American Studies Oklahoma State University

FALL COURSES

We have a number exciting online and in-person courses for the Fall:

Online

2103 - Intro to American Studies
3513 - Film and American Society
3653 - The Body in American Culture (first time online)

In Person

2103 - Intro
2523 - Dust Bowl
3223 - Theory and Methods
3313 - Science, Technology & Am Culture (taught by new hire)
3373 - Comparative Truth and Reconciliation
3423 - American Pop Culture

Spread the word!

The AfAm Student Association in Tulsa is hosting a game night on Friday 11/10. See

mcusercontent.com

Hi folks. A late addition to the spring 2024 schedule in Tulsa is Race, Gender and Ethnicity in American Film (AMST or ENGL3473). It carried a D gen ed credit and meets f2f on Tuesday at 7:20. There is a "virtual lab" meaning you'll screen the films outside of class time and we'll discuss during class time. Should be a fun class! Email [email protected] if you have questions

A few spots left for paid internships with the "Mapping Historical Trauma, Tulsa" team this summer:

Only a Few Spots Left to Join the Team and Get Paid to Make History! Are you a student with a passion for the study of history, racial justice, and the material remains of the past? Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa, 1921-2021 (MHTT), a research project led by Dr. Alicia Odewale (University of Tulsa) and Dr. Parker VanValkenburgh (Brown University), will be conducti...

Important talk and workshop sponsored by the English Department, the Norris Endowment, American Studies Oklahoma State University, and others.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/3n9rdte7

The Mapping
Historical Trauma in Tulsa from 1921-2021 project will be conducting an archaeological survey in select locations within Greenwood from June 13 to June 24th, 2022, seeking to document the remains of historic structures in the district. To expand the impact
of our program, we are excited to provide free archaeological skills training to college and high school students in the greater Tulsa area. In total, we have 15 spaces available for student volunteers. Over the course of the program, students will learn about
best practices for archaeological data recording, field survey using high resolution GPS, the history of Greenwood, and approaches in archaeology to highlight both the documentation of anti-Black violence and Black resilience in the 20th century. Students
who are unable to participate in the full program are welcome to join us for shorter portions of the research program, but the orientation is required. Spaces are open to all but preference will be given to students from historically underrepresented groups,
those with ancestral ties to the Greenwood community, and students with previous experience in archaeology.

The project's
research schedule is as follows:
June 9th
& June 10th Virtual Orientation
June 13th
Tour of Black Wall Street
June 13-June
17th Archaeological Survey Field Research
June 18th
Trip to Juneteenth Festival in Greenwood
June 19th
- June 24th Artifact Documentation and Laboratory Work

If you
are interested, please fill out the student interest form here: https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FgAPoDFmLsi2ix9Dt8&data=05%7C01%7Cstacy.takacs%40okstate.edu%7Cda169083ea514a88a59f08da3598f289%7C2a69c91de8494e34a230cdf8b27e1964%7C0%7C0%7C637881228287402189%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=GbKFlXZrg5i0FG6YFuRTwCkr9AQ7bZrbRlrI6BAJ4ug%3D&reserved=0
by Friday, May 20th and please don't hesitate to reach out with questions to [email protected].

Volunteering for 2022 Season of Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa, 1921-2021 Are you a student with a passion for the study of history, racial justice, and the material remains of the past? Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa, 1921-2021 (MHTT), a research project led by Dr. Alicia Odewale (University of Tulsa) and Dr. Parker VanValkenburgh (Brown University), will be conducti...

The American Studies Program is so proud of its graduates. We hope that all of them will take what they learned to make OSU, Tulsa, Oklahoma, the US, and the world a better place. Congratulations!

Ann Williams (“Hardest Working American Studies Major”) and Dr. David Gray

Be sure to check out this workshop by American Studies faculty member Dr. David Gray!

"Picture This: Using Visual Images in Historial Research"
Monday, April 18th at 3:00pm
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/9051407653

Propaganda posters, photographs, advertisements and
motivational publicity: what do these and other visual sources
bring to historical research and writing? How should we
interpret and analyze them? What questions should we ask
when working with such images? Ultimately, how can we make
sense of visual culture when doing history?
To explore these questions and more please join us for a 90-minute interactive workshop offered by Dr. David Gray,
Teaching Assistant Professor in the American Studies
Program and the Department of History. Dr. Gray will talk
about his research on American workplace propaganda and
provide a “how-to” on using visual images in historical writing.

Exciting 4-week online class for this summer.

"20th Century American War Narratives" (Jared Young)
- fiction, movies, graphic novels, and more

Spread the word and sign up now!

American Studies director John Kinder spoke to Melissa Harris-Perry about zoos in wartime.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/impact-war-zoo-animals-ukraine

The Impact of War on Zoo Animals in Ukraine | The Takeaway | WNYC Studios The impacts of war on zoo animals and the animals left behind in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

N.E.W. Leadership residential summer program May 20-24. Expenses paid. Application deadline 3/23/22
Undergraduate womxn who are enrolled in any Oklahoma college or university in 2021-2022; Oklahoma residents attending out-of-state institutions; Students of all majors; Graduating seniors;
Non-traditional students...you are invited to apply for the OU N.E.W. Leadership program. For details: https://bit.ly/NEW2022Apply

OSU Tulsa Career Fair March 8 2:30-4:30. If you have questions about how to present your skill set, speak to yourprofessors. We should be able to help. https://mcusercontent.com/8415ee99934baf7bc14eaf79a/images/eb90a7d1-11cb-8ae9-2dc7-e9b9c067465c.jpg

mcusercontent.com

Bobby BlueJacket: The Tribe, The Joint, The Tulsa Underworld

A conversation with author, Michael P. Daley, moderated by Dr. David Gray, American Studies Program, Oklahoma State University

Tuesday Feb. 22, 4:30 pm, Zoom
Registration required
https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtJEpdu-oqD4iH9TUdn4RHx8kMLBFOR_12kgz&data=04%7C01%7Cjohn.kinder%40okstate.edu%7Ccb883102688841bf186f08d9ec265575%7C2a69c91de8494e34a230cdf8b27e1964%7C0%7C0%7C637800471796548519%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=t5zD%2B2w5i7v13M4aYMu9lDrQHYd1%2Fo6RmpCDU2bHlys%3D&reserved=0
Sponsored by the OSU American Studies Program



Praise for Bobby BlueJacket:

“Insightful, angry, straightforward, reminiscent of the subterranean classic You Can’t Win by Jack Black—Daley’s BlueJacket pulls no punches describing a long life as fascinating as it is heartbreaking in its details.”

Graduating seniors, if you're interested in teaching English abroad, here is an opportunity to get certified for such work: https://tefl-iberia.com/.

Spread the word about our exciting new spring classes!

Tom Jorsch, Readings in the American Experience: Agricultural and Industrial Protest!

Cross-listed with English.
S

Mark your calendars!

"The Blue and Gray in Granite: Re-Examining America's Civil War Commemorative Landscape"

November 10, 2:30-4:00
Life Sciences West, Room 103
Stillwater

Special thanks to Dr. Jennifer Murray for putting this together.

American Studies folks.

Spread the word about Dr. Lindsey Smith's terrific new course on Native American Film!

Tuesdays, 7:20-10:00 - hybrid course in Tulsa

More exciting Spring courses!

Check out Dr. Sarah Foss's new course, "Nations on the Move: Latin American Migration & Latinx Communities in the U.S."

MWF 10:30-11:20
Stillwater, H&D designations

H

Another exciting course for Spring 2022!

American Popular Culture

AMST 3423 American Popular Culture (H)
Spring 2022
Dr. Stacy Takacs
WEB COURSE with a M 1:40 meeting
Email: [email protected] w/ questions

El Centro Immigrant Resource Center is holding an open house oct 19-21, which is today (10am-6pm) Sorry for the late posting.

SPRING 2022 Courses!

These are urgent times in America. Pandemic. Political divisions. Climate Disasters. Movements for restorative justice. Today, Americans face difficult questions about our nation's past and our collective future.

The American Studies Program seeks to equip you with the tools you need to understand the changing dynamics of American culture and to fight for a better tomorrow. With that in mind, our faculty are offering some exciting (and timely) courses for Spring 2022!

In Tulsa, these include our new course on Comparative Truth and Reconciliation in the Americas, which will place Tulsa's history of restorative justice in an international perspective. Also in Tulsa is a special topics course offered by Africana Studies scholar Quraysh Lansana on the economic history and future of Greenwood, while literary scholar Lindsey Smith is teaching a course on Native American film.

Professor David Gray will be teaching his popular course on Tulsa's Public Cultures and he will be teaching a web-based course on the 1960s. He will also offer the American Studies Senior Seminar.

In Stillwater, we'll be offering courses on War in American Culture and Black Geographies & Memorialization in the Landscape, a timely exploration of race and memory in public space. Our newest faculty member, Tom Jorsch, is teaching a readings course on Industrial and Agricultural Protest. And we are especially excited about historian Sarah Foss's new course called Nations on the Move.

Other courses for Spring 2022 include Crime, Law, and American Culture, The Death Penalty in America, American Popular Culture, and both online and in-person sections of Introduction to American Studies.

Nearly all of our courses include Gen-Ed credits, and some are offered in Hybrid, T-Flex, or WEB modes.

Hi All. Please spread the word about a great new course we're offering this Fall in Stillwater.

Dear American Studies Majors and Minors,

This fall American Studies is partnering with OSU's philosophy department to offer a course that will critically examine the graphic novel, film, and television series Watchmen. It will be lead by Dr. Chris Drohan, and comes with a 'Humanities' and 'Diversity' designation on the credit hours. Please see the attached poster and course description and if you have any questions feel free to email Dr. Drohan at [email protected].

COURE DESCRIPTION

In this course we will utilize Alan Moore and David Gibbons’s graphic novel Watchmen (1986-1987) in order to critically examine its connection to broader themes in philosophy, critical theory, race, gender, s*x, literature, and contemporary events in U.S. politics. Throughout, we will explore a wide range of philosophers as well as Watchmen’s influence on literature, film, and television as we unpack how themes raised within it coincide with recent and historical events in U.S. culture and politics. We will also spend time exploring the medium of the graphic novel itself, modes of interpreting it, and the larger influence of comics on popular culture and philosophy today.

American Studies Students, Grads, and Faculty:

I wanted to spread the word about a new community center focused on supporting and empowering Tulsa's migrant communities. It will open in the fall and has limited job opportunities.

El Centro: New Sanctuary Empowerment Center
We are very excited to announce that El Centro is hiring. Please help us spread the word in inviting candidates to apply. We’re looking for deeply committed social justice-oriented individuals to help us build El Centro. ☀️
https://bit.ly/ElCentroAEDJob

In commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Oklahoma State University history and journalism students created Women of Black Wall Street.

Under the direction of Brandy Thomas Wells, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, the website chronicles the lives of 10 Black women in historic Greenwood, including Loula T. Williams, Emma Gurley, Dora Wells, and Elnora Ashford.

The website includes maps that show where these women lived and worked and where these addresses are today.

It also features interviews of one of Susie Bell's descendants (of the Bell and Little Café) and the voices of some Black women business owners in Greenwood today. https://blackwallstreetwomen.com

Thanks to Dr. Wells and all of her students for this work.

Historic Greenwood & The Tulsa Race Massacre: The Women of Black Wall Street (WBWS)

In 1901-1902, the Sims family moved from Mississippi to Indian Territory. They became one of the many Black families that departed the Deep South in search of freedom from violence, political, social, and economic opportunities.

By 1914, the Sims family lived in Greenwood. Lula Sims became a teacher at Dunbar Grade School.

To read Sims's biography and others authored by Oklahoma State University students, check out the Women of Black Wall Street on May 31, the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. https://wp.me/PcigdD-7K

In the late 1910s, the Ashfords of Greenwood, Tulsa, opened a grocery store. They sold eggs, flour, butter, meal, and fresh, cured, and barbecued meats.

They heavily advertised their new venture in the Tulsa Star.

Elnora Ashford also became known as "an Artist and an authority in the Science of Hair Culture."

To read Ashford's biography and others authored by Oklahoma State University students, check out the Women of Black Wall Street on May 31, the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. https://wp.me/PcigdD-3M

Elnora Ashford Grocer | Hair Artist & Authority | Commercial Land Owner Elnora Bonner Ashford was born in 1883 in Arkansas to a father who was originally from Mississippi and a mother who had been born in Ten…

In 1909, Loula T. Williams opened the Williams Confectionery in Greenwood.

The store was a popular hangout spot where Greenwood residents and customers chatted over ice cream, candy, and soda.

The Williams Family owned the famous Dreamland Theater and the first automobile in Greenwood.

In 1922, after a White mob destroyed 35 square blocks of Greenwood in the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Williams rebuilt their famous Williams Building.

To read Williams's biography and others, check out the Women of Black Wall Street on May 31, the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. https://wp.me/PcigdD-6N

Again -- thanks to Dr. Brandy Wells and her students.

Loula T. Williams A Business Woman with Few Equals Loula T. Williams was born in 1879 in Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee. 1920 U.S. census, Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, p. 5b, dwelling 109, family 80, Loula T; NA…

Dr. Brandy Wells was recently quoted in an article in the New Yorker about the Tulsa Race Massacre.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-women-who-preserved-the-story-of-the-tulsa-race-massacre

The Women Who Preserved the Story of the Tulsa Race Massacre Two pioneering Black writers have not received the recognition they deserve for chronicling one of the country’s gravest crimes.

Emma Gurley's name may be familiar to some—likely because she was the wife of the famous O.W. Gurley, popularly known as Tulsa's Black Wall Street founder.

While some sources recognize that the Gurleys were business partners, an Oklahoma State University student deepens what we understand by drawing attention to her economic pursuits and activism.

They noted that Emma's Gurley business dealings were a constant feature in the Tulsa Daily Legal News.

To read Gurley's biography and others authored by Oklahoma State University students, check out the Women of Black Wall Street on May 31, the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. https://wp.me/PcigdD-3K