Welcome to American Studies

American Studies foces on the examination of American culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. We look for the central themes of American life -- labor, mobility, migration, art, and play -- without restricting ourselves to disciplinary boundaries. Thus, a class such as “Work in America” might investigate the history of work, compare the American work ethic to the role of work in other countries and times, read how workers themselves think and talk about work in song or in photographs, consider how work affects self-definition, and look to our own families dealth with and experienced some of these themes. All in all, we offer an exciting approach to understanding the ever changing and contested values and nature of American life.

SEE THE COURSES PAGE FOR INFOMATION ON SOME OF THE GREAT COURSES BEING OFFERED BY AMERICAN STUDIES NEXT SEMESTER, FALL 2008