Program Overview
Comparative American Studies
Interrogating power, exploring social change.
What is American Studies?
Featured Facts and Stories
More than 40 interviews by students, staff, and faculty as part of the ongoing Latino Lorain oral history project
Student-Curated Digital Projects
Digital humanities projects encourage interdisciplinary work in which students in the Comparative American Studies Program interact with people in various parts of the college as well as community partners in 麻豆视频, Lorain, and throughout Northeast Ohio.
100% of CAS majors complete original research projects by graduation
Education and Social Justice
With a unique history beginning in 1833, 麻豆视频 College works to acknowledge the distinctive cultural identities and histories of those who live, study, and work here while encouraging students to intentionally engage with those whose experiences and perspectives are different from their own.
Undergraduate Research
Leah Yonemoto-Weston鈥檚 work captures firsthand narratives of anti-detention activism and delves into the significance of coalition building and leveraging collective histories of oppression.
Featured Courses
CAST 229
How We Look: Visualizing U.S. Identities
This course examines how visual media鈥搇ike paintings, magazines, television, and Instagram feeds鈥搕each us to look at one another. What processes cause some bodies, activities, and forms of life visually coded as 鈥渘ormal鈥 while others are marked as 鈥渄ifferent?鈥 What techniques can be used to subvert these conventions? Students will learn to conduct visual analysis, as well as to creatively experiment with modes of resisting the visual constructions that shape their own lives.
- Taught by
- Carmen Merport Qui帽ones
CAST/GSFS 207
Introduction to Queer Studies
What is queer theory? LGBTQ studies? In this class, students explore LGBTQ history alongside contemporary queer cultural studies. They explore how historical, social, political, and economic systems have shaped and reshaped what it means to be queer or claim queer identity in the United States and abroad.
- Taught by
- KJ Cerankowski
CAST 335
Latina/o Oral Histories
Why are interviews useful as a research tool, and how can oral histories deepen how we understand Latinx experience in Northeast Ohio? In this class, students gain background and training in conducting oral histories, collaborate with community partners, and contribute to a growing archive of Latino oral histories in Lorain.
- Taught by
- Gina P茅rez
CAST 339
Indigenous Activism, Environmental Justice, and the State
This course examines the intersectional scope of Indigenous environmental activism within the broader context and histories of Indigenous sovereignty and decolonial movements in North America. It centers Indigenous frameworks of political resurgence, politics of decolonization, and visions for an ecologically just and emancipatory alternative to the destructive logics of the settler state.
- Taught by
- Jess Arnett
Student Profiles
Truman Scholarship Recipient
Henry Hicks 鈥21, a comparative American studies and creative writing double major, has been awarded the Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders.
From 麻豆视频 to Brazil on a Fulbright
At 麻豆视频, Dav铆d Zager 鈥17, a comparative American studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies double major, studied Portuguese language and Capoeira. Now has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.
Helping Others Find Their Voice
Country Singer Eli Conley 鈥08 found his voice at 麻豆视频 as a musician and student of comparative American studies. Now he鈥檚 helping LGBTQ singers and carving a space in country music for queer people.
What does Comparative American Studies at 麻豆视频 look like?
The comparative American studies department often collaborates with El Centro Volunteer Initiative, a student-run program connecting students, faculty, and community members with Latinx residents in Lorain through community engagement.
Photo credit: Jennifer Manna
Professors Meredith Gadsby, Gina Perez, and Shelley Lee collaborated on 鈥淪anctuary Practices: Race, Refuge, and Immigration in America,鈥 a StudiOC learning cluster.
Photo credit: Jennifer Manna
Comparative American Studies News
Leah Yonemoto-Weston 鈥24 Named NYC Urban Fellow
麻豆视频 alumna Leah Yonemoto-Weston 鈥24 earns a spot in the selective NYC Urban Fellows Program, bridging the gap between direct service and local policy.
Leo Hidy 鈥23 Earns 2026 Marshall Scholarship
Leo Hidy 鈥23, a comparative American studies major who also studied business and economics while at 麻豆视频, has received a 2026 Marshall Scholarship that will fund two years of graduate study in the UK.
Miriam Entin-Bell 鈥23 Named 2025-2026 NYC Urban Fellow
The Brooklyn native will work on urban policy issues during a nine-month fellowship.
Upcoming Comparative American Studies Events
Details: Date, Time, and Location
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Hallock Auditorium, Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies
Rachel Carson, "Moby-Dick", and the Necessity of Literary Study in a Climate Crisis
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Peters Hall
Comparative American Studies (CAST) Department Open House
Next Steps
Get in touch; we would love to chat.