Elizabeth Rodriguez Fielder is an assistant professor in the Department of English and in the Latinx Studies Program. She is a scholar of the 20th and 21st century transnational American literature and culture. She will continue research and writing her manuscript Corporis Fabrica: Encountering the Body through the Book, which seeks out the relationship between the development of anatomy science and moveable books. Rodriguez Fielder argues that their interconnected history has shaped how we understand our bodies.

Jose Fernandez is an assistant professor in the Latinx Studies program. Fernandez’s research interests include American, African American, and Latinx literary histories, Black and Latinx literatures after the 1960s; Latinx intellectual history; and Mexican American literature of the Borderlands. He will conduct archival research at three university library collections in California: the Tomas Rivera Papers at UC-Riverside, the Helena Maria Viramonted Papers at UC-Santa Barbara, and the Norma Alarcon Papers at the Bancroft Library at UC-Berkeley. This work will contribute to a book, A Publisher’s Revolution: Arte Publico Press and the Making of Latinx Literature.

Jennifer Sterling, associate professor of instruction and the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of American Studies, was selected by the Council on Teaching to receive the 2025 Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching.

American Studies graduate student Laura Carpenter was featured by NPR for her Hobo Archives created with Rod Sykora.

American Studies grad student Glenn Houlihan writes in Little Village about Lost Woods Festival in Cedar Falls, IA. Almost too magical to be true, Lost Woods Festival brought stellar Iowa musicians, cozy furniture and spellbinding vibes in its second year

The CLAS Dissertation Writing Fellowship is awarded annually to 10 graduate students, providing time and funding for the completion of a PhD dissertation. Dongilli’s thesis “Interspecies America: Animal Lives and Reproductive Politics at the Smithsonian National Zoo” examines encounters between human and nonhuman animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo, arguing that zoos mediate U.S. identities, cultures, and environmental futures in which humans and nonhuman bodies interact.

Dominic Dongilli, graduate student in American Studies, discusses the history of Easter Monday at the Smithsonian National Zoo and how it became a tradition for Black families in Washington, D.C.

Stephen Warren, professor of history and American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), received the Distinguished Achievement in Publicly Engaged Research Award. The award recognizes an individual faculty member who has put addressing public needs and direct engagement with the public, in the service of improving quality of life through research, at the forefront of his or her academic activities.

Naomi Greyser, faculty member in American Studies, is one of four University of Iowa faculty members are recipients of the 2024 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence, recognizing their exceptional and ongoing contributions to student learning and success.

A record 67.8 million American adults are expected to bet US$23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Gaming Association. The estimated number of bettors has increased 35% from the previous Super Bowl, while the total amount being bet is estimated to have shot up from $16 billion in 2023.