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American Studies is an interdisciplinary program that provides opportunities for students to study American culture, society, identity, and politics by combining coursework in a wide variety of disciplines into a single major.

Department News

American Studies major Joanna Hejl ’20 has been named the University of Richmond’s first ever Beinecke Scholar. The scholarship provides recipients with $34,000 to support graduate studies in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. 

Countries where Recent Majors have Studied Abroad
of Core Courses Engage with the Richmond Community
Departments Represented by American Studies Core Faculty

Upcoming Events

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Faculty Highlights

  • Browder Awarded Grant
    Browder Awarded Grant

    Dr. Laura Browder, American Studies professor, along with UR colleagues was awarded grant support for the inter-campus collaborative project, "Participatory History and Archiving: An Initiative to Promote and Support Undergraduate Instruction and Project Outcomes in Community-Based Research and Archiving." Read More
  • Sackley Receives NEH Grant
    Sackley Receives NEH Grant

    Nicole Sackley, associate professor of history and American Studies, has received $6,000 in summer funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to advance her book project, which explores the history of cooperatives in the United States. Read more: http://bit.ly/Sackley-NEH-Grant
  • Herrera Published
    Herrera Published

    Patricia Herrera, associate professor of theatre, published Nuyorican Feminist Performance: From The Café to Hip Hop Theater (Michigan University Press). Nuyorican Feminist Performance examines the contributions of 1970s and ‘80s performeras and how they challenged the Café’s gender politics.
  • Sackley Awarded
    Sackley Awarded

    Nicole Sackley, associate professor of history and american studies, was awarded a $2,000 VFIC Mednick Memorial Fellowship for her project, Co-op Capitalism: Cooperatives, International Development, and American Visions of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century.
  • Sackley Awarded
    Sackley Awarded

    Nicole Sackley, associate professor of history and american studies, has been awarded a $50,000 American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowship for her project, Co-op Capitalism: Cooperatives, International Development, and American Visions of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century.
  • Sackley receives funding
    Sackley receives funding

    Nicole Sackley, associate professor of history and American Studies, received a $2,000 grant from the Friends of University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries for her new project, Co-op Capitalism: Cooperatives, International Development, and American Visions of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century.
  • Sackley Receive Rockefeller Funding
    Sackley Receive Rockefeller Funding
    Dr. Nicole Sackley has received a grant from the Rockefeller Archive Center for Mapping the Foundations: US Philanthropy in a Cold War World, 1947-1991, in partnership with Dr. Timothy Barney. This project also recently received $10,000 in start up funds from the Provost's CIE initiative.
  • Ayers elected to Colonial Williamsburg board
    Ayers elected to Colonial Williamsburg board

    Edward Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and president emeritus, was elected to the board of trustees for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
  • Winiarski New England Society Book Award
    Winiarski New England Society Book Award

    Religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been awarded a 2018 Book Award for nonfiction by The New England Society for his work, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.
  • Yellin Grant
    Yellin Grant History professor Eric Yellin received a grant from the Dirksen Congressional Center to research the political, cultural, and social meanings of Social Security after World War II.

Feature Stories

University of Richmond Professor Laura Browder Awarded Fulbright Grant to Study Civil Rights Activism in Demark
American Studies professor Laura Browder has been named a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, which is located in Scandinavia.
New Exhibition Celebrates History of Transportation in Richmond
University of Richmond students and faculty collected oral histories from GRTC operators, mechanics, and relatives as part of an ongoing project highlighting the importance of public transportation.
University of Richmond Awarded Grant Funding for Project Focusing on Importance of Public Transportation
The importance of public transportation is the central focus of a new grant-funded project led by American Studies professor Laura Browder and theatre professor Patricia Herrera.
New University of Richmond Mapping Project to Track Patterns and Global Impact of U.S. Philanthropy
Two University of Richmond professors, in collaboration with UR’s Digital Scholarship Lab, are developing a tool that will trace every international grant given by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations during the Cold War.
History in their own words
A new University Museums exhibit explores growing up in Civil Rights Richmond through stories of those who were there.
UR Students Tackle HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Documentary Drama
University of Richmond students will perform a documentary drama about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its disproportionate effect on people of color in the city of Richmond.
University of Richmond Professor Receives 2018 Book Award by The New England Society
University of Richmond religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been awarded a 2018 Book Award for nonfiction by The New England Society for his work, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.
University of Richmond senior awarded international Gilman scholarship to study public health in Amsterdam
University of Richmond senior Cherelle Cotton, of Hampton, Virginia, has received a Gilman scholarship to support her summer study abroad experience in Amsterdam.
University of Richmond and Armstrong High School students to perform docudrama about high school's history
University of Richmond and Armstrong High School students will take the stage to perform “The Spirit of Armstrong,” a documentary drama highlighting the history of Richmond’s Armstrong High School. The performance is April 19 at 6 p.m. in Armstrong High School’s auditorium.  
UR Downtown opens exhibition about the history of protest in RVA
The University of Richmond Downtown, will open a new exhibition titled “PROTEST! A Richmond History” as part of RVA First Fridays on April 6 at 5 p.m.
University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski awarded 2018 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy
University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski, who teaches in the Department of Religious Studies and the American Studies program, has won a 2018 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy for his book, “Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.”
University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski named as finalist for prestigious book award, the George Washington Prize
University of Richmond religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been named as a finalist for the 2018 George Washington Prize for his book, “Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.”
Experiencing a religious revolution
Douglas Winiarski explores how 18th century Americans experienced religion differently than previous generations.
Miranda Rosenblum, '18
Senior finds their calling as an LBGTQ advocate through a series of internships.
The Great War, Modernity, and Memory
SSIR class travels to France and Belgium to witness repercussions of First World War
Greetings from Richmond Exhibit
On the first day of class, the American Studies Capstone Seminar, taught by Nicole Sackley, associate professor of history and American studies, ga...
Students explored the This is Richmond, Virginia exhibition at The Valentine with Meg Hughes, curator of archives.

Resources

Digital America

Digital Scholarship Lab

Contact Us

Mailing address:
American Studies Program
Carole Weinstein International Center, Room 306
211 Richmond Way
University of Richmond, Virginia 23173

Phone: (804) 484-1471
Fax: (804) 484-1577

Program Coordinator: Dr. Lauren Tilton
Academic Administrative Assistant: Christina Quinones