New Errands: The Undergraduate Journal of American Studies

10/28/2025

If you haven’t yet explored Volume 11 of New Errands: The Undergraduate Journal of American Studies, now’s a great time.

This issue features a diverse set of essays by undergraduate scholars that includes topics on everything from suburban film and design history to Civil War music, food culture, and street art. Our contributors examine the textures of American life through new perspectives and we’re thrilled to share their work.

If you work with (or know) undergraduates whose research engages with American Studies—whether through history, literature, culture, design, or politics—please encourage them to consider submitting to New Errands! Our journal is dedicated to showcasing exceptional undergraduate scholarship, and we welcome a wide range of topics and approaches.

Browse the full issue online here:

03/17/2025

New Errands is thrilled to resume its mission of publishing outstanding undergraduate essays in American Studies, following a brief hiatus. Our website now features our latest volume (11, 1-2); we welcome submissions for our forthcoming issue.

This issue of New Errands includes language considered racist and derogatory. The language occurs in the article titled "Abraham Lincoln and the Music of the Civil War". This content is preserved in its historical context for research purposes.

01/14/2020

The fall 2019 issue on New Errands is out! Congrats to Hannah Nasseri, Killian Kueny, Jeremy Boorum, Giulia Randazzo, and Raviv H.S. Monahan on their fine work!

02/06/2019

The latest issue of New Errands just hit this streets! Check out these nine exemplary essays by Peter Fedoryk, Jaime Buechel, Cuong Bui, Christina Tsoplakis, Selena Bemak, Catherine Pinkerton, and Olivia Wright. Congrats to this new group of Americanists!

08/17/2018

Slightly late, but worth the wait: the new issue of New Errands is out! Congrats to Alana Herrnson, Melanie Calderon, Edward Maza, Michael Rosenthal, Christopher Palmieri, Mitchell Wootten, Emma Lucier- Keller, and Julia Dennis, the latest additions to the next generation of Americanist scholars!

09/22/2017

Check out the latest issue of New Errands!

Volume 5.1 includes essays by Brianna Arney (Rowan University), Courtney DeFelice(Temple University), Hannah Elliott (La Salle University), Jackie Salg (Franklin and Marshall College), William Kowalik (Temple University), Brian O’Rourke (Rutgers University-Camden), and this year's Francis Ryan Award winning essay by Chloé Nurik (University of Pennsylvania).

Congratulations to these emerging scholars on a fine body of American Studies research!

05/08/2017

New Errands 4:2 (Spring 2017) is here!

Here's a preview of what these up-and-coming Americanist scholars are talking about:

American Women in World War Two: The Impact of Rationing and Shortages on Eating and Food Procurement
Alicia Depler, Franklin & Marshall College

Identity Through the Passport: Negotiating Simultaneous Belonging to the Nation-State and Cosmopolitan World Society
Catherine Mazanek, Miami University

Bodies Made Public: The Homeless Body in 1980s Los Angeles
Kathryn Reuter, California State University, Long Beach

Carrie Mae Weems: Writing A Universal African American History
Edward Meza, Yale University

Lifting the Curtain: How Lin-Manuel Miranda Challenged West Side Story’s Cultural Stereotypes
Schuyler Ritchie, Yale University

12/15/2016

The latest issue of New Errands (Volume 4, Issue 1, Fall 2016) is now live on our website! This volume features essays by Jessica Brand (Rutgers), Maura McKenna (La Salle), Emilie Woods (F&M), David Ward (Ramapo), Samantha Muller (Rutgers-Camden), and Elisabeth Wilder (Eastern Mennonite). Congratulations to an excellent group of young Americanist scholars!
https://journals.psu.edu/ne/issue/current

07/28/2015

After two years and four issues, we finally have a page! We'll be putting more up her in the future, but until we do, go check out the six excellent essays from our Spring 2015 issue. And keep the submissions coming in for next year's issues!

http://journals.psu.edu/ne/issue/current/showToc