American Studies
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Welcome to Summer 2021

We are operating remotely but can be reached at amerstd@berkeley.edu.
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American Studies

The Major

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.

Director Andrew Shanken

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.

Read More About the Major

Spotlight

Faculty Advising

Alexander Benjamin Craghead

Sarah Gold McBride headshot

Sarah Gold McBride

Christine Palmer by ocean

Christine Palmer

 265 Evans Hall
 Office Hours
Photo of Laura Spautz in Paris

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

Everardo Mora - City Planning, Public Policy, and Minority Communities

As one of four recipients of the 2009 Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize, Everardo Mora received $20,000 and a Visiting Scholar placement at UC Berkeley in order to continue his research on “cannery culture.” His goal was to produce a narrative infused with the voices, stories, and experiences of Latino cannery workers in order to better understand ethnic diversity, the culture of mass production, language and literacy, and identity construction on the shop floor of the last full-scale cannery to close in the Silicon Valley, a valley that once was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight. Everardo currently works as a Project Manager at Orton Development, Inc.

Thesis: Everardo Mora : - "Life behind the 'Shield:' Cannery Culture and the 'Farandula' at Del Monte Plant 3" (Class of 2009)

Files

GSI Jobs

Graduate Student Instructors (GSI) and Reader Positions listed here.

Donate

Donate to American Studies through the Give to Berkeley Website.

Faculty and Staff

Click here to see contact info and office hours for our contact Faculty, Staff and Directors

Administrative Office
Laura Spautz
265 Evans Hall
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amerstd@berkeley.edu
UGIS Office
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Office of Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies, Undergraduate Division - College of Letters & Science
University of California, Berkeley