Born and raised in the Upper Midwest, Steven Hoelscher got to Texas as soon as he could. He joined the Department of American Studies in 2000, after completing his Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Wisconsin and teaching at LSU. During 2003-2004, he was Senior Fulbright Professor in the North American Studies Program at the University of Bonn.

Hoelscher teaches across the fields of American Studies, Geography and History. During the past few summers, he has taught a study abroad "Maymester" course in Vienna, Austria. His research interests include the history of photography, North American and European urbanism, social constructions of space and place, landscape and region, ethnicity and race, and cultural memory. Hoelscher is the Academic Curator for Photography at the Harry Ransom Center.