The histories and cultures of the changing United States

American Studies Program

The American Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary engagement with what America means in the United States and in a global context. Faculty encourage students to look at the meaning and reality of the evolving United States as a question still in need of answering and as an experiment still in process, not as a dream fully realized. We use multiple perspectives and methodologies and require that students synthesize knowledge in ways that develop the skills needed for rigorous, complex analysis.

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American Studies News

Colorful interior of a chapel with a vaulted ceiling; people sit in the pews facing a person speaking at the front

In Praise of Sage Chapel, East Hill’s beloved house of worship

Built in an era when the University was under fire for being nonsectarian, it offers respite from a bustling campus.

Nick Salvatore, ‘one of our foremost historians,’ dies at 82

Salvatore taught at the ILR School and in the American Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences for 36 years, retiring in 2017 as the Maurice and Hinda Neufeld Founders Emeritus Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Two people sitting at a table, reading in a room full of books on shelves; the books are reflected on the surface of the table, creating a sense of immersion

Your December 2025 reads

This month’s featured titles include fiction from A&S alum Thomas Pynchon ’59, an award-winning poetry collection and a study of a small town.

Nexus Scholar alumni profile: Nnenna Ochuru ’25

"I want to further study the politicalization of education."

books in a library with computers on table

Combining humanities and tech for research gains

An interdisciplinary project is sparking collaborations among those interested in digital approaches to the study of history, languages and culture.

Historian to explore state of American sports in 2025 Seymour Lecture

Author and historian Kevin Baker will examine the paradox at the heart of modern American sports: while there are more games and sports than ever before, access has become increasingly limited and costly.

Person speaking at a lecturn with a black and white photograph displayed behind

TCAM brunch highlight’s women’s history at Cornell

Cornell historian Corey Earle shared stories of remarkable women throughout Cornell’s history during an Oct. 25 brunch as part of the Trustee Council Alumni Meeting.

Civil War still haunts American attitudes toward democracy

A new book by Shirley Samuels examines the story behind today’s divided America in literature and art created during and soon after the Civil War.

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Student Spotlight: Claudia León

American Studies major, Claudia León co-curated "Social Fabric: Land, Labor, and the World the Textile Industry Created," which was at Kroch Library through September 2023.

When asked about the American Studies major, León stated, "I don’t think I can overstate the impact (AMST/HIST 1802) had on me — it introduced me to an entire history, people looking at artwork partially my own, that I had never learned in either the U.S. or Puerto Rican education systems. Learning histories that are deliberately suppressed also helped me reframe and re-evaluate the histories I had been taught, which piqued my interest in historiography while igniting a desire to further explore my Puerto Rican history."

Click here to read more about Claudia.