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

From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields

"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."

Mohawk community newspaper founder to give Kops Lecture

Kenneth Atsenhaienton Deer, founder and former editor of The Eastern Door newspaper, will be the featured speaker at the 2024 Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press Lecture, Sept. 10.

New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’

Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.

SEG grants fund summer internships, research projects

The grants help pay for housing, food, transportation and other expenses for students with minimally-paid or unpaid summer internships or positions.

Alum’s Nonprofit Promotes Indigenous Sisterhood

Michelle Schenandoah ’99 founded Rematriation to empower Indigenous people and raise global awareness about Indigenous knowledge as viable ways to address global challenges.

Nexus Scholars study climate change inequality and infant language learning

The program provides undergraduates with summer opportunities to conduct research with and be mentored by faculty from across the college.

The cascading effect of a 19th-century professorship

Many generations of Sage professors have established a lasting legacy in Cornell’s history and have deeply influenced the study of philosophy and psychology worldwide.

New Book Chronicles Cornell’s International Impact

In "Beyond Borders," more than four dozen authors – many from A&S – contribute to an overview of the university’s "global dimensions."

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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.