In The Americanista, together with my friend and colleague Sarah McCreedy, I am exploring the importance, role and works of prominent female scholars, writers and activists in the broad field of American Studies. Our aim is not only to highlight the outstanding work of women in academia (in the past and the present), but also to make content and people accessible and approachable for students of this field.
Episode 1
Episode 1! In this episode, you will get to know the team behind the podcast: Dr Caroline Schroeter and Sarah McCreedy. Together, we will introduce you to the podcast and take you on a quick tour of what lies ahead. In the honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement, we discuss current events and developments and investigate the situation in Ireland.
Episode 2
The second episode of the podcast is dedicated to the 1820s. We take a look at prominent female scholars and authors in American Studies, of the late Enlightenment in the US, like Mary Shelly
.
Episode 3
In our third episode, we continue our exploration of the 19th century and discuss research and literature from the 1830s, the beginning of the Romantic Period.
Special Episode:
Special Episode 1: This special episode is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the IAAS, the Irish Association for American Studies. Sarah and I interview prominent Irish scholars in the field of American Studies and together we explore some of the challenges presented to members of the IAAS over these fifty years, for example, we delve into the crossover between Irish and American identities and discuss the challenges of being an “all island” association.
Special Episode 2: In our second special episode, we continue our exploration of the IAAS to take a closer look at the role of women in American Studies in Ireland. Who are they, what are their research interests and what are their stories? In a conversation with Professor Catherine Gander, we discuss topics like intersectionality, women in academia, researching the United States in Ireland, and perks and challenges of being a female chair of an organization like the IAAS.
Special Episode 3: The third special episode of The Americanista is dedicated to the research of members of the IAAS. In this episode, we interview a variety of Irish scholars at different career stages who share their experience and stories of living and researching North American literature, history, film, politics etc in Ireland with us. Together with --- (Dara? Sarah? Jenny? Loretta?), we explore the identity of the IAAS and share prominent work of Irish researchers in American Studies.
The fourth episode of The Americanista is the last episode dedicated to the 1840s. In this episode, we interview a variety of scholars who share their research about the 1840s with us. What are important events in this decade? Whose books and poems should you read from this time?
Episode 4
In the fifth episode of our podcast, we discuss the work and life of female scholars and writers from the 1850s. In this decade, at the height of slavery, Sarah and I discuss the work and research you should delve into to know more about the 50s. For example, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Harriet E. Wilson became the first black women to publish fiction in the US and Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Episode 5
Episode 6
The 1860s, a lot to cover in this episodes: The American Civil War, the abolition of slavery and a lot more! Harriet Jacobs’ slave narrative and other prominent books are among the works we will discuss in this episode.