American Catholic Studies Newsletter · Fall 2024
volume 51, number 2
From the director
Although it may seem a bit premature (or presumptuous) for co-directors to deem just their second year on the job a momentous one for the Cushwa Center, when glimpsing the 2024–25 calendar, such superlatives seem fair . . .
Land and dignity: Sources of ecological critique in Catholic modernity
Alice Gorton (Columbia University) traces “the land question” in Catholic social thought and action throughout the 20th century.
In review: Spring 2024 at Cushwa
Michael Skaggs revisits the Cushwa Center’s spring 2024 public events, from a roundtable on Vatican II and the Dolan Seminar on “nones” to lectures by Garry Sparks, Jonathan Ebel, and Mauricio López.
Women religious research center breaks ground
On July 26, 2024, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Heritage and Research Center (HARC) on the campus of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
In memoriam: George J. Clough, Jr.
George J. Clough, Jr., of St. Louis, Missouri, past national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and longtime steward of the Hibernians’ relationship with the Cushwa Center and Notre Dame, died on February 11, 2024. He was 91 years old.
Friends of Cushwa news and notes
Read updates from the Cushwa Center’s network.
Upcoming conferences
The Cushwa Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary in calendar year 2025, which will include two conferences at the Notre Dame Conference Center: Catholic Modernity in the Americas: Land, Culture Politics (April 10–12, 2025) and the Conference on the History of Women Religious: Lives and Archives (June 22–25, 2025). Registration for both will open in December 2024.
Read more about Catholic Modernity in the Americas
Candy Gunther Brown on Francis S. MacNutt
Candy Gunther Brown (IU Bloomington) has received support from the Cushwa Center and the Louisville Institute for a biography of Francis MacNutt, to be published in the Eerdmans Library of Religious Biography series. Brown recently discussed her research on MacNutt, material at the Notre Dame Archives, and the broader significance of charismatic Christianity in American and global religion.
Meet Melissa Coles and Angela Xia
This summer, Cushwa welcomed Melissa Coles (Notre Dame ’24 Ph.D.) and Angela Xia (UPenn ’24 Ph.D.) as postdoctoral research associates. Coles specializes in the intersection of Catholicism, Indigenous traditions, the environment, and sacred places in 19th- and 20th-century North America. Xia’s research examines interactions between religion, secularism, and biomedicine in the late 20th century.
Five questions with Melissa Coles
Five questions with Angela Xia
From card catalogs to AI? Technology and workflows at the Notre Dame Archives
Kevin Cawley discusses technological developments with several of Notre Dame’s archivists.
Leah Payne’s God Gave Rock and Roll to You
Deanna Witkowski (Elmhurst University) reviews Leah Payne’s God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music (Oxford, 2024).
Recent publications of interest
Browse this semester’s overview of recent books and articles in American Catholic studies, history and sociology of religion, theology, and related fields.