The Major
Students design an individualized course of study and conduct independent interdisciplinary research.
Learn MoreOur courses engage multifaceted histories of indigenous communities; settlement; colonialism; migration; and social, economic, cultural and political change. Majors develop the methodological, theoretical and research skills to conduct independent interdisciplinary research. The American Studies department is also distinct in our commitment to community-based learning.
Department Highlights
Community Engagement
The department fosters critical analysis by engaging with local community partners in teaching, researching and promoting active civic engagement.
Race and Ethnicity
The American Studies Department has become increasingly focused on issues of race, ethnicity and transnationalism.
NAIS
Situated in the Kwinitekw Valley and Nonotuck homeland, the American Studies department honors the deep histories and enduring presence of Indigenous nations by offering courses in Native American and Indigenous Studies.
Native American Literature Collection
APA Studies
Our department takes pride in its multiple courses on the history, activism, and contemporary life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Asian American Studies Working Group
Latinx Studies
Our courses offer many opportunities to explore the diversity of Latinx lives, cultures, and experiences in the United States and transnationally.
Latinx and Latin American Studies
Our Alumni
Our majors go on to graduate work in history, English, art history, museum studies and other fields and are working in law, academe, non-profit, business and government.
Our History
Founded in 1948, we are one of the oldest American Studies departments in the United States.
American Studies Courses
Current Courses
AMST 155
The Social Construction of American Society
Description
Explore how our daily, social environment in the United States is constructed and shapes our lives, including what effect culture has on our behavior and why there are class, gender, and racial inequalities.
AMST 234
The Sanctuary Movement: Religion, Activism, and Social Contestation
Description
From sanctuary cities and states to sanctuary campuses and churches, study the Sanctuary Movement since the 1980s, with special attention to today’s nationwide New Sanctuary Movement.
AMST 345
Model Minorities: Jewish and Asian Americans
Description
Through interdisciplinary scholarship, fiction, journalism and visual works, examine instances when Jewish Americans and Asian Americans both embraced and rejected the “model minority” stereotype.