American Studies

Ph.D. Program Alumni

Ph.D. Program Alumni

Our graduates teach in college and university departments that range across the humanities and social sciences, as well as holding jobs in archives, museums, historical societies, and other cultural institutions. 

Below we list our graduates' first positions upon completion of the program, updated to reflect current positions when we know them. Alumni, please contact us with updates to your listed position (or other professional news you would like to share with the department).

2025

  • Bryant Brown

    Cheryl A. Wall Postdoctoral Associate in African American and African Diaspora Literary Studies, Department of English, Rutgers University

  • Allyson LaForge

    Abbott Lowell Cummings Postdoctoral Fellow in American Material Culture, American Studies Program, Boston University

  • Edwin Rodriguez

    Dissertation title: "Siempre Esperando: Technologies of Displacement in El Salvador and the DMV"

2024

  • Erin Aoyama

    Smithsonian Institute Fellow and Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Park Service

  • Samia Cohen

    Lecturer, Hunter College, LaGuardia Community College, and Brown University. Dissertation title: "Watershed Metropolis: The Providence River and Its Lifeworlds"

  • Thomas Dai

    Assistant Professor of English, University of Idaho

  • Kristen Iemma

    Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

  • Makana Kushi

    Assistant Professor of U.S. & Indigenous History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo History Department

  • Nicole Sintetos

    English Department Chair, Cate School

  • Mark Tseng-Putterman

    Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellow in Asian American Studies, University of Pennsylvania

2023

  • Gregory Hitch

    Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Lawrence University

  • Nell Lake

    Assistant Teaching Professor of English, Brown University

2022

  • Maggie Goddard

    Assistant Professor of Museum Studies, University of Kansas

  • Anni Pullagura

    Margaret and Terry Stent Associate Curator of American Art at the High Museum of Art (Atlanta, GA)

  • Julian Saporiti

    Independent musician and scholar. Dissertation title: "No-No Boy"

2021

2020

  • Virginia Thomas

    Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Art History, Providence College

  • Ida Yalzadeh

    Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

2019

  • Felicia Bevel

    Assistant Professor of History, University of North Florida

  • Sarah Brown

    Director, Northwestern University Women's Center

  • Suzanne Enzerink

    Assistant Professor of American Studies, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

  • Wen Jin

    Independent Scholar

  • Elizabeth Rule

    Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, American University

  • Elizabeth Wolfson

    Assistant Director of Campus Partnerships, Program in Public Scholarship, Washington University in St. Louis

2018

  • Emily Contois, PhD '18

    Associate Professor of Media Studies, University of Tulsa

  • Samuel Franklin, PhD '18

    Lecturer, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

  • Maria Hwang, PhD '18

    Assistant Professor, Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, Department of East Asian Studies, McGill University

  • Majida Kargbo, PhD ’18

    Director of Education, Office of Community Enrichment, Northwestern University

  • Daniel Platt, PhD ’18

    Assistant Professor, Department of Legal Studies, University of Illinois, Springfield

2017

  • Horace Ballard, PhD '17

    Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. Associate Curator of American Art at the Harvard Art Museums

  • Ashley Bowen, PhD '17

    Editor, AHA Perspectives, American Historical Association

  • Christopher Elias, PhD ’17

    Assistant Professor of American Studies at Carleton College

2016

  • Erin Curtis, PhD ’16

    Curator, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, CA

  • Alessa Dominguez, PhD ’16

    Culture Writer, BuzzFeed, New York, NY

  • Annette Rodriguez, PhD ’16

    Postdoctoral Research Scholar, American Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  • Pia Sahni, PhD ’16

    Independent Scholar, Writer, and Editor

  • Micah Salkind, PhD ’16

    Special Programs Manager for The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism

2015

  • Clarissa J. Ceglio, PhD ’15

    Associate Director of Research, Greenhouse Studios and Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities, University of Connecticut

  • Brent Akio Fujioka, PhD ’15

    Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Scholars Program at Colgate University

  • Elena L. Gonzales, PhD ’15

    Independent Scholar; Chair, Exhibitions Committee, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL

  • Sara Matthiesen, PhD ’15

    Assistant Professor of History and Women’s Studies, George Washington University

  • Robyn Schroeder, PhD ’15

    Assistant Director, National Institute of American History and Democracy, College of William and Mary

  • Colleen Marie Tripp, PhD ’15

    Assistant Professor of English, California State University, Northridge

2014

  • Thomas Chen, PhD ’14

    Software Developer, Envoy.com

  • Sean Dinces, PhD ’14

    Assistant Professor, History and Political Science, Long Beach City College

  • Heather Ruth Lee, PhD ’14

    Assistant Professor, History, NYU Shanghai

  • Miel Wilson, PhD ’14

    Faculty in English and Social Studies, Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, CA

2013

  • Jin Suk Bae, PhD ’13

    Postdoctoral research fellow, Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University, Seoul

  • Elizabeth Burbank-Gilb, PhD ’13

    History Teacher and Academic Support Specialist at Miss Hall’s School, Pittsfield, MA

  • Jessica Johnson, PhD ’13

    Outreach Director, History Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  • Jonathan Olly, PhD ’13

    Curator at the Long Island Museum of American Art, Stony Brook, NY

  • Felicia Salinas-Moniz

    Adjunct Visiting Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies , Director, Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender

  • Sarah J. Seidman, PhD ’13

    Puffin Foundation Curator of Social Activism, Museum of the City of New York

2012

  • Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska, PhD ’12

    Assistant Professor of History and Associate Director, Public History Program, American University

  • Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci, PhD ’12

    Assistant Professor and Co-Director, Center for Asian Studies, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey

2011

  • Joseph Clark, PhD ’11

    Instructor, Film Studies and Media History, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University

  • Eric D. Larson, PhD ’11

    Assistant Professor, Crime and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

  • Mireya Loza, PhD ’11

    Assistant Professor of Food Studies, New York University

  • S. Ani Mukherji, PhD ’11

    Assistant Professor, American Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

  • Kelli Shapiro, PhD ’11

    Program Associate, Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and Conference Programming and Engagement Coordinator, Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association & American Culture Association

  • Oscar Vinluan Campomanes, PhD ’11

    Associate Professor, Department of English, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

2010

  • Melanie Kohnen, PhD ’10

    Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies, Lewis and Clark College

  • AJ Mazaris, PhD ’10

    Director of Belonging, Equity and Inclusion, Duke University Alumni Engagement and Development

  • Gabriel Mendes, PhD ’10

    Director of Public Health Programs, Bard Prison Initiative

  • Aslihan Tokgoz Onaran, PhD ’10

    Founder, ZenWorld International, Parenting and Expat Support, Turkey

  • Mario Sifuentez, PhD ’10

    Associate Professor of History, University of California, Merced

  • Margaret Stevens, PhD ’10

    Associate Professor, Humanities, Essex County College, Newark, NJ

2009

  • Gillian Frank, Phd ’09

    Assistant Professor in the History of the Modern United States, Trinity College Dublin

  • Mikiko Tachi, PhD ’09

    Associate Professor of American Studies at the Division of International Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Letters, Chiba University, Japan

  • Sarah Wald, PhD ’09

    Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and English, University of Oregon

2008

  • Marcia Chatelain, PhD ’08

    Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

  • Matthew Delmont, PhD ’08

    Frank J. Guarini Associate Dean of International Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth University

  • Caroline Frank, PhD ’08

    Former Associate Director and Special Advisor, MA Program, American Studies, Brown University

  • James V. Gatewood, PhD ’08

    Nurse Practitioner, San Francisco, CA

  • Karen Inouye, PhD ’08

    Ruth N. Halls Professor in the Departments of History and American Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington

  • Stephanie Larrieux, PhD ’08

    Associate Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, Brown University