Welcome to American Studies

American Studies is a dynamic, interdisciplinary field dedicated to the rigorous examination of the United States’ culture, history, and society through a synthesis of methodologies from history, literature, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and other disciplines. It explores the complexities of American experience, focusing on themes like national identity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and power dynamics. The field engages with diverse voices, cultural artifacts, and historical narratives, situating the U.S. within broader hemispheric and global contexts. By challenging simplistic or monolithic narratives, American Studies interrogates the nation’s central myths, values, and contradictions, fostering scholarship that is both inclusive and critically balanced. The field’s scope is expansive, encompassing the study of texts, media, social movements, institutions, material and visual culture, and more, exploring how U.S. identities are constructed, contested, and represented over time.

Students who complete the major will have the opportunity to attain a historically grounded, theoretically informed, and globally oriented understanding of the U.S. as a cultural, social, and political formation. Students will also gain facility with interdisciplinary methodologies, working through challenging questions by applying diverse analytical structures.