American Studies PhD

American studies is home to an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students committed to rigorous, socially engaged scholarship. We take a global and hemispheric approach to the study of the Americas, examining local cultures, nations and regions within their larger geopolitical contexts. Building on our traditional strengths in American Indian studies, critical race theory, feminism, class analysis and community engagement, we encourage scholarly work on history, politics, visual cultures, literary and oral cultures, environmental and agricultural practices, religions, gender, sexuality, kinship systems, geography, and economics.

Required Core (39 credits)

AMS 503SEM - Topics Cultural History:1 Credits: 3

Electives and Related Required Experience (33 credits)

Electives:

Students work with their academic advisor to to select a course of study relevant to the students’ interest. Students may choose any graduate courses from the following prefixes: AMS, AHI, CL, COL, CRC, DMS, ENG, FR, GR, HIS, MUS, PHI, SPA, GGS.

Related Required Experience:

Major concentration: required to design a coherent interdisciplinary program of study in a major area of the cultures of the Americas (done with committee)
Comprehensive Examination - involves written essays on each of three questions developed by the student. The exam must cover three of the following four areas:
- Critical analysis, theory, and methodology
- History
- Cultural studies: e.g., literature, media, music, art history, popular culture
- Law and policy
Dissertation

Total Credit Hours: 72

3.0 Degree GPA required

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

1) Identify and evaluate different schools of thought and methodologies central to the field of American Studies.

2) Explain the core intellectual concerns of the field of American Studies.

3) Develop a critical understanding of the complexities of American culture.

4) Analyze and critique texts (e.g. literary, historical, and legal) in a multidisciplinary framework.

5) Bring together expertise from the disciplines of History, Literature, Art, Film. Law, and Political Theory to examine core concerns in the field of American Studies.

6) Organize and synthesize disciplinary material into a critically integrated multidisciplinary research document.

7) Produce advanced multidisciplinary research and studies on American culture with emphasis at least two of the following: race, ethnicity, class, gender. sexuality, and art.

8) Envision a society that incorporates the enlightened core values regarding race, class and gender in a modern multicultural hemisphere and society.

9) Develop effective written communication skills to be able to effectively, clearly and coherently communicate intellectual thought.

SED Statement

This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED).