Benita Heiskanen is professor of North American studies at the University of Turku, Finland. She served as president of the American Studies Network (2020-2023) and sits on the advisory board of the European Journal of American Studies (2021-2029). Benita's research interests include transnational American studies, racial/ethnic, class, and gender relations, U.S. political culture, U.S.-Mexico border region, and space and place. She specializes in transdisciplinary research methods, ethnography, oral history, and visual analysis. She currently directs a Research Council of Finland project on "Reproduction Wars: Imaginaries and Mobilizations in the U.S.-Mexico Transborder Region" (2023-2027). She recently co-edited "Up in Arms: Gun Imaginaries in Texas" (Brill, 2022), the first volume in the new European Association for American Studies series on American studies. Benita received her Ph.D. in American studies at The University of Texas at Austin in 2004. She is a frequent commentator in Finnish media on U.S. history, politics, and culture.