American Studies at American University

The American Studies Program at AU provides students with a unique learning experience in a diverse and intellectually stimulating environment.

The American Studies Program at American University provides students with a unique learning experience in a diverse and intellectually stimulating environment. Committed to interdisciplinary learning, the program brings together faculty and students from many academic fields, including anthropology, art history, biology, education, environmental studies, history, literature, Jewish studies, North

... American studies, sociology and women's and gender studies. Using ideas from these and other disciplines, our courses examine the culture, values, institutions, and historical experiences of the diverse peoples who live and have lived in this place called "America." Attuned to contested meanings of democracy and cultural citizenship in a globalized world, the American Studies Program at AU draws on the resources of its extraordinary location in Washington, D.C. With spectacles of nationalism at every turn, the city exemplifies a spirit and tradition of American exceptionalism. At the same time, the presence of foreign embassies and vibrant transnational communities evokes themes of migration, mixture, and cultural hybridity. Living and learning in a global city, students in the American Studies Program explore the diverse forms in which national and transnational identities are presented in the culturally and socially dynamic settings that surround the university. Faculty take students on study-tours of Washington and adjacent sites, and many students become actively involved in community service organizations, recognizing that the nation’s capital is also a city marked by poverty and inequality and stratified along lines of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The program also helps students complement their education by applying for internships that fit their career goals, as well as to participate in study abroad programs that will allow them to experience another culture and examine American society from the outside-in. The AMST-related courses and opportunities displayed on this site hint at the many areas of study open to an American Studies major or minor. Completing an American Studies degree prepares you to enter a range of graduate and professional programs, including law school. The skills acquired after finishing the degree are also useful for work in historic preservation, museums, civic institutions, non-profit organizations, activist groups, governmental bureaucracies, publishing, and a variety of cultural and artistic fields. Degree requirements coordinate with those in allied fields and offer interesting alternatives to undergraduate study as defined in traditional degree programs.

09/21/2017

Come listen to Prof. Theo Greene on October 26th, Butler Boardroom.

09/21/2017

Come listen to Prof. Stef Woods on Orange is the New Black on September 26th.

09/21/2017

Come hear Prof. Tristan Cabello on Michael Jackson's Thriller, October 25th, Bender Library.

09/21/2017

Come celebrate AMERICAN STUDIES MONTH this november!

09/20/2017

Perspective | We’ve spent a century fighting the war on drugs. It helped create an opioid crisis.

09/01/2017

Dr. Matthew Pembleton wrote an article on America's Drug Wars in the Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/08/31/weve-spent-a-century-fighting-the-war-on-drugs-it-helped-create-an-opioid-crisis/?utm_term=.05ffb7bea7cf

Perspective | We’ve spent a century fighting the war on drugs. It helped create an opioid crisis. The disastrous consequences of focusing on law enforcement and criminality.

06/15/2017

In the Life: The Black/Gay Experience in America (AMST 330 - W 11:20AM - 02:10PM) This course investigates the history of African American LGBTs, from slavery to present time. Topics explored include: same-gender loving during slavery, intimate friendships, the Harlem Renaissance, q***r Blues/Jazz artists, the Lavender Scare, Gay Liberation, Disco, Studio 54, Drag Balls and Drag Queens, AIDS, homosexuality in Hip-Hop, RuPaul's Drag race, Noah's Arc, and Frank Ocean. Students explore and read a wide variety of sources: black q***r theory, cultural theory, literature, newspapers, archives, documentaries, movies, songs, and TV series.

06/15/2017

AMST 320 - FALL 2017 - Global Cultures of Michael Jackson (W 02:30PM - 05:20PM) Michael Jackson was a global American icon. His music, a mix of rock, pop, soul and world music, weaved West African, South American, African American and Anglo-American inspirations. His choreography fused the artistry of Fred Astaire, James Brown, Marcel Marceau, Jackie Wilson, and Jerome Robbins. His filmography combined the influences of film noir, horror, science fiction and Broadway musicals. His World Tours visited forty countries. This course re-envisions Michael Jackson's global influences to reframe his international impact. In addition to documentaries, academic texts, and biographies, students critique Jackson's artistic production, music, videos, and concerts.

04/08/2017

07/14/2016

Love ? Check out AMST-330-005 just added to the fall schedule as a Thursday 5:30 block. The Shonda Rhimes Experience (3) This course examines the influence of Shonda Rhimes and her series, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, on American popular culture. Using these shows as case studies, students explore feminism, race, sexuality, and identity. Students also investigate the varied uses of traditional and social media by television networks, cast members, and viewers, as well as the representation of women in entertainment and media.

'Oh no, not again': Why do stars keep dying in 2016?

04/29/2016

Stef Woods recently spoke with Agence France Press about celebrity deaths and social media. What are your thoughts? http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oh-no-not-again-why-stars-keep-dying-014626761.html

'Oh no, not again': Why do stars keep dying in 2016? The actress Minnie Driver echoed the thoughts of many in tweeting her reaction to the sudden loss of Prince, the latest in a long list of entertainers who died in 2016. Similar comments flooded social media, along with somber opinion pieces in newspapers and magazines on what has so far been a dark…

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Washington D.C., DC

American Studies at American University

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