Miles Orvell is a professor of English and American studies at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He is the founding editor of the ''

Encyclopedia of American Studies The ''Encyclopedia of American Studies'' (EAS) covers the history and culture of the United States, from Pre-Colonial America, pre-colonial days to the present, and the American Studies, American Studies movement. The ''Encyclopedia of American S ...

''.

Biography

Orvell received his B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and Ph.D. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He joined the faculty of

in 1969. Orvell has written on literary criticism and American cultural history with a specialization in visual culture. He has also written about the intersections between technology and culture as well as small-town life in America and its role in American culture and identity. From 2003 to 2011, he was the editor of the

. His book, ''The Real Thing,'' inspired British artist Holly Hendry's exhibition ''The Dump Is Full of Images'' at

Yorkshire Sculpture Park The Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is an art gallery, with both open-air and indoor exhibition spaces, in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It shows work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barb ...

in 2019.

Bibliography

* ''Empire of Ruins: American Culture, Photography, and the Spectacle of Destruction'' (Oxford University Press, 2021) * ''Photography in America'' (Oxford University Press, 2016) * ''The Real Thing: Imitation and Authenticity in American Culture, 1880-1940.'' 25th Anniversary edition, 2014. (University of North Carolina Press) * ''Rethinking the American City: An International Dialogue,'' co-edited with Klaus Benesch (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013) * ''The Death and Life of Main Street: Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community'' (University of North Carolina Press, 2012) * ''John Vachon’s America, Photographs and Letters from the Depression to World War II'' (University of California Press, 2003) * ''American Photography ''(Oxford History of Art Series, Oxford University Press, 2003) * ''After the Machine: Visual Arts and the Erasing of Cultural Boundaries'' (University Press of Mississippi, 1995) * ''Invisible Parade: The Fiction of Flannery O'Connor'' (Temple University Press, 1972). Reprinted, with a new preface, as ''Flannery O'Connor: An Introduction'' (University Press of Mississippi, Fall 1991)

Awards

Orvell received the Bode-Pearson Prize from the

American Studies Association The American Studies Association (ASA) is a scholarly organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture, U.S. culture and American history, history. It was founded in 1951 and claims to be the oldest scholarly organization d ...

for lifetime achievement in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orvell, Miles Living people American studies scholars Temple University faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Harvard University alumni Cultural historians Year of birth missing (living people)