New Books in American Studies

Interviews with Scholars of America about their New Books

Society & Culture
History
6001
Gyanendra Pandey, “A History of Prejudice: Race...
A History of Prejudice: Race, Caste, and Difference in India and the United States (Cambridge University Press, 2013) is the latest book by Gyanendra Pandey. The book analyses prejudice and democracy through a comparison of African Americans and Indian...
55 min
6002
D. D. Guttenplan, “The Nation: A Biography” (Th...
The Nation magazine turned 150 this year, a striking achievement for a publication that is firmly on the left of the political spectrum. It was founded in 1865 just months after the Civil War ended and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
50 min
6003
Alexandra Minna Stern, “Telling Genes: The Stor...
Due in part to lobbying efforts on behalf of the human genome project, human genes tend to be thought of in light of the present–genetic components of human disease and differential risks associated with genetic individuals–before the future,
68 min
6004
Kattie Oxx, “The Nativist Movement in America: ...
Narratives of American history are often centered around the idea of oppression and liberation, with groups such as ethnic minorities, women, and workers struggling with, and (at least to some degree) overcoming prejudice.
66 min
6005
James Turner, “Philology: The Forgotten Origins...
James Turner is Cavanaugh Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at Notre Dame University. His book Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities (Princeton University Press, 2014) recovers the significance of philology, the study of language,
64 min
6006
Preston Lauterbach, “Beale Street Dynasty: Sex,...
Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach’s latest bo...
34 min
6007
Kristin Soltis Anderson, “The Selfie Vote: Wher...
With over a dozen Republican candidates in the summer news, what will it take for one to emerge from the pack? Kristen Soltis Anderson‘s new book, The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up) (Broadside Books...
20 min
6008
Craig Martin, “Capitalizing Religion: Ideology ...
Whether you need help being more focused at work, are having a spiritual crisis, or want to understand how you can change your inner self for the better, the popular self-help and spiritual well-being market has got you covered.
60 min
6009
Laura F. Edwards, “A Legal History of the Civil...
In this podcast I talk with Laura F. Edwards, Peabody Family Professor of History at Duke University about her book, A Legal History of the Civil War and Reconstruction: A Nation of Rights (Cambridge University Press 2015).
66 min
6010
Tomas Summers Sandoval, “Latinos at the Golden ...
Since the mid-19th century, San Francisco (or Yerba Buena as it was known during the Spanish colonial period) has been considered a gateway city ideally situated along the western edge of the North American continent and central in the development of g...
73 min
6011
Raf De Bont, “Stations in the Field: A History ...
While museums, labs, and botanical gardens have been widely studied by historians of science, field stations have received comparatively little attention.Raf De Bont‘s new book rectifies this oversight, turning our attention to the importance of biolog...
59 min
6012
David George Surdham, “The Big Leagues Go to Wa...
David George Surdham is the author of The Big Leagues Go to Washington: Congress and Sports Antitrust, 1951-1989 (University of Illinois Press, 2015). Surdham is Associate Professor of Economics at Northern Iowa University.
16 min
6013
William LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh, “Back Cha...
In December 2014, Cuba and the United States announced their renewed efforts to normalize relations. Diplomatic ties were severed in 1961 following the rise of Fidel Castro and the intensification during the Cold War.
40 min
6014
Michael Ray FitzGerald, “Native Americans on Ne...
In his new book Native Americans on Network TV: Stereotypes, Myths, and the ‘Good Indian’ (Rowman and Littlefield, 2013), Michael Ray FitzGerald reviews how television represented Native Americans, including in both positive and negative stereotypes.
53 min
6015
Megan Threlkeld, “Pan-American Women: U.S. Inte...
Megan Threlkeld is an associate professor of history at Denison University. Her book Pan-American Women: U.S. Internationalists and Revolutionary Mexico (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014) provides a rich transnational examination of the years fol...
59 min
6016
Kyle G. Volk, “Moral Minorities and the Making ...
Kyle G. Volk is an associate professor of history at the University of Montana. His book Moral Minorities and the Making of American Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2014) provides a compelling narrative of how nineteenth-century Americans negotiate...
57 min
6017
William Elliott III and Melinda Lewis, “Real Co...
Dr. William Elliott III, associate professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, and Melinda Lewis, associate professor of practice in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas,
30 min
6018
Carlos Kevin Blanton, “George I. Sanchez: The L...
Although the designation now applies to American citizens of Mexican ethnicity writ large, the term Mexican American (hyphenated or not) also refers to the rising generation of ethnic Mexicans born and raised in the U.S.
87 min
6019
Julian E. Zelizer, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: ...
Julian E. Zelizer is the author of The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (Penguin Press, 2015). Zelizer is the Malcom Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princet...
17 min
6020
Jonathan Eig, “The Birth of the Pill: How Four ...
Jonathan Eig is a New York Times best-selling author of four books and former journalist for the Wall Street Journal. His book The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution (W.W. Norton,
48 min
6021
Caseen Gaines, “We Don’t Need Roads: The Making...
On the thirtiethanniversary of the film, Caseen Gaines has written We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy (Plume, 2015). The book is an engaging history of the Back to the Future series,
70 min
6022
Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox, “Runnin...
Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox are the authors of Running from Office: Why Young Americans Are Turned off to Politics (Oxford UP,2015). Lawless is a Professor of Government and the Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American Universi...
15 min
6023
Suzanne Broderick, “Real War vs. Reel War: Vete...
In hew new book Real War vs. Reel War: Veterans, Hollywood, and WWII (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015), Suzanne Broderick shares how she discussed a number of World War II films with veterans and others who experienced the conflict first hand.
57 min
6024
Claire Virginia Eby, “Until Choice Do Us Part: ...
Clare Virginia Eby is a professor of English at the University of Connecticut. In Until Choice Do Us Part: Marriage Reform in the Progressive Era (University of Chicago Press, 2014), Eby examines the origins of how we think of marriage through the theo...
64 min
6025
Madeline Y. Hsu, “The Good Immigrants: How the ...
With high educational and professional attainment, Asian Americans are often portrayed as the “Model Minority” in popular media. This portrayal, though, is widely panned by academics and activists who claim that it lacks nuance. Madeline Y. Hsu,
42 min