Degree Programs Offered: Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy

Director of Graduate Programs: Robert W. Snyder, Graduate Program in American Studies, 243 Conklin Hall, 175 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102 (973-353-1886)

Website: http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/americanstudies

Participating Faculty:

Frances Bartkowski, FAS-N; Ph.D., Iowa
Comparative literature; 20th-century French and American narrative; feminist theory

Sherri-Ann P. Butterfield, FAS-N; Ph.D., Michigan
Race and ethnicity; immigration; urban education; identity development and culture; urban sociology

Susan Lisa Carruthers, FAS-N; Ph.D., Leeds (UK)
U.S. foreign relations; media history; comparative colonial history

Kimberly DaCosta Holton, FAS-N; Ph.D., Northwestern
Performance studies; migration studies; urban festivity; ethnography and oral history

Belinda Edmondson, FAS-N; Ph.D., Northwestern
Caribbean and other African diaspora literatures; postcolonial theory; feminist theory; popular culture

Ruth Feldstein, FAS-N; Ph.D., Brown
U.S. history, with focus on 20th-century culture and politics; women's and gender history; African-American history

Barbara Foley, FAS-N; Ph.D., Chicago
African-American literature; U.S. literary radicalism; Marxist literary theory

H. Bruce Franklin, FAS-N; Ph.D., Stanford
Vietnam and America; crime and punishment in America; science fiction, technology, and society; the American environment

David Hoddeson, FAS-N; Ph.D., New York
Modernism

John Howland, FAS-N; Ph.D., Stanford
Jazz studies; pre-1960 popular music; American discourses on race and class; music in media

Elizabeth Hull, FAS-N; Ph.D., New School for Social Research
Constitutional politics; American government

Jyl Josephson, FAS-N; Ph.D., Maryland
Political theory; women and politics

Jamie Lew, FAS-N; Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia
Race and ethnic relations; urban education and policy; immigration and international migration; comparative and international education

Neil M. Maher, FAS-N; Ph.D., New York
Twentieth-century U.S. history; environmental history; political history; urban history; landscape studies

Lewis Porter, FAS-N; Ph.D., Brandeis
All aspects of jazz culture, history, and performance; professional jazz pianist

Byron E. Price, FAS-N; Ph.D., Mississippi
Contemporary literature and art; vernacular visual culture

Tim Raphael, FAS-N; Ph.D., Northwestern
Contemporary theater, performance, and cultural studies; politics as performance; community-based theater

Charles Russell, FAS-N; Ph.D., Cornell
Contemporary literature and art; vernacular visual culture

Alan R. Sadovnik, FAS-N; Ph.D., New York
Sociology of education; urban educational reform and improvement; history of progressive education

Beryl Satter, FAS-N; Ph.D., Yale
Post-Civil War U.S. history; women's history; cultural and intellectual history; urban history

Mary Segers, FAS-N; Ph.D., Columbia
Poitical philosophy and theory; religion and politics; ethical issues and public policy

Mara Sidney, FAS-N; Ph.D., Colorado
Urban politics; public policy; race/ethnicity and politics

Robert W. Snyder, FAS-N; Ph.D., New York
Urban history; journalism; public history; U.S. social and cultural history

Paul Sternberger, FAS-N; Ph.D., Columbia
American art; history of photography; history of design

Ian Watson, FAS-N; Ph.D., New York
Performance studies; intercultural performance; directing (theory and practice); 20th-century theater; performance training; performance in media and politics

The graduate program in American studies at Rutgers-Newark is a multidisciplinary program, offering both the master's (M.A.) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees and drawing upon the scholarly expertise of faculty members from the humanities, social sciences, and arts departments on the Newark Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The program focuses on six interdisciplinary fields that are central to understanding American culture and are especially vital sources of contemporary scholarship:

race, ethnicity, and modern society
urban cultures
cultural history and artistic production 
the United States within a global context
the operations of social institutions
women's and gender studies

In addition, the graduate program is distinguished by its commitment to advancing students' active engagement in the fields of public scholarship. All our students, whether they are preparing for careers in the academy or the public sector, are asked to consider the diverse audiences their scholarship can serve and the many forms in which the fruits of their research can be disseminated.

All students are required to earn 3 credits in public humanities in a research or reading seminar, internship, or independent study. Students are encouraged to incorporate some work in public scholarship into their academic program, either by engaging in an "applied" or public project, by working with a public institution, or by participating in the several public programs developed annually by the institutes, centers, and academic departments on the Rutgers–Newark Campus.

We welcome applications from current students who wish to pursue a career within the academy or the public sector, as well as from engaged professionals in the field who seek to strengthen their scholarly and career opportunities.