SLU American Studies Department

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SLU American Studies Department

Department of American Studies
Flannery Burke, Chair

The purpose of this group is to facilitate communication, interaction, and fellowship among SLU American Studies students & professors, past & present, graduate & undergraduate. Please use this group to post information on upcoming conferences, calls for papers, job updates, campus events, happy hours, news articles, and book suggestions.

10/05/2026

Meet Taylor Stalling, a 2023 SLU graduate who earned her B.A. in American Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Urban Poverty Studies. Taylor now works full-time in Alumni Engagement and Development at SLU while pursuing her M.A. in American Studies.

As a full-time professional and graduate student, Taylor works hard to maintain a work/school/life balance. She also volunteers with the history museum, stays active in her sorority, and—despite a very full calendar—still makes time for friends and a good kiki.

Taylor first discovered American Studies through Dr. Benjamin Looker’s Urban Crisis course, where history connected with film, music, popular culture, and politics. What began as a minor eventually became her second major and continues today through her graduate work in American Studies.

In Taylor’s words, American Studies is “the interdisciplinary study of the American everything.”

Swipe through to learn more about Taylor’s path, what public scholarship means to her, and her advice for students considering an American Studies major or minor.

09/30/2026

What ASTD Is Reading

Garry Watkins, one of our American Studies Ph.D. students, is currently reading Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse.

The darkly comic novel follows Rhiannon, a seemingly quiet English woman who spends her days navigating a cheating boyfriend, a job she hates, and an ever-growing list of people she would like to torture, kill—or both. Meanwhile, she journals about her increasingly murderous activities and occasionally watches a Gordon Ramsay cooking show.

Garry describes every chapter as “addicting and hilarious” and says the book puts a smile on his face every time he opens it.

09/28/2026

REMINDER: Join us Wednesday, September 30, for a free public lecture by SLU American Studies faculty member Benjamin Looker!

“After Mill Creek: Uses and Fate of LaClede Town’s Iconic ‘Experiment in Integration’”

Wednesday, September 30
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Landmarks Association of St. Louis
1805 S. 9th Street
Free admission

Advance registration is requested, and seating is limited. Find event details and registration at the link below or through the link in our Instagram bio:

https://landmarks-stl.org/event/after-mill-creek-uses-and-fate-of-laclede-towns-iconic-experiment-in-integration-by-benjamin-looker-fall-2026-lecture-series/

09/22/2026

What is ASTD reading?

Auden Botel, one of our American Studies B.A. students, is currently reading The Strange Career of William Ellis by Karl Jacoby.

“I’ve been reading several books, both for class and in my own time. One is The Strange Career of William Ellis, which I’m reading for a history course. It tells the story of a formerly enslaved man who left Jim Crow-era Texas for Mexico, where he became a millionaire, a rare achievement for a Black man at the time, especially one who had once been held in slavery.”

Thanks for sharing what you’re reading, Auden!

09/16/2026

Join us on Wednesday, September 30, for a free public lecture by SLU American Studies faculty member Benjamin Looker!

In “After Mill Creek: Uses and Fate of LaClede Town’s Iconic ‘Experiment in Integration,’” Dr. Looker will explore the history and legacy of LaClede Town. Celebrated during the late 1960s for its in*******al community, the Midtown development also became a center for countercultural and activist projects. The lecture will examine how LaClede Town developed this identity, whose interests its national reputation served, and what ultimately happened to the site.

Wednesday, September 30
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Landmarks Association of St. Louis
1805 S. 9th Street
Free admission

Advance registration is requested, and seating is limited. Find event details and registration at the link below or through the link in our Instagram bio:

https://landmarks-stl.org/event/after-mill-creek-uses-and-fate-of-laclede-towns-iconic-experiment-in-integration-by-benjamin-looker-fall-2026-lecture-series/

09/15/2026

ASTD Alumni Spotlight!

We are excited to share a recent article by Grace Teofilo Hilker, an alumna of SLU’s American Studies M.A. program. In “Campfire Talks and Campfire S’Mores: Food as an Interpretive Tool with National Park Concessionaires,” Grace explores how food, hospitality, and even a conversation over ice cream can help visitors connect with the history and larger story of a place.

Drawing on her experiences at Walt Disney World, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park, Grace asks us to think beyond formal tours and ranger programs—and to recognize the interpretive possibilities found in restaurants, lodges, gift shops, and other places visitors naturally gather.

Congratulations, Grace!

Read the full article through the link below:

https://national-association-for-interpretation.foleon.com/legacy/may-june-26/campfire-talks-and-campfire-smores

07/31/2026

Our students take American Studies global!

In June, SLU American Studies doctorate Bryonie Carter presented at the International US Drama and Theater Conference, held at Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès. Her paper was part of the International Susan Glaspell Society’s roundtable session “Susan Glaspell and the Mutability of Literary Forms: Politics Across Genres.” Dr. Carter presented with Jeffrey Kennedy from Arizona State University, Drew Eisenhauer from Université Le Havre Normandie, and Noelia Hernando-Real from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain).

07/16/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Cicely Hunter on the successful defense of her dissertation!

07/10/2026

Please join us at 12:30 pm on July 14th in 142 Adorjan or via Zoom to attend Cicely Hunter's Doctoral Dissertation Defense!

Blaring Silence: New York Parades for the Black Collective, 1917-1924

Blaring Silence examines six historic Black parades held in New York between 1917 and 1924 alongside selected poetry by Langston Hughes and Georgia Douglas Johnson. By situating these historical events and literary works alongside one another, Blaring Silence constructs a Black parade archive that reveals the intersections of activism, Black creativity, and the power of the Black public sphere.

07/01/2026

Our gratitude goes out to Heidi Ardizzone, who captained our department for the past three years. We wouldn't be where we are without her. Thank you, Heidi!

Address

3800 Lindell Boulevard Room 131
St. Louis, MO
63108

Telephone

+13149772911

Website

https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/american-studies

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