Why American Studies?

The United States is an object of fascination and adulation to some, as well as frustration and contempt to others.  Its cultural and commercial products have established themselves in every corner of the globe.  Ever since the French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville pointed to America as indicating the path of modernization around the world, many have pointed out that what happens in the US often comes to pass elsewhere some years later.  The only world ‘superpower,’ the US rarely fails to attract our attention.  It is described as many things, but it is rarely boring.  Studying the history, literature, art, film, politics, and society of the US is instructive for all those who wish to gain insight into how this fascinating nation ‘ticks’ and why the world seems to be transforming in the ways that it is.

What are our American Studies degrees like?

The BA in American (United States) Studies is a course designed for all those with enthusiasm, passion and intellectual curiosity about all things American.  At Essex, we offer students an opportunity to understand some of the diverse and paradoxical aspects of the US through interdisciplinary studies.  The US - perhaps more than any other society - lends itself to interdisciplinary study; its literature and film are connected to its politics, its cultures are linked to its histories.  Contemporary social issues such as the struggles for racial justice can only be understood by reference to the legacies of slavery and the civil rights movement.  The crisis over environmental protection of the ‘wilderness’ of the Far West can only be understood by looking at the history of Westward movement, manifest destiny, and issues of Native American histories and rights.  These are the kinds of issues you will be looking at in detail at Essex, and much more...