James (Jay) Cook has taught U.S. history and American Studies at the University of Michigan since 2001. His publications include The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum (2001); The Colossal P.T. Barnum Reader (2005); and The Cultural Turn in U.S. History: Past, Present & Future (2008). He has also published articles in a number of leading journals, including the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, American Quarterly, and Raritan (some of which are available for download on this website). At present, he is finishing a large book (to be published by W.W. Norton & Co) on the first waves of African-American artists, writers, and activists to strategize their careers in global markets. He is also finishing a major conceptual essay on the “material turn” in U.S. historiography since the 1990s, as well as a more policy-oriented article on the UM HistoryLab program he helped to create between 2017 and 2022.
For additional information on Cook’s background and teaching, please click here.
