College of Arts and Sciences at American University

Literature professors spend their careers reading and writing. So, what books are they picking up when they're on vacation or reading purely for pleasure?📚☀️

We asked the American University Department of Literaturefaculty what they’re reading right now, and the resulting reading list is thoughtful, eclectic, and occasionally surprising. https://www.american.edu/cas/news/faculty-reading-list-summer-2026.cfm

Spend the summer exploring art, science, history, landscape, and imagination at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.

The Summer 2026 season features seven exhibitions and a full schedule of gallery talks and artist led tours, including:

🖼️ Where Water Keeps Time with Janis Goodman, June 20
🎨 Prima Vista, June 27
🚀 Ghost in the Machine with artist Timothy Makepeace, July 11 and 25
🎬 ARTISTICA! Where Hollywood Meets Art History, July 18
🌌 Ghost in the Machine gallery talk, August 1

The exhibitions remain on view through August 9. Explore the full schedule and plan your visit: https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/events.cfm

🖼️ Susan J. Goldman, Lever du Jour I, 2025. Print on aluminum, 6 feet 6 inches x 6 feet 6 inches. Courtesy of Lily Press®.

As the US marks its 250th anniversary, American University History Professor Kate Haulman's new book The Mother of Washington in Nineteenth-Century America(Oxford University Press) asks a timely question: who gets to shape how we remember the past — and why? Using Mary Ball Washington as a case study, Haulman shows how historical memory shifts with each generation, revealing as much about those doing the remembering as about the figures themselves. "What is being foregrounded in the national conversation about the founding era, and what is being downplayed or left out entirely?"

The Mother of Washington and the Making of American History As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, historian Kate Haulman’s book explores how Americans create, reshape, and contest the stories they tell about the past

🌟 Opening this weekend! 🌟 Summer 2026 and the American semiquincentennial bring an array of history, nostalgia, technology, and identity to the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. These seven exhibitions feature artists whose work reflects many dimensions of American life and culture, exploring how Americans document their lives, shape communities, and imagine the future. Across painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, and installation, these artists offer distinct yet interconnected perspectives on the American experience.

⭐ A. Brockie Stevenson: An American Vision
⭐ Ghost in the Machine: Works by Timothy Makepeace
⭐ Where Water Keeps Time: Graphite Drawings by Janis Goodman
⭐ Susan Goldman: Prima Vista
⭐ Bonnie Lautenberg: ARTISTICA! Where Hollywood Meets Art History
⭐ Richard Dana: People, Places and Otherwise
⭐ Gail Rebhan: What Questions Do We Ask?

Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, June 13 at 6pm! Learn more and plan your visit: https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/2026/summer-exhibitions.cfm

Pictured: A. Brockie Stevenson Debbie’s 4th, 1987. Silkscreen print, 35 x 24 inches. inches. From the collection of the artist.

Before Pride became a month of celebration, it was an act of resistance.

On June 28, 1969, patrons of New York City’s Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid, helping ignite a movement for LGBTQ+ liberation. More than five decades later, conflicting accounts remain about exactly how the uprising began, but its deeper meaning endures.

American University's K. Tyler Christensen, professorial lecturer in Literature and Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, reflects on the history of Stonewall, the importance of reclaiming LGBTQ+ narratives, and how Pride can inspire the work still ahead.

Read the full story: https://www.american.edu/cas/news/the-first-pride-was-a-riot.cfm

What does bird tracking look like? Biochemistry grad and dancer Ali Kirschbaum (CAS '26) will show you. 🐦

Kirschbaum spent her time at AU balancing STEM courses with hours of dance rehearsals. She ultimately found a way to unite those worlds, using choreography as a means of communication to share her ornithology research with a broader audience.

“Dance is a beautiful way to connect people to birds and help them understand why our research is vital for their survival,” she says.

Following an internship at the Smithsonian's Bird Migration Research Center, Kirschbaum presented her research findings alongside an original choreographed dance.

🩰 Read the story: https://www.american.edu/cas/news/pairing-passions-dance-between-science-stage.cfm

📷: Left: Kirschbaum installing bird tracking equipment in the field. Right: Kirschbaum performing in "MO(ve)MENTUM 2022." Choreography: Allison Grant, "Centers of Gravity." Photo by Jeff Watts.

What makes a great beach read?

According to American University Department of Literature professor Marianne Noble, it's a book that's both impossible to put down and capable of changing the way you see the world.

In American University's popular summer course Beach Reads, students dive into compelling novels by authors like Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, Louise Erdrich, and Richard Powers while exploring big questions about empathy, imagination, and the value of reading in a screen-filled world.

The result? Students are rediscovering the joy of reading, engaging in deeper conversations, and finding new ways to understand themselves and others.

Read the story: https://bit.ly/4uMfY31

A quieter campus, a little more sunshine, and plenty to look forward to this summer. Happy weekend from the College of Arts and Sciences! ☀️

📸: Elyn Zimmerman’s Sudama

Congratulations to AU Theatre Professor Meghan Raham for winning a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design! 👏

Raham's innovative, rotating set design allowed Round House Theatre’s world premiere of Sharyn Rothstein’s play "Bad Books" to be seen from every angle last spring. The Helen Hayes Awards are the region’s top honors recognizing excellence in professional theatre across the Washington, DC, area.

🏆 Read more:

Professor Meghan Raham Wins Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design Scenic designer created innovative set for “Bad Books” last spring at Round House Theatre