Susanna De Stradis

Susanna De Stradis

Division

  • War, Power, International Affairs

Classification

  • Assistant Professor

Discipline

  • American and Global Catholicism
  • American Religious History
  • 20th Century US History

Title

  • Begins 2023-24
  • Presently at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University

Contact

dsusanna@wustl.edu
662-325-3604

EDUCATION

2017-2022

Ph.D. in History, University of Notre Dame

Dissertation Project: “Making Democracy Safe for Religion: The Catholic Argument for the ‘Nation Under God’ (1939-1965)”

Committee: John T. McGreevy (Advisor); Kathleen S. Cummings; Darren Dochuk; Richard W. Garnett (Notre Dame Law School); Sarah E. Shortall

 

2017-2019

M.A. in History, University of Notre Dame

Comprehensive Examination Fields:

Global Approaches to Catholic, US, and World History (Prof. John T. McGreevy)

20th-Century United States History (Prof. Darren Dochuk)

Law and Religion in US History (Prof. Linda Przybyszewski)

 

2015-2017

M.A. in History and Civilization, University of Pisa (Italy) Summa cum Laude

Thesis Project: “‘In this Sign shall you conquer!’: Francis J. Spellman’s Military Vicariate and the Mobilization of American Catholics in World War II (1939-1945)”

 

2012-2015

B.A. in History, University of Pisa (Italy) Summa cum Laude

Thesis Project: “The Catholic Corporative Project in Cold War America: The Case of the Industry Council Plan (1945-1960)”

 

2012-2017

Licentiate in History and Paleography, Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (Italy)

(Five-year education and research fellowship completed in tandem with B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Pisa).

 

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

“The Vatican and Religious Freedom: New Sources on the ‘Silencing’ of John Courtney Murray.” In War and Genocide, Reconstruction and Change: The Global Pontificate of Pius XII, 1939-1958, edited by Simon Unger-Alvi and Nina Valbousquet. Berghahan Books. (In preparation)

 

“The Catholic Debate on the ‘Guilds’ in Cold War America.” In The Evolution of Catholic Social Action and Social Thought Between the Americas and Europe from Pius XII to Paul VI. Edited by Marta Busani and Paolo Valvo. Edizioni Studium (Forthcoming in 2022).

 

“Defending the Nation Under God: Global Catholicism, the Supreme Court, and the Secularist Specter (1946-1963).” Religion and American Culture (Forthcoming in 2022).

 

“Prospettive romane sugli Stati Uniti: I documenti della Congregazione Affari Ecclesiastici Straordinari e del Sant’Uffizio.” In La Santa Sede, gli Stati Uniti e le relazioni internazionali durante il pontificato di Pio XII, edited by Roberto Regoli and Matteo Sanfilippo. Edizioni Studium (Forthcoming in 2022): 258-269.

 

“Devozione a stelle e strisce. Cattolicesimo e americanismo nel Vicariato militare di Francis J. Spellman,” Archivio italiano per la storia della pietà 31 (2018): 347-382.

Public-Facing Writing

“Not Quite Silenced: What newly released documents tell us about the censoring of John Courtney Murray.” Commonweal. November 22, 2021. https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/not-quite-silenced

 

“J. C. Murray, the Vatican, and the Lay State Challenge.” The Immanent Frame. January 28, 2022.

http://tif.ssrc.org/2022/01/28/j-c-murray-the-vatican-and-the-lay-state-challenge/

2020

Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Fellowship, Social Science Research Council (SSRC) ($12,878)

 

Finalist for International Dissertation Research Fellowship, Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

 

Rome Seminar Fellowship, Notre Dame Global Gateway ($3,500)

 

Peter R. D’Agostino Research Travel Grant, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism ($4,810)

2019

Eisenhower Foundation Research Travel Grant ($975)

 

Graduate Student Research Award, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts ($4,537)

2018

Graduate Summer Travel & Research Grant, Nanovic Institute for European Studies ($3,067)

 

Graduate Student Research Award, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts ($1,907)

2017

Five-Year Full Tuition and Stipend, University of Notre Dame Department of History

 

International Travel Grant for Archival Research, Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (Italy) (€3,300)

2016

International Travel Grant for Archival Research, Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (Italy) (€3,030)

2014

Summer Language Instruction Grant (German), Fondazione Amici della Scuola Normale (€1,500)

2012

Five-Year Full Tuition and Stipend, Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (Italy)

 

Conferences

2022

Invited Participant. “The ‘Lay State’ Challenge: New Roman Sources on the Censoring of John Courtney Murray, S.J.” International Symposium on Jesuit Studies “The Jesuits and the Church in History.” Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, Boston. 1-4 August, 2022 (Scheduled).

 

 

Invited Participant. “The  Vatican,  US  Catholics,  and  the  Cold  War:  New Perspectives.” Conference “Global  Religion  and  American  World-Making,” University of Notre Dame. April 8-9, 2022 (Scheduled).

 

 

Invited Participant. “The Pius XII Archives: New Roman Sources for the History of Global Catholicism.” Conference “Mapping Rome.” University of Notre Dame. March 17-19, 2022 (Scheduled).

 

 

Invited Participant. “Culture War(s) Within to Win the Culture War Without.” American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA) Annual Meeting, New Orleans. 6-8 January, 2022. 

 

2021

Invited Participant. “The Catholic Debate on the ‘Guilds’ in Cold War America.” European Academy of Religion Annual Conference “Religion and Change,” Münster (Germany). 30 August – 1 September, 2021.

 

 

Invited Participant. “Roman Perspectives on the US and American Catholicism (1945-1958): Open Questions and New Sources.” Research Meeting “War and Genocide, Reconstruction and Change: The Global Pontificate of Pius XII.” Co-Sponsored by the Deutsches Historisches Institut and the École Française, Rome (Italy). 14-16 June, 2021.

 

2020

 

Canceled due to Covid-19. Invited Participant. “The Holy See and the United States in the Pacelli Era: New Sources, New Perspectives.” Conference “The Holy See and the US in Pius XII’s Archives: The State of the Question and the Archives.” Co-Sponsored by the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism and the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (Italy). 5-6 March, 2020.

 

2018

Selected Participant. “‘In this Sign you shall conquer’: Catholicism and Americanism in the Church’s Mobilization for World War II.” Columbia University Department of Religion Graduate Student Conference “Legitimacy – Mythology – Epistemology: Religion and the Concept of the Political,” New York. April 7, 2018.

 

 

Selected Participant. “‘In this Sign you shall conquer’: Catholicism and Americanism in the Church’s Mobilization for World War II.” Texas A&M University Annual Graduate History Conference “Conflicts and Resolutions,” College Station, TX. March 23-24, 2018.

 

2017

 

Declined. Selected Participant. “Fighting for the Catholic Soul of America: Dilemmas and Peculiarities of U.S. Catholic Mobilization in World War II.” European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference. Oslo (Norway). September 6-9, 2017.

Invited Talks and Workshops

2021

Invited Speaker. “Roman Arguments for the Nation Under God: The US Catholic Church from Everson Through Engel. Freedom of Religion Seminar, Notre Dame Law School. October 25, 2021.

 

2020

Invited Speaker. “Roman Arguments for the Nation Under God:

The US Catholic Church from Everson Through Engel.” Church, State, and Society Colloquium, Notre Dame Law School. February 24, 2020.

 

2019

Invited Presenter. “Roman Arguments for the Nation Under God: Cardinal Spellman and the US Church from Everson through Engel (1947-1962).” 10th Annual Law and Religion Roundtable. Toronto (Canada). June 20-21, 2019.

 

2018

Invited Presenter. “‘America Fights for God-Given Rights:’ A Catholic Reading of American Freedoms in World War II.” 9th Annual Law and Religion Roundtable. Philadelphia. June 21-22, 2018.

2020, Spring

Teaching Assistant, “Catholicism Confronts Modernity.” (Prof. Sarah E. Shortall)

Grading, Discussion Facilitation, Office Hours, Online Teaching

Lecturing: - “A Global Church: Decolonization” April 21, 2020 (Online).

                  - “The Church and Fascism” February 20, 2020 (In-Person).

 

2019, Fall

Teaching Assistant, “History of Global Catholicism.” (Prof. John T. McGreevy)

Grading, Discussion Group Leading, Assignment Co-Designing, Office Hours

 

2019, Spring

Teaching Assistant, “History of Modern Africa.” (Prof. Paul Ocobock)

Grading, Discussion Group Leading, Office Hours

 

2018, Fall

Teaching Assistant, “The New American Nation, 1787-1840” (Prof. James M. Lundberg)

Grading, Discussion Facilitation, Office Hours

Lecturing: - “The Problem of American Religion,” November 6-8, 2018.

2021-present

Participant. International Research Project “Occidentes. Horizons and Projects of Civilization in the Church of Pius XII.” Co-Sponsored by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan (Italy); Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (Italy); University of Navarra (Spain); Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon (Portugal). https://occidentes.hypotheses.org

 

2020-present

Planning Committee Member. Conference “Global Religion and American World-Making.” University of Notre Dame. April 8-9, 2022.

 

2019

Steering Committee Member. Conference “Global History and Catholicism.” University of Notre Dame. April 4-6, 2019.

 

2018-2020

Co-Director. Colloquium of Religion and History. University of Notre Dame.

Organizing and leading a weekly workshop attended by faculty, graduate students, and guest presenters working on any topic in religious history.

 

Native or near-native fluency

 

Italian, English

Reading comprehension

 

French, German, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek

 

Elementary knowledge

Russian

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Historical Association

American Catholic Historical Association