AMST Student Feature: Madeline Rosenberg

Senior Madeline Rosenberg applied to Cornell with the intention of majoring in History. After experimenting with different classes in the College of Arts & Sciences, she realized that a double major in History and American Studies along with an English minor best fit her interests. 

“I’m also interested in public policy related things and literature and that is all encompassed in the American Studies major, so it’s a really nice complement to history for me,” Rosenberg reflects. 

Through this major, she was able to learn from Professor Tamika Nunley who taught Slavery and Gender in the Atlantic World, also cross listed with History and what Rosenberg describes as her favorite class. 

“One of the main takeaways I’ve had from just being an American Studies double major is not only studying American history and culture and literature but also thinking about how we study it. That class really transformed the way I think about how we study history and how we talk about history.”

“It was a really important class for me to think about the discipline of history and how the current politics of the United States impacts the way scholars interact with historical material,” she adds. 

Rosenberg highlights the annual Kops lecture, which she describes as one of her other favorite experiences as part of the AMST program. She even recalls attending the fall 2021 event with Nikole Hannah-Jones, who signed a copy of The Cornell Daily Sun, where Rosenberg serves as Senior Editor.

As Rosenberg wrote articles, she soon realized she was also crafting her passion in journalism. Holding positions that include News Department writer, Assistant News Editor, Managing Editor, and now Senior Editor, she attributes much of her understanding of Cornell to The Sun. 

“Working for The Sun has really shaped the way I understand the University and has allowed me to have a space to ask questions about the history of the University but also contemporary debates and problems that are still happening at Cornell,” she acknowledges. 

Rosenberg was able to utilize her experiences as part of the AMST program and Sun this past summer as an intern at The American Prospect, a progressive public policy magazine based in Washington D.C. 

“Having the American Studies background definitely gave me important policy context. That experience gave me a window into how the editorial process works in the national newsroom,” she affirms. 

Rosenberg accredits her knowledge of different disciplines to the AMST major, referencing maritime literature, the carceral state, and African American studies she was exposed to throughout her years at Cornell. 

In her last year at Cornell, Rosenberg is currently applying to jobs in journalism.

She hopes that prospective AMST majors choose this path in order to be exposed to “a wide range of disciplines within a single major.”

 

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