Steven Watts specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of the United States. He has published articles and essays in American Quarterly, Journal of American History, Journal of the Early Republic, and American Studies. The Republic Reborn won the annual book prize from the National Historical Society and was runner-up for the best book award from the American Studies Association. His work on Walt Disney for his book The Magic Kingdom led to appearances on a CBS/Time Magazine documentary, Makers of the Twentieth Century, while his expertise on Henry Ford produced an appearance on an NBC/CNBC documentary entitled Money and Power. His latest work is a biography of Hugh Hefner: Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. Professor Watts teaches the survey of American History, upper-division courses on American cultural history, and graduate seminars in historiography and cultural history. He has won two prestigious teaching prizes at the University of Missouri-Columbia: The Provost's Outstanding Junior Faculty Teaching Award (1988) and The William T. Kemper Teaching Award (1995).