
Amara Valerio ’24 advances on ‘American Idol’
The American Studies major nailed her March 12 audition, making a childhood wish come true.
/news/amara-valerio-24-advances-american-idolThe American Studies major nailed her March 12 audition, making a childhood wish come true.
/news/amara-valerio-24-advances-american-idolOn March 28, Andy Warner ’06, author of the memoir "Spring Rain" and several other books, will explore the power of graphic media to tell true stories.
/news/cornell-alum-speak-power-nonfiction-comics-21st-centuryLearn more about the classes that Lelani Gorham took to realize that the American Studies major is the perfect fit for her.
/news/amst-student-feature-lelani-gorhamCornell history maven Corey Earle ’07 is running a Twitter poll with 64 contenders—and you can vote.
/news/march-madness-contest-will-crown-top-fictional-alumLearn more about how senior Celia Shapiro is on track to complete double majors in American Studies and Government and triple minors in Inequality Studies; Crime, Prisons, Education and Justice; and Public Policy.
/news/amst-student-feature-celia-shapiroOn Thursday, March 16, join the Cornell community to make a difference for students on Cornell Giving Day.
/news/support-arts-sciences-giving-day-march-16-0Callista Wessells shares how she was able to incorporate her interests in law through her coursework and summers as a Cornell American Studies major.
/news/amst-student-feature-callista-wessellsJalen Desravines '23 shares his intersectional interests and how they tie in with American Studies.
/news/amst-student-feature-jalen-desravinesMadeline Rosenberg shares her journey and experience as part of the American Studies Program, allowing her to integrate her interests in public policy, literature, and journalism.
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On Oct. 17th, Cornell University’s Board of Trustees appointed Prof. Shirley Samuels as Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies.
This professorship, inaugurated by Prof. Glenn Altschuler in 1998, honors the Litwins’ passion for the study of literature, culture, and American heritage.
Earning her B.A, M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Samuels began her career as an Assistant Professor of English at Princeton University in 1985. In 1986, she started teaching in what is now Cornell’s Department of Literatures in English. After serving in different administrative roles, such as Chair of History of Art and the Flora Rose House Professor, in 2017, she was appointed Director of Undergraduate Studies for American Studies and in 2021 she became Director of American Studies.
Samuels will teach American Voices: Performing America (ENGL 1158) in the upcoming spring semester, which focuses on drama.
Samuels’ work extends beyond the scope of the classroom as she has written or edited multiple books such as Facing America: Iconography and the Civil War. Her current work in progress is titled “Haunted by the Civil War: Cultural Testimony in the Nineteenth-Century United States.”
“I’ve always worked at a boundary, or set of boundaries, that includes literature, politics, history, visual culture, photography,” she notes. Samuels’ focus on the Civil War involves noticing its similarity to the current political divide in the United States. “I have the sense of being haunted by the resurgence of polarization in the United States resembling the north south polarization during the Civil War.” In developing arguments about the nineteenth century she notices, “Not only the resistance to ending the practice of slavery but also the resistance to thinking about different ideologies in the United States. It seems that almost 200 years later, we’re still doing that,” she adds.
The professorship will be effective Jan 1, 2023
The launch of Social Fabric: Land, Labor, and the World the Textile Industry Created, which is part of a larger series of exhibits called Threads of History: Textiles at Cornell, highlights AMST senior Claudia León's work about marginalized garment workers throughout histories.
/news/claudia-leon-23-creates-display-case-cornell-exhibitAffirmative action still has a vital role to play for addressing the history of discrimination: perspective by Glenn Altschuler
/news/history-offers-best-argument-continuing-affirmative-actionThe Asian American Studies Program will hold a symposium with second director Gary Okihiro and other events this year.
/news/asian-american-studies-celebrates-35th-anniversaryDerrick Spires, Edward Baptist, and Gerard Aching help tell the story of the man born into slavery who became an advocate for African American freedom.
/news/words-battle-axes-professors-appear-frederick-douglass-filmThe internationally-renowned Indigenous Canadian Kaha:wi Dance Theatre will perform their poignant "The Mush Hole" at Cornell on Friday, Oct. 28.
/news/indigenous-dance-troupe-show-focuses-residential-schools"Healthy is not a neutral one-size-fits-all concept," says Adrienne Bitar, an expert in the history and culture of American food.
/news/whats-healthy-fda-tackles-notoriously-difficult-definitionProfessors Glenn Altschuler, PhD ’76, and Stuart Blumin take a deep dive into the borough once known as the "city of churches."
/news/book-explores-centuries-old-influence-protestant-brooklynThe AMST student series is a medium for past, present, and prospective students to learn about the experiences as part of the program. Take a read at what current undergraduates are doing with this major.
/news/amst-student-feature-maya-shanahanThe AMST student series is a medium for past, present, and prospective students to learn about the experiences as part of the program. Take a read at what current undergraduates are doing with this major.
/news/amst-student-feature-claudia-leonThe AMST student series is a medium for past, present, and prospective students to learn about the experiences as part of the program. Take a read at what current undergraduates are doing with this major.
/news/amst-student-feature-lauren-palmiterEditor Jane Juffer and contributor Jael Goldfine explain the inspiration and thought process of Millennial Feminism at Work
/news/interview-amst-affiliated-editor-and-contributor-millennial-feminism-work-jane-juffer-and-jaelJournalist Tristan Ahtone and historian Robert Lee will talk about how Indigenous land expropriated by the 1862 Morrill Act is the foundation of the land-grant university system in the 2022 Kops Lecture.
/news/reporters-discuss-history-land-grab-universities-press-freedom-lectureTamika Nunley promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure and named Sandler Family Faculty Fellow in the College of Arts & Sciences on July 1st, 2022.
/news/tamika-nunley-named-associate-professor-and-sandler-family-faculty-fellowKlarman Fellows pursue research in any discipline in the College, including natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and the creative arts as well as cross-disciplinary fields. The application deadline is October 14.
/news/opens-application-portal-klarman-postdoc-fellowshipsA&S faculty will lead many courses on campus and join educational vacations as part of Cornell Adult University.
/news/learn-travel-cornell-alumni-faculty-summerHistory shows that ethnic and racial diversity has proved to be renewal, not replacement, writes Glenn Altschuler in Washington Post commentary.
/news/great-replacement-theory-rises-again-ending-tragedyOriginally known as the Women’s Glee Club, the group will celebrate its centennial at Reunion ’22.
/news/university-chorus-makes-beautiful-musicSteeped in Big Red lore since childhood, they ponder their favorite artifacts, what Ezra would think of today’s University, and more.
/news/history-brothers-chat-evan-earle-02-ms-14-and-corey-earle-07Kathryn Stamm is a Literatures in English and American Studies major.
/news/i-learned-ask-questions-curiosity-rather-need-be-rightAshley Ramynke is an American studies major.
/news/i-saw-how-law-critical-ensuring-more-equitable-world-allThe inaugural RAD Public History Fellows have been digging deep into library archives and bringing their discoveries to light in creative ways – from social media posts to displays of artifacts and tours of library exhibits.
/news/student-librarian-partnership-makes-historyIshaan Jhaveri '17 M.Eng '18 and Anna Grace Lee '20 were named New York Times Newsroom Fellows for 2022-23.
/news/two-alumni-win-new-york-times-newsroom-fellowshipsAn Army combat medic veteran from a justice-involved family, Hodges has dedicated his academic study, campus leadership and social justice advocacy to understanding and offering alternatives to the current model of policing.
/news/john-f-kennedy-award-recipient-reimagines-public-safetyOn Cornell’s eighth Giving Day, held March 16, 15,905 alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends from more than 80 countries made gifts totaling a record-breaking $12,268,629.
/news/more-12m-donated-support-students-24-hoursJonathan Metzl, the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and the Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University is the speaker.
/news/vanderbilts-jonathan-metzl-deliver-krieger-lectureA&S student Jorge Defendini '22, a new member of Ithaca's Common Council, is focusing on environment and housing issues.
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Jorge Defendini '22 reflects on his interdisciplinary education as a Cornell student and Ithaca elected official.
Natalie Breitkopf '22 discusses how Cornell has allowed her to practice her different interests.
/news/natalie-breitkopf-22-reflects-her-involvement-cornells-american-studies-programGifts allow the College to fulfill its mission: preparing students to do the greatest good in the world.
/news/support-arts-sciences-giving-day-march-16With contributions from his family, former students and colleagues, the fund honoring Isaac Kramnick will support students beginning this fall.
/news/scholarship-honors-eminent-professor-and-university-citizenEvery semester, Cornell’s American Studies Program invites faculty members to bring scholars who can speak on behalf of a theme. Read more about this semester's lineup!
/news/american-studies-program-host-colloquium-series-featuring-cornell-graduatesWhat kind of content can you find an American Studies lecturer reading? We asked Adrienne Bitar, Lecturer in American Studies, to share a few comments about her favorite books at the moment. Here's what she had to say!
/news/amst-faculty-book-suggestions-lecturer-adrienne-bitar-editionProfessor Aaron Sachs discusses upcoming Rabinor lecture and passion for environmentalism.
/news/aaron-sachs-prof-history-and-american-studies-discusses-upcoming-rabinor-lecture-and-passionCornell will celebrate the birthday of alumna and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison MA ’55 from 3-5 p.m. Feb. 18 with a screening of the film “The Foreigner’s Home” (2017), followed by a roundtable discussion.
/news/cornell-celebrates-morrisons-birthday-screening-roundtableA&S faculty offer book and poetry recommendations for the new year.
/news/what-read-2022-faculty-weighSome of the 1,450 students who graduated in December share their transformational Cornell experiences.
/news/students-completing-their-studies-eye-futureA $5 million alumni gift will help to support doctoral students in humanities fields within the College of Arts & Sciences.
/news/alumni-gift-supports-doctoral-students-humanitiesThe program connects undergraduates in A&S with opportunities to work side by side on research with Cornell faculty from across the College.
/news/nexus-scholars-program-applications-now-openMolly O’Toole '09, this semester's Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow, shared career advice, political insights and anecdotes from her work and life during two recent talks.
/news/humanizing-immigration-issueAt this year’s Invitational Lecture for the Society for the Humanities, “Defining Democracy: How Black Print Culture Shaped America, Then and Now,” associate professor of literatures in English Derrick Spires will counter the racist notion that little to no Black print culture existed before the Civil War.
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