Miles Orvell

Miles Orvell is a professor of English and American studies at Temple University. He is the founding editor of the Encyclopedia of American Studies.

Biography
Orvell received his B.A. from Columbia University and Ph.D. from Harvard University. He joined the faculty of Temple University in 1969.

Orvell has written on literary criticism and American cultural history with a specialization in visual culture. He has also written about the intersections between technology and culture as well as small-town life in America and its role in American culture and identity. From 2003 to 2011, he was the editor of the Encyclopedia of American Studies.

His book, The Real Thing, inspired British artist Holly Hendry's exhibition The Dump Is Full of Images at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2019.

Awards
Orvell received the Bode-Pearson Prize from the American Studies Association for lifetime achievement in American studies.