What is American Studies?

An interdisciplinary field, American Studies focuses its attention on U.S. culture and its relationship to the world beyond its borders. Established and dynamic, it brings together faculty and students from a wide variety of disciplines to promote an awareness of the complex cultural, political, and economic structures that have guided the history of the U.S. and the Americas, from the first migrations across the landbridge of Siberia to the present day. American Studies has increasingly situated the United States in a global context, examining the ways in which the nation has been transformed – and how it has shaped other regions — through the transnational flow of cultures, peoples, and institutional power across its boundaries.

American Studies at UConn

The American Studies Area, part of the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry at UConn, offers an undergraduate major and minor as well as a graduate certificate.  It is also a faculty consortium that brings together UConn scholars from across the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts to share work and ideas. The area hosts a number of external speakers each year, co-sponsors events from other units, and sometimes organizes on-campus conferences.  Finally, American Studies engages beyond the university by helping to train high school teachers in American Studies pedagogy and certify them to teach American Studies through the Early College Experience program.