church History in the Department of History at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, where he has been a faculty member since 2004. His distinguished academic background includes a PhD from the University of Chicago in 2000, an MA from the University of Chicago in 1992, and a BA from the University of Virginia in 1991. Dr. Alvis offers a variety of specialized courses that draw on his deep expertise in ecclesiastical developments, such as Medieval Church History, Modern Church History, and History and Culture of the Church in the Americas. These classes equip seminary students with comprehensive knowledge of pivotal eras and geographical contexts within Christian historical narratives, fostering a nuanced understanding of the Church's evolution over time.

Dr. Alvis's research specializations encompass the interplay between religion, nationalism, and devotional practices, with his current work centered on St. Faustina Kowalska and the Divine Mercy devotion. He has made significant contributions to the field through authorship of key monographs, including Religion and the Rise of Nationalism: A Profile of an East-Central European City (Syracuse University Press, 2005), which profiles the religious dimensions of nationalism in an East-Central European urban setting, and White Eagle, Black Madonna: One Thousand Years of the Polish Catholic Tradition (Fordham University Press, 2016), offering a millennium-spanning analysis of Polish Catholicism. Furthermore, he co-edited Prisms of Faith: Perspectives on Religious Education and the Cultivation of Catholic Identity (Pickwick Publications, 2015) and edited A Science of the Saints: Studies in Spiritual Direction (Liturgical Press, 2020). Dr. Alvis has also published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, with articles, essays, and reviews appearing in Church History, American Historical Review, Journal of Religion, German Studies Review, and Catholic Historical Review, enriching scholarly discourse on church history and related interdisciplinary topics.