Dr. Coburn is a Professor Emerita in Religious Studies. Dr. Coburn has published two books on American religious history and women’s history, including Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920 (University of North Carolina Press, 1999). Researching and publishing over three decades on the topics of Catholic sisters, religious history, and peace and justice, Professor Coburn has published numerous articles, essays, and book reviews, and presented over 40 papers at national and international venues.
Dr. Coburn also worked as a consultant for four documentary filmmakers on the topic of American sisters and social justice, and served as a historian consultant for the PBS film: Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change. Additionally, she consulted on the exhibit: Women of Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Her most recent research and writing, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, is the result of a four-year grant project designing, consulting, and evaluating the work on Cultural Diversity and Conflict Management by Catholic sisters on five continents. Her most recent article “Crossing Boundaries and Cultural Barriers: Catholic Sisters, Social Justice and Transnationalism,” American Catholic Studies (Spring 2021), discusses the multiple narratives of Catholic sisters’ ministries and their transformational influence from institution building, to social justice, and their transnational impact in the 21st century.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Mother Theodore Guerin Research Grant (2025), Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame
Distinguished Historian Award (2016), the Conference on the History of Women Religious
First Place Award for Best Scholarly Article, awarded by the 2016 National Catholic Press Association, for the essay “Ahead of its Time . . . Or, Right on Time? The Role of the Sister Formation Conference for American Women Religious”
Honored for most read article of 2015 in Global Sisters Report, “The Selma Effect: Catholic Sisters and Social Justice Fifty Years On”
Loyola University, Women and Leadership Summer Fellowship (2010)
Distinguished Scholar Award, Avila University (2008)
Research Grant, University of Louisville Institute (2004 and 2001-02)
Coolidge Scholar: Association of Religious & Intellectual Life
NEH Seminar: Binghamton University (1996)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/CONSULTANCIES
Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920 (co-authored with Martha Smith). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. (Received the “Distinguished Book Award” from the Conference on the History of Women Religious, 2001.)
Life at Four Corners: Religion, Gender and Education in a German-Lutheran Community, 1868-1945. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1992.
Published articles in the Journal of Social History; Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies; U.S. Catholic Historian; Great Plains Quarterly; Kansas History; America; American Franciscan Symposium Institute Papers; Peace and Change: A Journal of Peace Research (online); Journal of Health and Human Experience; and American Catholic Studies.
Presented original research at the following conferences: American Academy of Religion; Berkshire Conference of Women Historians; American Historical Association; Organization of American Historians; National Women’s Studies Association; Social Science History Association; Western Association of Women Historians; History of Education Society; American Catholic Historical Society; Peace and Justice Studies Association; Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism; African Development Studies – University of Nairobi, Kenya; Western Historical Society; Conference on the History of Women Religious; and the German-American Studies Association.
Published Book Reviews and/or Critiqued Manuscripts for: Journal of Women’s History, American Historical Review, Journal of American History, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, American Studies, History of Education Quarterly, American Jewish History, American Catholic Studies, Western Historical Quarterly, National Women’s Studies Association Journal, including eight university presses and the United States Institute of Peace Press.
Historian Consultant for Scholarly Websites and documentary films: Women and Social Movements in the U.S.: 1600-2000; Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change (PBS film, 2007); Spirit of Providence (documentary, 2007); Band of Sisters (documentary, 2012); Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America (national traveling exhibit, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.); and historical consultant for the Sisters of St. John of God (Ireland). Collaborative and Consultant historian for multiple archives focused on U.S. women religious, including Women Religious Archives Collaborative (Cleveland, OH) and Heritage Archives and Research Center (South Bend, IN).