B. Alex Beasley

B. Alex Beasley is an Assistant Professor in the American Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. He earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University in 2016 and previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Mahindra Humanities Center and a Member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Education

• B.A. in History, University of Georgia
• Ph.D. in American Studies, Yale University, 2016

Research Interests
Professor Beasley is an interdisciplinary scholar of capitalism and U.S. empire, focusing on how economic ideologies shape racial formations, gender, and sexuality. His work explores energy, environmental humanities, urban studies, and the culture of service work and reproductive labor.

Scientific Awards and Fellowships

• Honorable Mention, Betty M. Unterberger Dissertation Prize (SHAFR)
• Stuart L. Bernath Scholarly Article Prize (2018)
• Miller Center National Fellowship (University of Virginia)
• John E. Rovensky Fellowship in U.S. Business and Economic History
• Support from the American Historical Association, New Orleans Center for the Global South, and the Coca-Cola World Fund

Teaching and Public Engagement
He teaches courses such as Main Currents of American Culture to 1865 (AMS 355), Emotions in History (UGS 302), and U.S. Capitalism and Culture (AMS 390/WGS 393). Beasley co-hosts the podcast Who Makes Cents: A History of Capitalism Podcast and serves as Book Review Editor at Enterprise and Society.