Purpose
Grants of up to $2000.00 to help defray travel and lodging costs are made to scholars of any academic discipline who are engaged in projects which require substantial use of the collection of the library and/or the archives of the University of Notre Dame. The library collection is particularly rich in the following areas: Catholic newspapers, history of midwestern Catholicism, Catholic literature, and history of Catholicism in the United States. Manuscripts of historical personages, records of twentieth century Catholic organizations, reports of European missionary societies, and much more material related to the American Catholic community are held in the archives.
Eligibility
Grants to help defray travel and lodging costs are made to scholars of any academic discipline who are engaged in projects which require substantial use of the collections of the library and the archives. Research projects must be related to the study of American Catholicism. Applicants should indicate as specifically as possible how the use of the Notre Dame library and archives are pertinent to this study.
Recipients of grants will be requested to:
1) supply the Center with a short report on the results of their research, 2) acknowledge the grant provided by the Center in all publications which result from this research, 3) provide the Center with one copy of any publication resulting in whole, or in part, from the grant.
Research Travel Grant Application Guidelines
Material: A complete application must include one copy of the following:
- Application form (also available from the Cushwa Center office)
- Current curriculum vitae
- 1,000 word description of the project you wish to undertake at the Center
- Proposed budget estimating travel, lodging, and research expenses
- Two letters of recommendation from two people who know your work. These letter of recommendation should be sent directly to the Cushwa Center.
Applicants should describe the relevance of the project for American Catholic studies, indicate the specific resources of interest at Notre Dame, and specify any plans for publication of the project.
Mailing Address
Send completed application to:
Director
Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism
University of Notre Dame
1135 Flanner Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556-5611
Deadline:
Grants are awarded during each academic year. Applications must be postmarked by December 31.
Notification
Applicants will be notified in March.
Grant Recipients for 2008
Susan Baumert, Catholic University of America, “Texts and Contexts: A History of Religious Education in American Catholic High Schools, 1955-1980.” Baumert examines an important period in the history of American Catholic religious education by studying high school religion textbooks published from 1955 to 1980 by four popular U.S. Catholic publishing houses: Fides Publishers, W.H. Sadlier, Inc., Jesuit Educational Association, and Paulist Press.
Eileen Flanagan, Neumann College, “The Impact of Silas M. Chatard on the Establishment of the Poor Clares in America.” Flanagan explores Chatard’s connections with American ecclestiastics and the Poor Clares, paying particular attention to the challenges faced by the Poor Clares and the struggles and advances of the American Catholic church between 1875 and 1916.
Catherine O’Donnell Kaplan, Arizona State University, “Nation and Church: John Carroll and Elizabeth Seton.” Kaplan examines the development of the U.S. Catholic Church and the history of the early American republic through a dual biography of John Carroll and Elizabeth Seton.
Jay Price, Wichita State University, “Temples for a Modern God.” Price explores the history of church and synagogue architecture from 1945-1965. He focuses on movements such as Vatican II and groups such as the Liturgical Arts Society, which encouraged modern styles and designs among both vernacular and noteworthy structures.
Mark Ruff, Saint Louis University, “Clerics, Critics and Catholics: Gordon Zahn and the Battle for the German Catholic Past.” Ruff examines the role of the America sociologist and pacifist Gordon Zahn in bringing about a reexamination of the German Catholic past under National Socialism. Ruff analyzes the networks in Germany and the United States that were created either to promote Zahn’s ideas or to counter them.