Graduate students enter the Saint Louis University American Studies program with a variety of skills, research interests, backgrounds and professional histories. This diversity of backgrounds is highly valued and enriches our department.
An introductory core sequence at SLU ensures that all subsequent courses, symposia, workshops and internships revolve around a common frame of reference. You and your cohort will then move through a rigorous curriculum that offers you sound, ethical and broad professional development.
Current Graduate Students
Khalid Abdulqaadir
Ph.D. student
Khalid.abdulqaadir@slu.edu
I am a veteran and former intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency. I have earned a B.S. in business administration, an MBA, a master of international relations, and hold certification in advanced Russian language studies and a professional screenwriter's certificate from UCLA. I am a certified screenplay analyst for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars), and an essayist who has been published in the Boston Globe and the New York Times. My research interests within American studies are African American film and literature.
Michael Brickey
Ph.D. candidate he/him
michael.brickey@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Down to the Wire: Cultures of Energy, Politics of Infrastructure, and Energy Justice in the American Midwest since the 1970s”
I study United States cultures of the 20th and 21st centuries with a focus on the culture and political economies of place. My research interests fall primarily at the interdisciplinary intersection of urban and environmental studies, but also cultural geography, critical race, ethnic, and Indigenous studies, and the energy humanities. My dissertation project will examine the politics of climate change, cultures of energy, and various entanglements over place in the American Midwest. I have a B.A. in political science with a geography minor from the University of Missouri, an M.A. in history from San Diego State University, and an M.A. in American studies from Saint Louis University. In 2019, I helped to cofound the Graduate Public Humanities Working Group at SLU, a volunteer, student-run organization open to all graduate students in the humanities and social sciences with interest in the broad and diverse field of public humanities.
Gregory Carr
Ph.D. student
gregory.s.carr@slu.edu
I am a St. Louis historian and Ph.D. student in American studies. My interests are in urban history and black political activism. I have been studying the life and works of Martin Luther King, Jr. since graduate school and I am very interested in researching his influence on the ecumenical community in St. Louis. King spoke at Temple Israel (now the Missouri History Museum Archives), Christ Church Cathedral, Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, and lastly, at Saint Louis University. His presence in St. Louis ranged from a casual breakfast with a former Morehouse classmate to addressing an interracial audience one day before he was given the Nobel Peace Prize.
Bryonie Carter
Ph.D. candidate
bryonie.carter@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Rune-Maker, Majic–Maker, Traveler: The Mystical Tourism of H.D. and Her Circle"
My research interests include modernism, feminist theories, mythology, and transnational literature. I am an associate professor of English and chair of the service-learning and civic engagement program at St. Charles Community College.
Zackary Davis
Ph.D. student
zackary.davis@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Epistemologies at Play: Access, Equity, and Representation in US Cultures of Chess”
I received my B.A. from the University of Texas in history, English, and American studies. My predominant research interests include the history of American policing and efforts at resisting it, protest movements, decoloniality, water distribution, and cultural memory.
Tim Deposki
Ph.D. student
tim.deposki@slu.edu
I am a local high school American and world history teacher, as well as the sponsor for my school’s youth and government program, mock trial teams, Travel and Cultures Society club, and Foundation Junior Board club. Additionally, I serve as the announcer and scoreboard operator for multiple sports. I hold a B.A. in history and a master’s in education from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. My undergraduate research analyzed suburban displacement in St. Louis, while my master’s research evaluated the transition from lecture-based instruction to primary resource analysis to enhance historical inquiry and modern connections. Outside of academia, I am a passionate history enthusiast, a devoted St. Louis sports fan, and a video game lover — especially of the N64 and GameCube. I also enjoy spending time with my family, friends and pets.
Jason Gallagher
Ph.D. student
jason.gallagher@slu.edu
I am a poet and educator with 14 years of experience in higher education, having served as a composition and creative writing instructor throughout the Midwest and Northeast. I was a contributing editor at Evergreen Review and am a member of The Unbearables poetry collective. My work has appeared in The Otter and in the Kind of a Hurricane Press anthologies The Seasons and Storm Cycle, as well as in the first two issues of Post[blank], The Pangolin Review, A Gathering of the Tribes, The Santa Clara Review, and South Florida Poetry Journal. Additionally, I have published book reviews in Sensitive Skin, Gainsayer, and The Otter, with my review of the Grateful Dead's St. Louis box set featured in the most recent Grateful Dead Studies. Originally from the St. Louis area, I have a strong interest in the built environment of the Washington Avenue corridor during the late nineteenth century. Currently, I serve as a sessional interruption ranger at Gateway Arch National Park.
Kristine Haglund
Ph.D. student
kristine.haglund@slu.edu
My academic background is in German literature, however, much of my work has focused on religious studies and U.S. business history. My research interests include the history of women and children in American religions, the intersections of religion and capitalism, and the intellectual history of 19th-century America. I have published work on children's religious songbooks and Mormon mommy blogs from the early 2000s, as well as the inaugural volume in the University of Illinois Press's series of short introductions to Mormon thinkers. Outside of my academic pursuits, I have a passion for wallpaper from the British Arts & Crafts movement and classical music. I like to think I would have excelled at trivia night around 1910!
Cicely B. Hunter
Ph.D. candidate
cicely.hunter@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Blaring Silence: The Silent Protest of 1917 and Its Historical Influence on Activism”
I am a doctoral student originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and I joined the SLU American Studies Department in Fall 2014. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University in Spring 2014, double majoring in history and political science. My research interests consist of early 20th-century black women’s history with an emphasis on memory and feminism.
Nathan Johnston
Ph.D. student
nathan.johnston@slu.edu
I joined the American Studies program in Spring 2021 after many years in the classroom teaching American and world history to local high school students. I hold a Bachelor of Journalism and a B.A. in history from the University of Missouri, and I earned an M.A. in American culture studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Having recently begun the program, I have yet to determine a research focus; however, my interests lie in urban studies, particularly the rise, fall, and renaissance of industrial Midwestern cities.
Nathan Martel
Ph.D. student
nathan.martel@slu.edu
My research focuses on music as a function of identity formation in both contemporary and historical contexts. I examine the relationship between self and community as it relates to social formation, as well as the structure of feeling inscribed in both the creation and consumption of aural arrangements. These motivations drive my musical inquiries. My scholarly interests also extend to race, urban settings, cultural studies, and sociological theory; however, the list is extensive. When I am not reading every assigned word, I can be found frequenting local record stores in my endless pursuit of collecting more vinyl.
Uğur Öztürk
Ph.D. student
ugur.ozturk@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Welfare to Self-Care: Cultural Work of Neoliberalism in the United States”
Originally from Turkey, I received a Bachelor’s Degree in American Culture and Literature from Bilkent University. In 2017, I earned my M.A. in American studies from Penn State–Harrisburg. In Fall 2018, I became a Ph.D. student in SLU’s American studies department. My research interests focus on studying American neoliberalism as a cultural structure that brings market rationality, competition, individualism, and fetishization of wealth into all spheres of life. When I am not studying popular culture to explore the traces of the neoliberal cultural structure, I enjoy writing short stories.
Giuliana Piccione
Ph.D. student | she/her
giuliana.piccione@slu.edu
I am from central Illinois, where I studied at Bradley University, receiving a B.A. in English and a B.S. in sociology. I came to Saint Louis University because American studies is the perfect place for me to continue pursuing interdisciplinarity in my work. My research interests include the intersection of historical records and physical objects, sociocultural aspects of storytelling, materiality and feminism. Additionally, I enjoy trying my hand at various practices related to my studies, from calligraphy to lace making, to experience them firsthand and explore the impacts of that practice.
Emily Quartarone
Ph.D. candidate | she/her/hers
emily.quartarone@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “American Godzilla”
With a B.F.A. in theatre from Columbus State University and a year of experience working for the Project Continua female biography project (now known as The New Historia), I entered the field of American studies with a background in the arts and public humanities. I earned my M.A. in American studies, along with a graduate certificate in women’s, gender and sexuality Studies, from The George Washington University in 2017. My research interests include transnationalism, film studies, and the horror genre, specifically focusing on American remakes of foreign horror films. I examine the cultural exchanges and appropriations, as well as American exceptionalism and revisionism present in these interchanges. Additionally, I am a member of the Graduate Public Humanities Working Group at SLU and a former American studies ambassador to the SLU Graduate Student Association.
Darby Ratliff
Ph.D. candidate | she/her/hers
darby.ratliff@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “‘Church-School-State’”: Boarding Schools & Catholic Education in the 19th Century”
I am a doctoral candidate from Cleveland, originally from Buffalo, New York. I hold an undergraduate degree in English, creative writing and political science, as well as a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs administration from Canisius College. My research interests include 19th-century Catholicism, Native American history, and archival studies. My dissertation focuses on the intersections between Catholic schools for white students and Catholic schools for Indigenous students, examining what can be learned about empire, education, and citizenship through this history. When I am not discussing religious history, I enjoy working on crossword puzzles, watching sports, or engaging in conversations about the importance of teamwork.
Vanessa Reger
Ph.D. student
vanessa.reger@slu.edu
I graduated from Saint Louis University (SLU) in 2023 with a B.A. in American studies and history, and I am excited to continue my education within this department. My primary interests during my undergraduate studies included American death culture, how Americans cope with trauma induced by conflict (both internal and external), and the influential role of public memorialization in maintaining public memory. My senior thesis focused on the Korean War Veterans Memorial, analyzing its ability to hold and transmit memory of the Korean War to the American public. I look forward to further interrogating public memory sites and their influence on public interpretations of the past. Additionally, I am deeply interested in folk culture, spirituality, and storytelling as integral components of maintaining public memory. So please share your ghost stories with me!
Kendyl M. Schmidt
Ph.D. candidate
kendyl.schmidt@slu.edu
Dissertation working title: “Overkill: Culture and Resistance to Anatomical Dissection in Antebellum America”
I am a doctoral student with a long and winding academic trajectory. After receiving my bachelor's degree in political science and a master's in public administration, I spent several years working in health care before returning to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for my master's in History. I came to Saint Louis University to pursue my research interests, which include 19th-century death culture and the relationship between science, medicine, religion, and death. I am fascinated by disease and society; my Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw, and my favorite dogs are Corgis.
Savannah Sowell
M.A. student
savannah.sowell@slu.edu
I received my Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh, where I developed my primary research interests in urban history and American carceral systems. I work as the program coordinator for a local college-in-prison program, which provides undergraduate degrees, academic support, and reentry services to incarcerated students at two nearby Missouri prisons.
Rebecca Stokem
Ph.D. student | she/her/hers
rebecca.stokem@slu.edu
I am originally from New Jersey and received both my B.A. in English and creative writing and my M.A. in English literature from Seton Hall University, where I focused primarily on epistemology and genre conventions in the rise of the novel. My current research and teaching focus on literary and popular culture portrayals of 20th- and 21st-century wars and the U.S. military, with a particular interest in depictions of the War on Terror. Additionally, I have received a graduate minor in women’s and gender studies here at Saint Louis University (SLU). Outside of school, you can usually find me at a movie theater or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Grace Teofilo
M.A. student
grace.teofilo@health.slu.edu
Born and raised in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with bachelor’s degrees in history and political science, along with certificates in leadership and gender and women’s studies. I work at Saint Louis University as the program coordinator for the Center for Interpersonal Education and Research. I am interested in studying interpretation techniques at national parks and exploring ways to connect local communities to historic sites. I am a founding member of the National Association for Interpretation’s Young Professional Council and a certified interpretive guide. Additionally, I serve on the parish council of St. Francis Xavier (College) Church and act as the parish liaison for the College Church Young Professionals organization. Previously, I was an interpretive park ranger at Gateway Arch National Park and taught for Disney English in Shanghai.