American Studies Program

Undergraduate Curriculum

Information for Prospective Majors and Minors

The American Studies Program engages students in the interdisciplinary study of the culture and society of the United States and the Americas, past and present. To this end, we encourage students to cross traditional intellectual boundaries in order to develop perspectives on American life that are more expansive and critical than those normally found within the limits of a single discipline. Working with a wide array of methods, themes, and materials, students discover first- hand our society's rich and often conflicted history of cultural, racial, and sexual diversity.

Concentrators follow a flexible but rigorous course of study as they build their major in close consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.  Core courses offered by the American Studies Program comprise roughly half of the concentration requirements; the remaining courses come from disciplines such as history, literature, anthropology, art history, sociology, women's studies, and black studies.  Usually in the senior year, each student works with a faculty member on an extended project of the student's own design.  While each concentrator's course of study is unique, students have regular opportunities to enter into the community of American Studies scholars both at the College and nationwide, by sharing research and ideas with their peers and faculty at public talks, colloquia, and seminars.

Because of its location in the restored colonial capital of Virginia, the program offers students interested in early American life ample opportunities for independent work.  Field trips to Colonial Williamsburg and to other nearby historic sites and museums are an integral part of several courses.  Students also regularly pursue internships at other museums and foundations, from the Yorktown foundation to the Smithsonian.

The interdisciplinary nature of our program encourages the kind of personal initiative and creative thinking that gives our concentrators an advantage later in life as they pursue the same rich variety of careers as other graduates in the liberal arts. A number of our concentrators have gone on to graduate work in American Studies, History, and English; others have pursued careers in law, business, teaching, and museum fields. An American Studies concentration is particularly appropriate for students planning careers in law, communications, government, social work, and journalism.

For more information, contact:

Karin Wulf, Director of Undergraduate Studies
American Studies Program
PO Box 8795
The College of William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
(757) 221-1129