Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of American studies. The department is committed to promoting the work of people of color and to actively recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and student body. We take active measures to identify hidden labor and offer several public and private channels of communication about departmental climate.

The principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to the mission of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa, as we conduct our work in the context of the whole of humanity.

• In our teaching, we draw on, explore, and question every facet of human experience and understanding.
• In our scholarship, scientific inquiry, and artistry, we create new knowledge and insight, reflecting and shaping the cultures and societies in which human lives unfold.
• In our service to Iowans, we collaborate with communities to solve critical problems arising from inequity.

DEI values are inseparable from those of the liberal arts tradition. To fully realize our college’s critical mission of advancing human understanding within that tradition, we must actualize these values in every aspect of our decision-making and every area of our academic community.

Department Statement on Police Violence

As American Studies scholars, we are keenly aware of how differences in race, gender, sexuality and social class have been used to marginalize under-represented groups in society. We reject the social production of hierarchical difference, and stand for our common humanity, with the protesters and people of color who are suffering because of institutional racism. We reject overt and covert racism in the strongest terms. Black Lives Matter.
Read the full statement here.