Princeton University

The Anschutz Distinguished Fellow is appointed annually by the Princeton University Program in American Studies.

Endowed in 1997 through the generosity of Philip and Nancy Anschutz, and their daughters Sarah Anschutz Hunt ’93 and Elizabeth Anschutz ’96, the Anschutz Fellow program is designed to bring to Princeton for one semester a leading scholar or practitioner in American arts, letters, politics, or commerce. The chief goal is to widen the Program’s intellectual horizons, and offer an accomplished figure the chance to take part in Princeton’s singular scholarly, teaching, and social life.

Applications are encouraged from those with non-academic as well as academic credentials. Junior scholars are also eligible to apply, but will be appointed only if their applications show promise of making an exceptional contribution.

The Anschutz Distinguished Fellow teaches one multidisciplinary seminar course for upper-division undergraduates. Generally, admission to the course is by application, with preference given to students enrolled in the American Studies Program. Each semester consists of twelve teaching weeks, plus a one week break at mid-semester and a three-week reading and exam period. In addition to giving the course, each visitor will deliver one public lecture to an audience drawn generally from faculty, graduate students, and interested members of the larger Princeton community.

Each Fellow is expected to reside on or near campus, unless he or she can arrange residency within comfortable commuting distance of Princeton.  Fellows have access to all University scholarly facilities, including libraries and computers. There will be a fee for the use of University athletic facilities, if desired.

Each fellow will have a campus office near the American Studies Program office, equipped with a computer, printer, and telephone.  The Fellow will be appointed as Lecturer to an appropriate academic department as well as to the American Studies Program.

2009-2010 Anschutz Distinguished Fellow:

Kenneth Goldsmith (Spring 2010) is an accomplished poet with an impressive list of publications.  His writing has been called some of the most exhaustive and beautiful collage work yet produced in poetry by Publishers Weekly. Goldsmith is the author of nine books of poetry, founding editor of the online archive UbuWeb, and the editor I'll Be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews, which is the basis for an opera, "Trans-Warhol," premiered in Geneva in March of 2007. An hour-long documentary on his work, "Sucking on Words: Kenneth Goldsmith" premiered at the British Library in 2007. Kenneth Goldsmith is the host of a weekly radio show on New York City's WFMU. He teaches writing at The University of Pennsylvania, where he is a senior editor of PennSound, an online poetry archive. A book of critical essays, "Uncreative Writing," is forthcoming from Columbia University Press.  He will teach a seminar titled "Uncreative Writing" in the Spring 2010 semester. 

Previous Anschutz Distinguished Fellows:

Ken Emerson (spring 1999) music critic, author of Doo-Dah: Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture. Mr. Emerson taught an American Studies seminar on American music, literature, and painting from 1800-1865, and delivered a public lecture titled "Life After Elvis: How the Brill Building Reconstructed Rock’n’Roll."

Greil Marcus (fall 2000) cultural critic, author of Mystery Train and Invisible Republic. Mr. Marcus taught a seminar titled "Prophecy and the American Voice," and lectured on the same topic, as exemplified in the work of the singer and storyteller David Thomas. 

Bonnie Marranca, (spring 2001) performance critic and Professor of Art and Performance at the University of Texas, Dallas, co-founder and editor of Peforming Arts Journal and PAJ Publications.  Ms. Marranca taught and lectured on contemporary performance in the United States.

Jeff Shesol (spring 2002) former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Speechwriting at the Clinton White House, and founding partner of West Wing Writers, LLC, taught a course titled "Behind the Bully Pulpit:  The History of the Presidential Speech," and lectured on the same topic.

Steve Fraser (spring 2003), writer and editor, and author of Wall Street:  A Cultural History of America's Dream Palace, taught and lectured on the cultural history of Wall Street.

Maurice Ferré (spring 2004) former Mayor of Miami, with distinguished career in politics and policy-making,  taught and lectured on the changing American identity.

Wendy Lesser (fall 2004), founder and editor of The Threepenny Review, and editor of several books, including the recent Nothing Remains the Same:  Rereading and Remembering,  taught a course titled "Autobiography and Criticism," and lectured on Joan Didion's latest memoir.

Sheila Curran Bernard (fall 2005), an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and writer, taught “History on Film,” and curated a series of illustrated talks, "American Visions in Documentary," by distinguished filmmakers including Susan Froemke, Ric Burns, Samuel D. Pollard, Muffie Meyer & Ronald Blumer, and herself.   Bernard’s broadcast credits include I’ll Make Me A World, Eyes on the Prize, and School: The Story of American Public Education. She is the author of Documentary Storytelling.

Chris Hedges (Spring 2006), a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, has written several important books on war and religion, including the highly acclaimed War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning.  He taught and lectured on "The Christian Right and the Open Society."

Lee Clarke (Spring 2007), Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University and author of Worst Cases:  Terror and Catastrophe in the Popular Imagination, taught a seminar on "Disaster, Culture, and Society."