American Studies

The past decades have seen the growth of a variety of heated controversies about culture, history, and social structure in the United States. A number of factors have contributed to this development: the awareness that U.S. history is a creation of many different peoples and interests; the perception that social forms are the product of contest as well as consensus; the elaboration in different disciplines of new methods and perspectives for the study of U.S. society, culture, and history; and the realization that a changing global setting has a great deal to do with the changing characters and characteristics of different nations.

The aim of this major is to develop a multifaceted understanding of the societies of the United States and its hemispheric neighbors: their origins, their histories, their economic, social, and political institutions; their philosophies; their distinctive cultures; their global settings and connections; and their artistic and intellectual achievements. American Studies is an interdisciplinary major, offering students the opportunity to design an individualized course of study in a number of subject areas, thereby enabling them to obtain a broad knowledge of the cultures, histories, and societies of the Western hemisphere.

The Major

Students who plan to major in American Studies must have a minimum grade of B in AMST 110.

Interested students should meet with the director to plan their course of study as early as possible in their college careers. They should file their concentration form with the director by their lower junior semester. AMST 110 should be taken by majors as soon as possible and normally precedes courses taken in each of the three Perspectives on American Experience. Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 grade-point average in courses applicable to the major.

Honors in American Studies will be granted to majors who maintain a cumulative 3.5 grade-point average in American Studies and write an honors essay approved by the Advisory Committee.