The American Studies Association (ASA) is a scholarly organization founded in 1951. It is the oldest scholarly organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of U.S. culture and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. The ASA works to promote meaningful dialogue about the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, throughout the U.S. and across the globe. Its purpose is to support scholars and scholarship committed to original research, innovative and effective teaching, critical thinking, and public discussion and debate. The ASA consists of almost 5,000 individual members along with 2,200 library and other institutional subscribers. It publishes the journal ''

American Quarterly ''American Quarterly'' is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Studies Association. The journal covers topics of both domestic and international concern in the United States and is considered a leading resource in the ...

'' at

Johns Hopkins University Press The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

. The concerns and activities of the organization are international in scope.

History

The American Studies Association was founded for purposes of :the promotion of the study of American culture through the encouragement of research, teaching, publication, the strengthening of relations among persons and institutions in this country and abroad devoted to such studies, and the broadening of knowledge among the general public about American culture in all its diversity and complexity.

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

departments, programs, and centers exist around the world.

Officers and governance

Past Presidents of the ASA include

Carl Bode Carl Bode (1911–1993) was an author, poet, professor of English and American Studies at the University of Maryland, and officer of several literary and cultural organizations. He wrote and edited over 30 books, including ''The American Lyceum'', ...

(1951–52),

Daniel J. Boorstin Daniel Joseph Boorstin (October 1, 1914 – February 28, 2004) was an American historian at the University of Chicago who wrote on many topics in American and world history. He was appointed the twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress in ...

(1969),

Daniel Aaron Daniel Aaron (August 4, 1912 – April 30, 2016) was an American writer and academic who helped found the Library of America.Cromie, William J., Ken Gewertz, Corydon Ireland, and Alvin Powell"Honorary degrees awarded at Commencement's Morning Ex ...

(1972–73),

William H. Goetzmann William Harry Goetzmann (July 20, 1930 – September 7, 2010) was an American historian and emeritus professor in the American Studies and American Civilization Programs at the University of Texas at Austin. He attended Yale University as a graduate ...

(1974–75),

Janice Radway Janice Radway (born January 29, 1949) is an American literary and cultural studies scholar. Education Radway holds a BA from Michigan State University, 1971, and an MA from State University of New York, Stony Brook, 1972. She earned her PhD from M ...

(1998–99). Recent presidents have included: Curis Marez,

Lisa Duggan Lisa Duggan () is Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Duggan was president of the American Studies Association from 2014 to 2015, presiding over the annual conference on the theme of "The Fun and the Fury: New Diale ...

David Roediger David R. Roediger (born July 13, 1952) is the Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Kansas, where he has been since the fall of 2014. Previously, he was an American Kendrick C. Babcock Professor o ...

, Robert Warrior, Kandice Chuh,

Roderick Ferguson Roderick Ferguson is Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and American Studies at Yale University. He was previously professor of African American and Gender and Women's Studies in the African American Studies Department at the Univer ...

, and

Scott Kurashige Scott Kurashige is Professor and Chair of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies at Texas Christian University. He is author of ''The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles'' (2008) and ''The ...

(2019-2020).

Membership

Membership is available to any individual with an interest in the study of American culture. Colleges, universities, museums, foundations, societies and other institutions can also be members of the ASA.

Chapters

The ASA includes thirteen chapters: *The American Studies Association of Texas *The California American Studies Association *The Chesapeake American Studies Association *The Eastern American Studies Association *The Great Lakes American Studies Association *The Hawaii American Studies Association *The Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association *The Mid-America American Studies Association *The New England American Studies Association *The New York Metro American Studies Association *The Pacific Northwest American Studies Association *The Rocky Mountain American Studies Association *The Southern American Studies Association

Publications

The ASA regularly produces several publications including: *The ''

'' (AQ): Published in March, June, September, and December, the Journal's essays engage with important issues in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

. It is available online to ASA members and through

Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 university ...

and

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

. *''The ASA E-Newsletter'': Published quarterly, this newsletter provides information on programs, publications and opportunities relevant to ASA members, while aiming to promote a broader awareness of the challenges facing the American Studies Community. *'' The Encyclopedia of American Studies'': An online database featuring over 750 searchable articles. The ASA claims that the "''Encyclopedia of American Studies'' is the leading reference work for the field."

Annual meetings

The annual ASA meeting features speakers and workshops connected to a broad theme important to the field. The 2022 meeting will be held from November 3-6 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

under the theme of "The Roof is on Fire." Recent meetings have been held in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

;

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

;

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

;

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

;

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

;

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

;

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

;

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Prizes and grants

The ASA awards a number of prizes and grants including: *

Constance Rourke Constance Mayfield Rourke (November 14, 1885 – March 29, 1941) was an American author and educator. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Sorbonne and Vassar College. She taught at Vassar from 1910 to 1915. She died in Grand Rapids, ...

Prize for the best article in ''American Quarterly'' *Wise-Susman Prize for the best student paper at the annual meeting *Yasuo Sakakibara Prize for the best paper presented by a scholar at the annual meeting *

Ralph Henry Gabriel Ralph Henry Gabriel (April 29, 1890 – April 25, 1987) was an American historian. He held the Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University and was the founding father of the American Studies Association. Early life and education ...

Prize for the best dissertation in American Studies *

Lora Romero Lora is a female given name and family name in the Spanish language of French origin meaning from Lorraine, a region in Northeastern France. As a given name, Lora may also be a variant of Laura or derived from an Italian hypocoristic of either El ...

First Book Publication Prize *

John Hope Franklin John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Histo ...

Best Book Publication Prize *

Angela Y. Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

Prize for public scholarship *Mary C. Turpie Prize for teaching, advising and program development in American Studies *Carl Bode-

Norman Holmes Pearson Norman Holmes Pearson (April 13, 1909 – November 5, 1975) was an American academic at Yale University, and a prominent counterintelligence agent during World War II. As a specialist on American literature and department chairman at Yale Univer ...

Prize for outstanding contributions to American Studies.

Boycott of Israeli academic institutions

In December 2013, members of ASA voted to join the boycott of all Israeli educational institutions. It was the first time a major American scholarly organization to undertake a boycott of Israel. ASA was strongly criticized and four ASA members, aided by the pro-Israeli

Brandeis Center The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) is a nonprofit organization founded by Kenneth L. Marcus in 2012 to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB is active on American campus ...

, even sued the organization. As of 2020, the boycott is ongoing.

References

External links

Native American and Indigenous Studies Association

Official site

Website of American QuarterlyKentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association Records, 1958-1998
Tennessee State Library and Archives. {{Authority control Educational organizations based in the United States