Jonathan Schroeder

Jonathan Schroeder is a Lecturer in the Department of Literary Arts and Studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Trained as an Americanist at the University of Chicago, his research and teaching focus on histories of race, colonialism, emotion, and the movement of Enlightenment knowledge systems to the Americas. He combines literary scholarship with interdisciplinary approaches in affect theory, historical epistemology, and environmental humanities.

Education:

• AB, Dartmouth College
• MA, Brown University
• PhD, University of Chicago

Schroeder's work bridges literary history with the materialist turn, examining how frameworks of knowledge justified colonial hierarchies and shaped modern subjectivity. His research also explores the intersections of democracy, tyranny, and kinship through the biographical lens of the Jacobs family.

Scientific Awards:

• Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction (2025)
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
• American Antiquarian Society Fellowship
• John Carter Brown Library Fellowship
• Huntington Library Fellowship
• Library Company of Philadelphia Fellowship

Schroeder’s publications and grants reflect a commitment to uncovering marginalized narratives, particularly in African American literature and transnational migration studies. He currently serves as a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.