Dr. Scott Sandage

Biography

Professor Sandage is a cultural historian specializing in the changing aspects of American identity in the nineteenth-century United States. He is the author of "Born Losers: A History of Failure in America" (Harvard University Press, 2005), which was selected as an "Editor’s Choice" book by Atlantic Monthly magazine and awarded the 34th Annual Thomas J. Wilson Prize. The book has been translated into Japanese and Chinese and explored themes of failure in American history. In addition to teaching undergraduate courses on U.S. history, capitalism, individualism, and the U.S. Constitution, he also advises doctoral dissertations at the graduate level. Active in public history, he has consulted for institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives. Honors include being elected to the American Antiquarian Society and receiving the Elliot Dunlap Smith Award for Distinguished Teaching. His research project centers on the narratives surrounding Native American and mixed-race identities in the United States.

Research Interests