Welcome to American Studies
The Interdisciplinary American Studies program takes as its subject the cultures that have developed in what is now the United States, understanding “American culture” as the interplay of material practices and the realm of ideas.
It considers technology, economy, urbanism, and ecology, as well as literature, the arts, and political and geographic history. American Studies takes a particular interest in cultural hybridity, cultural layering, and in American culture exported abroad.
The goal of the Interdisciplinary American Studies program is to utilize the enormous and varied resources of the institution to teach students how to ask and answer scholarly questions, to formulate and undertake a focused interdisciplinary course of study, and to design and execute a substantial integrative research project. In doing this, we build upon several generations of scholars across disciplines who have advocated the critical study of race, class, gender, sexuality, and mass culture, as well as the examination of America as part of an increasingly globalized world.
Recent News & Events
In Memoriam: American Studies co-founder Paul Groth
Paul Groth, American Studies co-founder, honored
American Studies Faculty Awarded the Presidential Chair Fellows Grant
New Adventures in American Studies Colloquium
American Studies Major Helen Pinto featured in “Berkeley Discovery Stories”
|AMERICAN STUDIES IN THE NEWS | New Berkeley course taught by American Studies Senate Lecturer Michael Mark Cohen examines 2020 election through the lens of American democracy
Faculty Advising
Student Academic Advising
Laura Spautz, MPH
The Student Academic Advisor's job is to guide students and faculty as they navigate University, College, and Major Program policies. Laura is an experienced advisor who is available to serve as a sounding board for ideas and concerns as they arise. Office hours and contact information are located here.
Graduate Profiles
Robert Cancio - Economic Effects of Immigration
Robert Cancio is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola Marymount University, and he is the Head of the Veteran and Military Family Research Laboratory, a grant-funded lab that focuses on the intersection between the social and behavioral pathways underpinning resilience and susceptibility to adverse health conditions that disproportionately affect racial/ethnic priority in military populations and communities of color. Robert is also the Principle Investigator for the Tobacco Research Team, which collaborates with a variety of community-based organizations to inform social change through applied community-based, geographic, and health-related research. He was recently awarded $853,800 for three years from The University of California, Office of the President, Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, for a project titled Youth Vaping in Los Angeles: Youth’s Perceptions, Behaviors, and Outlet Density.
