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American Culture Studies
The American Culture Studies, a multidisciplinary program within Arts and Sciences, offers a network of expertise on a broad range of American social, political and cultural issues. Well-regarded nationally, the Washington University program extends its focus beyond the usual American studies axis of literature and history, stressing a broader approach that more fully incorporates the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The program includes faculty from every school on campus, including engineering, architecture, art and medicine. Other faculty come from such areas as anthropology, architecture, biology, economics, film, history, law, philosophy, psychology, social work and women's studies.
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Obama shaping a different world
Historian finds 'profound' difference between President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and those awarded to Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt
Oct. 9,
2009 --
An historian of politics and American institutions at Washington University in St. Louis says that there is a "profound" difference between the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama and ones to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. And it has nothing to do with the fact that President Obama is only eight months into his first term as president and Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson were both near the end of their second terms when they received theirs, says Peter J. Kastor, Ph.D., an associate professor of history and of American culture studies in Arts & Sciences.
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A tale of two artists
A Challenge to Democracy explores legacy of Japanese internment camps
Sept. 17,
2009 --
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| Ansel Adams, Smiling Girl (Oriental Type), 1943 |
In the 1930s, the photographer Ansel Adams struck up a friendship with California painter Chiura Obata. Yet the arrival of World War II would set these two celebrated artists on radically divergent paths — paths that would, in very different ways, lead both to the now-infamous "war relocation centers" at which the U.S. government forcibly interred approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans. Next month their sons, Michael Adams and Gyo Obata, will explore the impact of internment on their respective families in a public dialog at Washington University.
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Graduate students tackle tough urban problems
Alumni create socially conscious fellowship program
April 9,
2009 -- Acting on a strong commitment to social justice forged while students here in the late 1960s, Washington University graduates are giving back to their campus community through the "Birds of Passage" fellowship, which will strengthen University ties with the St. Louis region while providing field experience for socially conscious graduate students.
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| Faculty Experts: |
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Peter J. Kastor
Associate Professor of History in Arts & Sciences
Expertise: The American presidency, role of the vice president, American political institutions, the Founding Fathers, federal governance and governing foreign peoples, American foreign policy in 19th century, early American republic, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-7663
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pjkastor@wustl.edu
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Iver Bernstein
Professor of History in Arts & Sciences
He is the author of "The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War," Oxford University Press. The 1990 book is considered the definite authority on this time in American history. Bernstein was awarded the George Washington Eggleston ...
Expertise: 19th-century U.S. history, Civil War, Reconstruction, American political culture
Direct contact: (314) 935-5401
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icbernst@wustl.edu
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Howard Brick
Professor of History in Arts & Sciences
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| Brick |
Brick is an expert on the history of the United States since 1865, including a special focus on the history of labor, socialist and radical protest movements. His interests include U.S. intellectual, cultural, social and political history. He has written extensively about the relationship of capitalism ...
Expertise: protest movements, anti-war demonstrations, 20th-century America, history of labor, socialist and radical movements, disruptive protest since the 1930s, American intellectual, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-4251
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hbrick@wustl.edu
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Gerald L. Early
Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters
Early is a noted essayist and American culture critic. A professor of English, of African & African American studies and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences, Early is the author of several books, including The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American ...
Expertise: American literature, African-American culture 1940-1960, Afro-American autobiography, non-fiction prose, baseball, jazz music, prizefighting, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-5576
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glearly@wustl.edu
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Randall Calvert
Thomas F. Eagleton University Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science in Arts & Sciences
Calvert, a specialist in American politics and in positive political theory, joined the faculty as a professor of political science in October 1999. He also taught at WUSTL as assistant professor from 1979-1985 and as associate professor from 1985-87. In 1984-85, he was a postdoctoral fellow in political ...
Expertise: constitutional politics, legislative politics, political communication, electoral politics, game theory
Direct contact: (314) 935-5846
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calvert@artsci.wustl.edu
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Analysis: Obama tries evenhanded approach
Associated Press
and 51 others
June 8,
2009 -- Nancy Benac reports on Obama's Cairo speech in which he tried to explain the American mindset to Muslims and the world of Islam to Americans. Various experts comment on the speech, including WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields.
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Flu control tests Obama balancing skills
Associated Press
and 47 others
May 4,
2009 -- When it comes to swine flu, Obama is trying to strike the right balance between protecting public and economic health. That's resulted in some doublespeak and spin, evidence of the inextricable ties between a looming epidemic and a listing economy. Includes comments by WUSTL American culture studies director Wayne Fields, who is an expert on presidential rhetoric.
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Under Obama, 'war on terror' catchphrase fading
Associated Press
and 18 others
Feb. 2,
2009 -- The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words. The catchphrase burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is fading away, slowly if not deliberately being replaced by a new administration bent on repairing the U.S. image among Muslim nations. Includes comments by WUSTL English and American culture studies professor Wayne Fields, who is an expert on presidential rhetoric.
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A moment in history: The American story renewed
Associated Press
and 32 others
Jan. 21,
2009 -- WUSTL cultural historian Peter Kastor comments on Obama's place in America's history.
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Obama's speech a quiet call to arms for Americans
Associated Press
and 37 others
Jan. 21,
2009 -- Barack Obama used his inaugural address Tuesday to sketch a portrait of the nation as it is, and as it should be. Includes comments by WUSTL presidential rhetoric expert Wayne Fields.
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