Alexander Weheliye, the Malcon S. Forbes Professor and chair of the department of modern culture and media at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has been elected president of the American Studies Association, the largest scholarly organization focused on the interdisciplinary study of United States history and culture within a global context. Dr. Weheliye will serve a one-year term as president-elect, followed by a term as president in 2027 and a term as past-president in 2028.
“I’m extremely excited and honored to lead the American Studies Association, which is now more necessary than ever,” said Dr. Weheliye. “Prioritizing academic freedom and the accessibility of knowledge in universities, colleges and other institutions, both in the U.S. and abroad, is essential to maintaining the foundational tenets of the American Studies Association.”
As writer, professor, and curator, Dr. Weheliye examines Black studies, critical theory, gender and sexuality studies, Black visual culture, social technology, and popular culture. The professor is the author of three books: Phonographies: Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity (Duke University Press, 2005), Habeas Viscus: Racializing Assemblages, Biopolitics, and Black Feminist Theories of the Human (Duke University Press, 2014), and Feenin: R&B Music and the Materiality of BlackFem Voices and Technology (Duke University Press, 2023). Dr. Weheliye’s current book project is a memoir about growing up in East Germany and Somalia, highlighting how deeply state power infiltrates and shapes everyday lives.
A Brown University faculty member since 2022, Dr. Weheliye holds a bachelor’s degree from Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
