American Studies, B.A.

Undergraduate Major

The American Studies B.A. frames and develops each student’s individual interests, and allows students to include courses from any program and department that sustain a student’s engagement with their particular emphasis. Individual programs of study are as varied as our students.

We value each student as a person, and understand that an education is much more than a list of courses. Our advising is central in supporting each student’s path and success through the major and beyond the degree.

Examples of concentrations that draw on courses outside American Studies - interests which we then integrate in our independent studies, internships, and the senior seminar - include sports studies, popular music history, comparative ethnic studies, marketing, military history, sustainability, disability advocacy, museum studies, philosophy of science, environmental studies, public health and social justice, and the U.S. in international perspectives. Each student develops a concentration of study with their American Studies advisor with ample room to combine courses and interests into a coherent undergraduate education.

The American Studies B.A. can be an attractive second major for students in any UW degree program where cultural context enriches and expands work in their professional or scholarly field. The flexible nature of our B.A. allows us to work effectively with students changing majors at any point in their undergraduate experience as well as transfer students.

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Program Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a B.A. in American Studies integrate study from several fields with their study in American Studies courses, in individual programs of study. The American Studies B.A. prepares students to enter graduate and professional programs, enter education certification programs, and work in community organizations and other public professional settings. Coursework in American Studies prepares students to:

• Interpret American experiences and creative expressions by applying appropriate approaches to words, narratives, images, material objects, communities, built environments, cross-cultural comparison, continuities and discontinuities with the past in a range of American cultural settings.
• Understand the processes of diversity experience including their own, through study of identity formation, performance of identity, stereotyping, contact, memory, and national identity.
• Demonstrate critical analysis, interpretation, or insight, through effective communication primarily in writing but also in speaking (when appropriate, performance or display may embody these as well), as demonstrated in analytically coherent interpretive writing, authoritative, informed oral presentation, and well-documented, visually effective performance or display (where appropriate).
• Apply American Studies methods field-based courses and/or internships, through use of Studies approaches and competencies in non-classroom settings, as demonstrated in field course or internship evaluations and students’ final reports.

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Internship

The internship experience is essential for students specializing in public sector American studies. The American Studies program has an active program of scholarship-supported internships that can place students in work environments in Wyoming, other parts of the U.S., or in selected foreign countries.

 

Language

Because American Studies is both an international field with scholars all over the world, and the U.S. has transnational significance, we strongly encourage students to take 2 years of language study to achieve meaningful access to skills as readers, scholars, and travelers, and consider participating in an international exchange. Some languages currently in demand by American Studies students include Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese.