Steven D Hoelscher

Steven D Hoelscher is a Professor of American Studies and Faculty Curator of Photography at the Harry Ransom Center, both within the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been with UT Austin since 2000, after teaching at LSU.

• Education: Ph.D. in Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison

His research spans the history of photography, American race and racism, urbanism, cultural memory, and social constructions of space. He has authored or co-edited several books, including Reading Magnum and Picturing Indians, and has published over 40 articles and book chapters in journals like American Quarterly and History of Photography. From 2024–2025, he curated the exhibition Visualizing the Environment: Ansel Adams and His Legacy at the Harry Ransom Center.

He teaches courses such as Introduction to American Studies, The Cultures of Cities, and Memory and Place, and has led a summer study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, for over a decade. His work engages transnational dialogues, including a 2017 workshop in Konstanz, Germany, on visual culture and inequality.

• Scientific Awards and Honors:
  • 2013 Photo Book of the Year by American Photo Magazine
  • 2009 Wisconsin Historical Society Book Award of Merit
  • 2005 University of Texas President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award

Professor Hoelscher continues to explore the Magnum Photos archive and is developing a book project titled Magnum’s Geographies Toward a Global Sense of Place, alongside research on Viennese monuments and the Nazi past in Austria.