About Us

Lauren Rabinovitz, Director
Professor, American Studies and Cinema and Comparative Literature

Advisory Board 2010-11

Women of Color in Popular Culture Research Group
Associate Professor Aimee Carrillo-Rowe (Rhetoric)
Associate Professor Miriam Thaggert (English/African American Studies)
Assistant Professor Deborah Whaley (American Studies/African American Studies)

Food Studies Research Group
Professor Constance H. Berman (History)
Associate Professor Barbara Mooney (Art and Art History)
Professor Lauren Rabinovitz (American Studies and Cinema and Comparative Literature)
Associate Professor Cameron Thies (Politial Science)
Associate Professor Doris Witt (English/Law)

Identities and Technoculture Research Group
Associate Professor Kembrew McLeod (Communication Studies)
Assistant Professor Andr Brock (Library & Information Sciences/POROI)
Assistant Professor Deborah Whaley (American Studies/African American Studies)

Staff
Cinda Nofziger (American Studies), Special Events Assistant

Mission Statement Approved by the Advisory Board, April 3, 2007

• Foster new scholarship about ethnicity and creative expression
• Encourage consideration of cultural diversity in all humanities research about the arts and expressive cultures
• Collaborate with UI departments and programs to enhance curriculum and the study of ethnic and racial communities as well as of cultural diversity
• Stimulate scholarly and public discussion about the roles of race and ethnicity in critical interpretation

History

Created in July 2006, CESA recognizes that art and creative expression are integrated components of religion, ritual, everyday life, and other cultural practices of minority communities. The Center seeks and encourages multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches to studying these practices as well as to the ways that ethnicity and the arts shape U.S. national and international issues and cultures. It draws on the UI’s distinction in the arts as well as in histories and critical interpretations of expressive cultures. The Center’s programs include the study of historical examples as well as contemporary ones. The Center’s activities include lectures and speaker series, symposia, proseminars, and workshops.

Member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes.