2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Thursday, October 5, 2023

1921 - The World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time.

1947 - Harry Truman makes the 1st Presidential address televised from the White House

1961 - "Breakfast at Tiffany's" film, based on the novella by Truman Capote, directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, and Buddy Ebsen, premieres

1969 - The British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on the BBC and proved to be a watershed for TV comedy around the world

1990 - Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center and its director were acquitted of obscenity charges resulting from an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs

14 Things To Do Around D.C. This Weekend. DCist.

Alabama gets new congressional map that could yield Democrats a second seat in the state. CNN.

The big omissions at the renovated Smithsonian American Art Museum . The Washington Post.

Assistant Professor James McMaster

This newsletter edition we spotlight our most recent faculty addition James McMaster, an Assistant Professor of American Studies and English! While his research and teaching interests are broad, Professor McMaster always asks what role minoritarian art, theory, and organizing can play in making the world more livable for everyone. He specifically focuses on feminist, queer, and crip-of-color critique; Asian American theater, performance, visual culture, and literature; theories of affect and relationality; imperial, state, and interpersonal violence; and the strategies people use to combat such violence.

Currently, McMaster is working on his manuscript entitled Racial Care: The Asian American Case, which studies performances of care enacted within queer, feminist, and disabled Asian American cultural production, illuminating what they can teach us about how we might combat the costs of anti-Asian violence and neglect under contemporary neoliberalism.

After spending four years in the Midwest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, McMaster is excited to be back on the East Coast and living in D.C. He loves karaoke and trashy reality television and has been told by friends his Aquarius sun is very accurate to him. He would love to say hello if you see him around and looks forward to connecting with such a smart, diverse student body at GW!

What Can You Do With Your American Studies Degree?
GW AMST Alumni Panel

Join us for an online afternoon discussion with American Studies alumni about how they've put their degrees to use! More than a dozen alumni from our BA, MA, and PhD programs will talk about their careers, what they learned and perhaps didn't learn from our program, what they wished they'd known when starting out, and what advice they have for current and former students. Our speakers will discuss their careers in museums, non-profits, for-profits, the government, the academy, and more!

When: Friday, October 27, 2023; 12:30-4:45 PM
Where: Zoom

Mark you calendars! Registration links coming soon.

Beat, Blues, Black, and Legacy:
The Life and Work of Amiri Baraka

Join us for an evening of poetry and remembrances of the life and work of Amiri Baraka hosted by GW Libraries and the District of Columbia Library Association (DCLA). The event will also feature an exhibition of archival materials including an original advanced proof of Baraka’s Blues People: Negro Music in White America from the E. Ethelbert Miller papers.

When: Thursday, October 5, 2023; 7:00 PM
Where: Gelman Library, Room 702
*Open to all GW community and general public. Non-GW guests will be asked to show photo ID at the entrance to Gelman Library.*

RSVP here!

Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

DC Mondays: Women "Plane Plotters" During WWII
The GW Museum & Textile Museum

Join Anne Dobberteen as she discusses the “Washington Plane Plotters,” a group of volunteer, civilian women who manually plotted aircraft traveling through D.C.’s air space during World War II. Their secret (and unpaid) skilled labor provided an up-to-the-minute picture of the District’s sky for wartime defenses.

When: Monday, October 9, 2023; 12:00 PM
Where: Zoom

RSVP here!

Critical Conversations: Navigating Religious Diversity
Multicultural Student Services Center

Join GW's MSSC for an event focused on religious diversity and pluralism.

When: Tuesday, October 10, 2023;  5:30 PM
Where: University Student Center, Room 307

RSVP here!

Prof. Melani McAlister was recently elected as vice-president (and president elect) of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

PhD candidate Samantha Silver recently had their book review of Shawn Levy's In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Stand-up Comedy published in the Studies in American Humor.

PhD candidate GJ Sevillano recently brought their Dean Seminar students on a walking tour of DC's Chinatown neighborhood with the 1882 Foundation. The tour is part of Sevillano's course "Consuming Asian America."

GJ Sevillano's students on a walking tour of DC's Chinatown neighborhood.

Call for Papers: MPSA is currently accepting calls for papers for the 2024 conference to be held both in Chicago, IL and online. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Oct. 9, 2023.

Call for Applications: The Institute on the Formation of Knowledge at the University of Chicago invites applications for Postdoctoral Researchers at the Rank of Instructor, to begin on August 1, 2024. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Oct. 23, 2023

Call for Applications: The Humboldt Area Foundation is currently accepting applications for the Peter E. Palmquist Memorial Fund for Historical Photographic Research. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Oct. 31, 2023.

Call for Applications: Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship Programs welcome applications for 2024-2025. Since 1940, the institution has supported scholarship in the Humanities through its fellowships and grants. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Nov. 1, 2023.

Call for Applications: The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) is currently accepting applications for their Spring 2024 internship cycle. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Nov. 10, 2023.

Call for Abstracts: Ampersand: An American Studies Journal is currently accepting submissions for their Winter 2024 edition, "Tradition in Flux: Failure, Loss, and the Evolving Canon." Click here to learn more // Deadline: Nov. 17, 2023.

Call for Submissions: The DC History Conference committee is now accepting submissions for the 50th Annual DC History Conference, taking place April 4-6, 2024. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Nov. 17, 2023.

Call for Applications: The Newberry Library is currently accepting applications for the 2024-25 fellowships—both short and long-term. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Nov. 1, 2023 (Long-Term); Dec. 15, 2023 (Short-Term).

Call for Applications: AAJC is currently hiring for an Anti-Hate Policy Manager. This is a unionized position. Click here to learn more and apply // Deadline: rolling basis.

Need Support?

Is there a student discount at The Kennedy Center?

Yes! For discounted tickets, you can join the MyTix program at The Kennedy Center for free. Details can be found on their website here.

Like what you see? Have spotlights, kudos, events, or opportunities that you would like to share? We want to hear from you! Navigate to our feedback form using the link below, or more simply, forward your tip to amst@gwu.edu.