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Welcome to the Crossroads in the Study of the Americas

Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA) is a center dedicated to new teaching and scholarship on the Americas. Founded in 1997, CISA brings together faculty from Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who work together to explore relational aspects of identity in the Americas.

Instead of adopting a North-South approach, CISA has developed a triangular model for its work, where the three sides are formed by the Old World (Africa, Asia, Europe), the polities of the New World, and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. This conception of the Americas as a crossroads seeks to promote an awareness of the historical and material inter-relationality of citizenship, migration, diaspora, and nationhood.

UPCOMING: Twelfth Annual CISA Student Symposium

NEW! Black Diasporas event page

Featured Events

04/23/2009 Toumani Diabate performance
Toumani Diabate and his orchestra will give a performance at the Fine Arts Center, UMass, at 7:30pm, April 23.   more>

04/22/2009 Earth Day celebrations with Toumani Diabate
Kora master Toumani Diabate will help celebrate Earth Day at the Fine Arts Center Plaza at UMass on Wednesday, April 22, 4:00-7:00pm.  more>

04/18/2009 CISA Student Symposium
The Twelfth Annual Student Symposium will take place on Saturday, April 18 in the Neilson Browsing Room (Neilson Library) at Smith College.   more>

04/14/2009 Second Annual Eric Schocket Lecture on Class & Culture
For the 2nd Annual Eric Schocket Lecture on Class & Culture, Michael Denning will give a talk entitled "Spectre of Wageless Life," at 4pm, 4/14/2009, in the Main Lecture Hall of Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College.  more>

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