Bachelor of Arts - American Studies

The Program in American Studies offers an interdisciplinary major that explores American culture, in all its complexity, from a variety of perspectives. In learning to make connections between a range of fields and disciplines from history to art, politics to religious studies, mass media to popular culture, among many others, students gain a multifaceted understanding of the United States in a global context. The program fosters flexible thinking, creative problem-solving skills, synthetic analysis, strong writing and oral presentation, an understanding of and familiarity with multiple kinds of media and texts, a broad understanding of social, cultural, and historical contexts, and intercultural awareness. By working with faculty to define an area of concentration, students come away with the intellectual skills and perspective necessary to understand, contextualize, and critically engage the opportunities and challenges of a complex, changing, interdependent world.