New Chair Welcomes American Studies Community to Fall 2025

Department readies for new semester amid changing landscape in higher education

Dear American Studies Community,

I am very excited and honored to write to you as the new chair of the Department of American Studies and to welcome you all to the fall semester of 2025!

The start of the semester is often a time of nervous excitement, as we prepare to meet new people, explore new ideas, and pursue new experiences; reunite with friends and mentors; and return to the familiar rhythms and often challenging commitments of sustained study. The faculty and staff of American Studies are ready and eager to support you all on this path, and we hope that you will take advantage of our exciting line-up of classes and advising opportunities and soon-to-be-announced programming this year. I also encourage you to swing by the main office at any time to chat, hang out, and tell us all the exciting and important things you are learning, doing, and making this year.

As an American Studies scholar, I am also keenly aware that many of us are grappling with additional anxieties and uncertainties right now, be it due to federal orders or changes to policies governing student aid, research, immigration, or policing; cuts to federal employment that have had a unique effect on our local economy; or changes to the names of campus programs that aim to make the University of Maryland accessible to all. Just as we study the place of the U.S. in the world, we also recognize that the members of our department community are stitched into many more. We will be organizing talks, workshops, and other events that examine these issues and more, as we come together to do what American Studies does best: ask hard questions and adopt interdisciplinary methods to analyze our shared pasts, presents, and futures.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson for her ten years of leadership as Department Chair. During her tenure, we witnessed the incredible achievements of our students and the expansion and promotion of our faculty and staff ranks, including during the challenging years of COVID lockdowns and a shifting landscape for higher education. This year she will continue to co-lead the Mellon-funded initiative Breaking the M.O.L.D. (Mellon/Mayland Opportunities for Leadership Development) alongside her many other important contributions to the university, field, and profession.

Best,

Dr. Hanhardt, Chair of American Studies