American Studies

Ph.D. Program Alumni

Ph.D. Program Alumni

Graduates of the department now teach in a range of college and university departments including history, English, women's studies, ethnic studies, urban studies, environmental studies, communications, and American Studies, as well as hold jobs in archives, museums, historical societies, and other cultural institutions. Below is a list of our alumni and their first positions upon completion of the program.

2024

  • Erin Aoyama

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

  • Samia Cohen

    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

    Dissertation: “Sharing ʻĀina in the Occupied Territory: Public Land and Environmental Intimacies in Windward Hawaiʻi”

  • Nicole Sintetos

    English Department Chair, Cate School

  • Mark Tseng-Putterman

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

2023

  • Gregory Hitch

    Jill Beck NEH Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities, Lawrence University

  • Eleanor Lake

    Lecturer, English Department, Brown University

2022

  • Maggie Goddard

    Postdoctoral Fellow, East Marshall Street Well Project, Virginia Commonwealth University

  • Anni Pullagura

    Curatorial Assistant, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA/Boston)

  • Julian Saporiti

    "No-No Boy"

2021

  • Jonathan Cortez

    César Chávez Postdoctoral Provost’s Fellowship, Dartmouth College

  • Kathrinne Duffy

    “Phrenology and the Invention of Personality in Nineteenth Century America”

2020

  • Virginia Thomas, PhD ’20

    Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Rice University

  • Ida Yalzadeh, PhD '20

    Assistant Professor, Department of History, Lehigh University

2019

  • Felicia Bevel, PhD '19

    Assistant Professor of History, University of North Florida

  • Sarah Brown PhD '19

    Program Manager, Women's Center, Northwestern University

  • Suzanne Enzerink, PhD '19

    Assistant Professor of American Studies and Media Studies, American University of Beirut

  • Wen Jin, PhD '19

    Independent Scholar

  • Elizabeth Rule, PhD '19

    Director of the AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy, Assistant Professor of Professional Studies, Director of the Semester in Washington Politics Program, and Faculty in Residence, George Washington University

  • Elizabeth Wolfson, PhD '19

    Co-Director, Flood Plain Gallery and Director of Operations, 2720 Cherokee; Lecturer, American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

2018

  • Emily Contois, PhD '18

    Chapman Assistant Professor of Media Studies, University of Tulsa

  • Samuel Franklin, PhD '18

    Postdoctoral Fellow, 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

    Postdoctoral Fellow/Director of Graduate Studies, John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities, Brown 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

    Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, St. Olaf 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

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

  • AJ Mazaris, PhD ’10

    Assistant Vice President for Equitable Policy, LGBTQ+ Center Director, and Affiliate Faculty in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Wake Forest University

  • 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

    Postdoctoral Fellow and Core Faculty, American Studies Program, University of Virginia

  • 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

    Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, Georgetown University

  • Matthew Delmont, PhD ’08

    Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History, Dartmouth College

  • 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 Associate 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