An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe

Contributions by Mary Berman, Mary M. Burke, Abigail C. Fine, Juliette Holder, KC Hysmith, Mackenzie Kwok, Esther Martin, Hannah Matthews, Janine B. Napierkowski, Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler, Samantha Pickette, Sheena Roetman-Wynn, Rebekkah Rubin, Marissa J. Spear, Tara Strauch, Cary Tide, and Laura Traister

An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe turns American Girl dolls--and the ever-growing ecosystem surrounding them--inside out. Editors Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler and KC Hysmith, along with an expansive list of contributors across multiple disciplines and within different research areas, explore Pleasant Company (American Girl’s parent corporation) and the social and cultural impact the dolls and broader American Girl universe continue to have for generations of American consumers through thoughtful and fun essays.

This collection serves as an ode to the democratizing power of the internet and the intoxicating power of nostalgia, while also looking toward the future as the eldest American Girl fans become parents themselves. It is also a critical account of the ways in which American Girl has shaped senses of self-worth and hopes for the future, securing a base of lifelong consumers, and also serves as a love letter to the kids we collectively used to be. Along the way, readers will take seriously American Girl’s influence and place within larger cultural conversations. They will find essays focusing on topics as diverse as food and historical recipes in American Girl publications, the advent of ＂tag yourself＂ memes, the struggle to find authentic and long-lasting Asian American representation within the pages of the American Girl catalog, and the enduring power of The Care and Keeping of You as a resource for finding joy in our bodies.

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler is a writer and folklorist. She earned her MA in folklore with a certificate in Jewish studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. She is a frequent contributor to Lilith magazine, and her work has also been featured in Southern Cultures, the Bitter Southerner, In geveb, and the New York Times. KC Hysmith is a writer and food scholar whose work focuses on the intersection of women, food, and technologies. She holds a PhD in American studies from the University of North Carolina. Her work has been featured in Southern Cultures, Eater, the Boston Globe, and Gastronomica. Hysmith is associate editor, along with fellow food scholar Marcie Cohen Ferris, of Edible North Carolina: A Journey across a State of Flavor and served as the historical editor for When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes from Every Corner of the American South, a cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen.