Directing American Studies through Late-Stage American Empire

Session Submission Type: Non-Paper Session: Professional Development Format

Abstract

As we creep closer to the end of the U.S. empire and as conservative politics deepens its suspicion of higher education, the institutions in which many of us work are becoming more and more hostile towards American Studies departments, programs, and centers. Not only are administrators and governing bodies cutting budgets and eliminating tenure-track positions but are also calling into question the value of the knowledge we produce and characterizing our dissent as dangerous. As American Studies departments, programs, and centers navigate the forces of fascism and authoritarianism that are reshaping the landscape of higher education, we might benefit from turning to scholars and administrators in our field who have been figuring out how to exist and thrive in conservative states and institutions for quite some time. These colleagues might have something to offer those who, at this particular moment of late-stage American empire, find themselves navigating new institutional suspicions and pressures. This roundtable brings together individuals who have forged creative paths for their American Studies departments, programs, and centers to pursue at their institutions.

Sub Unit

• Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association

Chair

• Jamin C Rowan, Brigham Young University-Provo

Panelists

• Deborah E Whaley, University of Kansas

• Peter Cajka, University of Notre Dame

• Emily Lutenski, Appalachian State University

Biographical Information

Jamin Rowan is the American Studies program director and associate professor of English at Brigham Young University. During his time as program director, he has made significant structural changes to the American Studies program to improve its educational offerings in ways that align with the university's mission. Dr. Rowan specializes in U.S. literature since 1865, with a particular focus on urban literature and culture, and the environmental humanities. He is the author of The Sociable City: An American Intellectual Tradition (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017) and articles in venues ranging from American Literature to the Journal of Urban History to the Journal of Transformative Education. His current research focuses on the ways in which culture makers have turned to the urban landscape to make sense of the causes and consequences of climate change.