About Us
Source: https://americanstudies.cornell.edu/about-us Parent: https://americanstudies.cornell.edu/undergraduate-minor
Interdisciplinary engagement with what America means
About Us
The Program in American Studies offers an interdisciplinary engagement with what America means in the United States and in a global context. Faculty encourage students to look at the meaning and reality of the evolving United States as a question still in need of answering and as an experiment still in process, not as a dream fully realized. We use multiple perspectives and methodologies and require that students synthesize knowledge in ways that develop the skills needed for rigorous, complex analysis.
| Giving to the American Studies Program Unrestricted gifts, no matter what the amount, help support every facet of the American Studies Program. Gifts may also be designated to support a specific area of the program’s activities. Endowments provide assurance that funding will be available in perpetuity to support the program. You can make a gift online at Cornell’s Alumni, Parents & Friends pageor send a check payable to “Cornell University” (Memo: American Studies Program) to: Cornell University Box 37334 Boone, IA 50037-0334 | American Studies Graduates at Commencement |
American Studies News
CAU Summer Courses: From wine pairings to town-gown history
2/06/2026
Registration is now open for the two sessions of weeklong offerings, with the option to stay in a newly renovated Balch Hall
In Praise of Sage Chapel, East Hill’s beloved house of worship
1/15/2026
Built in an era when the University was under fire for being nonsectarian, it offers respite from a bustling campus.
Nick Salvatore, ‘one of our foremost historians,’ dies at 82
12/12/2025
Salvatore taught at the ILR School and in the American Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences for 36 years, retiring in 2017 as the Maurice and Hinda Neufeld Founders Emeritus Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Your December 2025 reads
12/12/2025
This month’s featured titles include fiction from A&S alum Thomas Pynchon ’59, an award-winning poetry collection and a study of a small town.
Nexus Scholar alumni profile: Nnenna Ochuru ’25
11/21/2025
"I want to further study the politicalization of education."
Combining humanities and tech for research gains
11/07/2025
An interdisciplinary project is sparking collaborations among those interested in digital approaches to the study of history, languages and culture.
Historian to explore state of American sports in 2025 Seymour Lecture
11/04/2025
Author and historian Kevin Baker will examine the paradox at the heart of modern American sports: while there are more games and sports than ever before, access has become increasingly limited and costly.
TCAM brunch highlight’s women’s history at Cornell
10/28/2025
Cornell historian Corey Earle shared stories of remarkable women throughout Cornell’s history during an Oct. 25 brunch as part of the Trustee Council Alumni Meeting.
Alumni Connections: Megan Zhang '16
Megan Zhang was an American Studies major who also took a premed curriculum:
"My American studies major gave me a unique background during med school interviews, and was definitely a conversation starter. It makes you a much more competent person in dealing with people who have different backgrounds than yourself. I appreciate the confidence it gives me to ask people about their side of the story, because there’s always another side of the story.”
After graduating, Megan spent a gap year working with families at a women’s and children’s shelter outside of Boston has opened her eyes to the diversity of experiences and situations that can lead someone to become homeless.