American Studies, M.A.

Learning Goals and Student Learning Outcomes

The following goals and learning outcomes have been established for students pursuing the MA degree in American Studies.

Develop a rigorous concept of culture and cultural process as well as an interdisciplinary sensibility, demonstrating an advanced understanding of connections among the social sciences and the humanities.

• Develop an advanced interdisciplinary interpretive framework for studying American culture, cultural diversity, and cultural processes in ways that will enable students to solve practical and theoretical problems
• Have an advanced knowledge of the history of the field of American Studies—its theories, methods, and intellectual justifications—and of at least one outside disciplinary field
• Develop an advanced understanding of the theoretical and methodological approaches used in American Studies and interdisciplinary scholarship

Gain a thorough understanding of cultural diversity by examining the creative tension between unity and multiplicity in American experiences. 

• Identify a variety of examples of cultural diversity and commonality in America’s past and present, demonstrating an advanced understanding of the similarities, differences, and relationships among the multitude of American groups
• Explain how categories of difference—including race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality—are culturally constructed and vary according to historical, regional, and social contexts
• Understand and demonstrate how cultural beliefs and practices have played a role in both the exercise of and resistance to power throughout American history
• Articulate a critical awareness of the conceptual approaches to the study of cultural diversity

Understand and interpret the ways in which culture creates meaning and guides behavior. 

• Critically analyze and interpret a spectrum of cultural documents and expressive forms, ranging from popular to folk to elite expressions, from mass media to material culture
• Employ both historical and contemporary perspectives in order to situate these documents in relevant individual and social as well as local, national, and global contexts 
• Develop an advanced understanding of the theoretical approaches to the study of culture

Demonstrate advanced research, writing, and expressive skills to see connections among complex materials and to clearly communicate an understanding of the underlying meanings and causes of cultural/historical events.  

• Design and carry out original interdisciplinary research projects on American culture
• Discover primary and secondary sources (hard copy as well as digital) using the library’s resources
• Analyze and synthesize material from primary and secondary sources in order to create a coherent argument based on evidence
• Develop an original thesis and support that thesis through the thoughtful use of a variety of properly cited sources
• Communicate research findings through clear, well-organized written and oral presentations
• Develop advanced critical thinking, writing, and interpretive skills
• Develop the ability to adhere to scholarly conventions in research, writing and documentation

Become informed and engaged American citizens, able to situate current political and social issues within their historical and cultural contexts.  

• Develop an advanced understanding of the historical origins and cultural significance of current movements for social change.
• Situate the historical and contemporary study of American culture in a global context, demonstrating an understanding of the ways American culture has been shaped by diaspora, colonialism, and globalization