A. Collections and Libraries

The Cushwa Center’s activities embrace four areas: instruction, research, publication, and collection of materials. In each of these areas, the center pursues a multidisciplinary approach and does not limit its activities or programs to any one particular methodology or discipline.

The library and archives of the University of Notre Dame house an extensive collection of Catholic Americana. This collection includes Catholic newspapers, literature, records of 20th-century Catholic organizations, histories of midwestern and American Catholics, reports of European missionary societies, and other material related to the American Catholic community.

B. Programs

The center sponsors the Dolan Seminar in American Religion, a semiannual gathering of historians of American religion. The Cushwa Center also regularly sponsors annual conferences on topics related to American Catholicism and research on topics such as the American Catholic parish, the history of American Catholic seminary education, Hispanic Catholics in America, Catholicism and global history, and the history of women religious. The center also hosts two annual lectures at the University of Notre Dame, the Cushwa Center Lecture and the Hibernian Lecture.

The center offers postdoctoral fellowships and frequently convenes working groups for research projects focused on particular research projects, often producing edited volumes with major academic publishers.

For more information on Cushwa events and programs, visit cushwa.nd.edu.

C. Publications

The Cushwa Center posts its semiannual American Catholic Studies Newsletter at cushwa.nd.edu/newsletter. This newsletter reports on the latest scholarship in American Catholic studies, features personal news items, provides information on major archival holdings in the United States, and publishes essays on recent research.

D. Fellowships and Awards

The Cushwa Center administers six funding opportunities to support scholarly research in a variety of subject areas. Gustavo Gutiérrez Research Awards support projects in theology, history, and the social sciences that engage or take inspiration from the work of Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P. (1928–2024), especially his articulation of the preferential option for the poor. Research Travel Grants assist scholars who wish to visit the University Archives or other collections at the Hesburgh Libraries at Notre Dame for research relating to the study of Catholics in America. Peter R. D’Agostino Research Travel Grants support research in Roman archives for a significant publication project on U.S. Catholic history. The Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., Prize recognizes outstanding research on the Black Catholic experience. The Cushwa Center’s Mother Theodore Guerin Research Travel Grants support scholars whose research projects seek to feature Catholic women more prominently in modern history. Hibernian Research Awards provide travel funds for the scholarly study of Irish and Irish American history. The deadline for each of these programs is December 31 each year. For more information, visit cushwa.nd.edu/grant-opportunities.