American Studies — The Program

The Master of Arts Program in American Studies serves

• students interested in the study of historically contested meanings of culture, community, democracy, citizenship, politics, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in the United States;
• continuing and returning students seeking further grounding in American Studies and its interdisciplinary methods;
• professionals in education and government;
• journalists, community leaders, and organizers searching for a historical and cultural understanding of their own society.

The program provides the intellectual tools and theoretical background in historical and cultural analysis to enable students to reflect critically on historical and cultural changes and controversies in the US. The interdisciplinary core courses ask students to pay close attention to the interplay between political and social discourse and literary, artistic, and cultural expression; and to how public life and culture have been shaped by many groups with differing access to social and political power and cultural legitimacy.