SLU American Studies Department

03/04/2026

Another alumni event this winter brought PhD Alum Melissa Ford back to St. Louis for the premiere of a play named for and based on her first book: A Brick and a Bible: Black Women's Radical Activism in the Midwest during the Great Depression. The play focuses on the 1933 Funsten Nutpickers' Strike led by Black women workers in St. Louis, and premiered to an enthusiastic audience, which included many SLU students and alumni. Dr. Ford met with current students before the play to talk about her current (third!) book project on the Scottsboro Mothers, and answer questions about dissertation, job markets, teaching, and life, the universe, and everything. She is shown here (second from the right in flowered dress) participating in a panel immediately following the premier with writers and directors. And she attended Heidi Ardizzone's seminar on Race and Citizenship in St. Louis to discuss her scholarship, St. Louis Black women's activism, and experience of seeing historical research turn into a musical. Organized by Bread and Roses, the play "A Brick and a Bible," the play continues its run at other locations.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/st-louis/article/Review-A-BRICK-AND-A-BIBLE-Sheds-Light-on-an-Important-Moment-in-St-Louis-Black-History-20260221

03/02/2026

We are catching up on posting about a busy first six weeks of the semester! On January 29th, we welcomed ABC News Anchor Linsey Davis and our MA alum John Krull for a public conversation about journalism and politics in the current moment. With support from the Office of Development and the College of Arts Sciences, our event brought almost 200 students, faculty, Saint Louis University Alumni and community members.

Many of you will recognize Linsey Davis from her evening reporting, and debate moderating. Some of you will also recognize John Krull from his time at SLU when Sr. Elizabeth Kolmer was chair.

01/24/2026

THIS THURSDAY!!! We hope to see many of you who are in the St. Louis area at our "Candid Conversations in Troubled Times" with American Studies MA alum John Krull and ABC News Anchor Linsey Davis. Reserve your (FREE) ticket at this link https://engage.slu.edu/register/linseydavis

01/07/2026

The Department of American Studies in co-sponsorship with the College of Arts and Sciences is excited to announce an upcoming event:

Candid Conversations in Troubled Times
Featuring ABC News Anchor Linsey Davis with American Studies alum John Krull

6:30pm January 29th
Anheuser-Busch Auditorium, Cook Hall
Entrance is free but online registration is required. (Link below.)

Linsey Davis anchors “ABC World News Tonight” and the Emmy Award-winning “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis.” She moderated the 2024 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris and has interviewed many of the world’s leading political and cultural figures. She has been the eyes and ears of the public at most of America’s biggest news stories over the past decade.

John Krull (MA, ’84) is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and is the publisher and active contributor to TheStatehouseFile.com, an award-winning news website powered by Franklin’s journalism students. His columns appear regularly in newspapers across the country.
Together, they will discuss Linsey Davis’s experiences and perspectives as a leading observer and analyst of American politics and culture.

If you are still in town or nearby, we would love to see you there!
https://engage.slu.edu/register/linseydavis

01/04/2026

Congratulations to American Studies PhD student Khalid Abdulqaadir for collaborating with African American Studies faculty and local author Vivian Gibson in producing a documentary film featuring interviews with former residents of Mill Creek Valley. This documentary premiered in St. Louis earlier this year and has since been screened on campus and at the Missouri History Museum . You can watch it here!

This is "Remembering Mill Creek: When we were There" by AGA Productions on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

12/01/2025

Interim Chair Heidi Ardizzone participated in the annual American Studies Association Conference on a panel discussing career pathways for PhD students. She/I also attended a panel featuring recent PhD grad Amelia Flood, who spoke on the topic of her dissertation: colonial identities and genealogies in the transitions of Danish Caribbean to the U.S. (now the U.S. Virgin Islands). I also ran into former SLU faculty and chair, Emily Lutenski! Emily was part of a panel on chairing interdisciplinary departments in the current political and economic moment; she is now the director of Women and Gender Studies at Appalachia State University.

11/16/2025

2025 marks 50 Years of American Studies BA at SLU!! We haven't been posting for a while, despite the student accomplishments and alumni news coming in. We will be catching up on some of the more recent ones shortly, but wanted to start by acknowledging this important anniversary for our department. Our major is still producing outstanding graduates, our minor is growing, our class sizes have expanded and interest in our classes has lead to offering our introductory course 2-3 times/year. Department faculty have worked hard, especially over the last 15 years, to build the major and minor and expand our course offerings and enrollment. We have some plans in the works to commemorate this 50th Anniversary and SLU American Studies BAs we celebrate. For now, some belated images from our Spring 2025 end of year celebrations. See captions for details!

06/05/2025

SLU recently spotlighted American Studies PhD alum Jody Sowell!

05/30/2025

Interested in study of different cultures in the United States? 🇺🇸

APPLY TODAY for SLU American Studies’ Post-Baccalaureate Certificate and M.A. Programs. Also, available part-time to local professionals.

Learn more and apply today at: https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/american-studies/index.php

The Graduate Programs provide a wide range of topics and interests such as U.S. cultural history, visual and material culture, religion and empire, urban studies, post-war culture, African American history and Indigenous studies, the American West, and St. Louis and the Midwest.

05/19/2025

We will be posting soon about end of year celebration, graduation, and some updates from alumni, faculty, and students. But the catastrophic tornado that hit St Louis has left many in our community without homes or dealing with damage, loss of power, and roads blocked by downed trees. The hardest hit areas in the northern city neighborhoods need the most support, especially as new storms are expected soon. So far our current students and faculty are only reporting minor damage and power outages. Please let us know if you need help!

Volunteers, supplies, and financial support are badly needed if you have the ability or means. In addition to official city efforts, organizations like Action St Louis are on the ground in the hardest hit areas.
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/tornado/index.cfm
https://actionstl.org/

04/28/2025

Friends, alumni, fans... please join current students and faculty in American Studies to celebrate the end of another academic year. Its been a particularly challenging year for many individuals and families in our circles, and higher education has been under more scrutiny and external pressure than ever. But as a colleague reminded me the other day: there is always also joy and we should always seek out and recognize and feel that joy. We have awards to award, accomplishments to take pride in, and a continuing, surviving and even thriving community of teachers, learners, and thinkers to celebrate.
Friday May 2nd 4-6pm with a brief awards ceremony at 5pm. Good food, good people. We hope to see many of you there.