Department of American Studies
Introduction
What is America, and how do we study something so vast, contested, and constantly changing? The Department of American Studies at UNC–Chapel Hill takes up this question through one of the university’s oldest interdisciplinary programs, with roots in the study of folklore and the American South dating back to the 1920s and a formal program established in 1968. Today, the department builds on this history with distinctive strengths in areas such as American Indian and Indigenous studies, Southern studies, cultural studies, race and ethnicity, and the study of everyday life, positioning students to examine America from multiple, intersecting perspectives. The department offers an innovative curriculum that invites students to investigate how American identities, cultures, and institutions are formed, experienced, and contested across time and space. Drawing on approaches from history, literature, anthropology, politics, and the arts, students analyze a wide range of cultural forms, from archives and oral histories to film, food, music, and material culture, to understand how meanings of “America” are produced, challenged, and transformed within and beyond the United States. Through coursework, fieldwork, and critical and creative projects, students actively engage in the work of interpretation and analysis, developing the techniques to ask incisive questions about power, representation, and belonging. American Studies majors and minors graduate with strong skills in research, writing, and communication, as well as the capacity to think across disciplines and apply their insights in professional, public, and creative contexts across the wide variety of professions they choose to pursue.
Advising
All majors and minors have a primary academic advisor from the Academic Advising Program. Students are strongly encouraged to meet regularly with their advisor and review their Tar Heel Tracker each semester. The department’s director of undergraduate studies works with current and prospective majors and minors by appointment. Further information on courses, opportunities, and honors theses may be obtained from the department’s website.
Graduate School and Career Opportunities
American Studies equips students with strong analytical, research, and communication skills applicable to a wide range of careers, including public service, business, law, education, museum curation, and journalism. At its core, the major trains students to think critically about culture, power, and representation, drawing on methods from the humanities and social sciences to analyze how meanings are produced and contested. This interdisciplinary foundation prepares students for advanced study in fields such as history, literature, and anthropology. Graduates have been admitted to leading law and business schools, particularly those that value interdisciplinary training. Others pursue graduate work or careers in media, the arts, and cultural institutions, including museums, public arts organizations, and creative industries.
Majors
- American Studies Major, B.A.
- American Studies Major, B.A.–American Indian and Indigenous Studies Concentration
Minors
Graduate Programs
- Ph.D. in American Studies
- M.A. in Folklore
- Graduate Minor in American Studies
- Graduate Minor in Folklore
Courses
Professors
Amanda Cobb-Greetham, Elizabeth Engelhardt, Sharon Holland, Timothy Marr.
Associate Professors
Gabrielle Berlinger1, Seth Kotch, Michelle Robinson.
Assistant Professors
Kelly Alexander, Ben Bridges, Amanda Martinez, Soham Patel, Antonia Randolph.
Adjunct Professors
Daniel Anderson (English and Comparative Literature), Fitzhugh Brundage (History), Maggie Cao (Art History), Claude Clegg (African, African American, and Diaspora Studies; History), Kathleen DuVal (History), Philip Gura (English and Comparative Literature), Glenn D. Hinson (Anthropology)1, Heidi Kim (English and Comparative Literature), Jocelyn Neal (Music)1, Michael Palm (Communication), Eliza Richards (English and Comparative Literature), Jane Thrailkill (English and Comparative Literature), Timothy Tyson (Center for Documentary Studies at Duke), Ariana Vigil (Women’s and Gender Studies).
1 Core members of the Folklore program
Affiliated Faculty
Anna Agba-Davies (Anthropology), María DeGuzmán (English and Comparative Literature), Candace Epp-Robertson (English and Comparative Literature), Rebecka Rutledge Fisher (English and Comparative Literature), Juliane Hammer (Religion), Jillian Hindterliter (Women's and Gender Studies), Danielle Hiraldo (Director, American Indian Center), Jordynn Jack (English and Comparative Literature), Martin Johnson (English and Comparative Literature), Scott Kirsch (Geography), Valerie Lambert (Anthropology), Hasan Melehy (Romance Studies), Danielle Purifoy (Geography), John Sweet (History), Lindsey Taillie (Nutrition), Matthew Taylor (English and Comparative Literature), Katherine Turk (History), Benjamin Waterhouse (History), Harry Watson (History), Molly Worthen (History).
Professors Emeriti
Robert Allen, Marcie Cohen Ferris, William Ferris, Peter Filene, John Kasson, Joy Kasson, Daniel W. Patterson, Theda Perdue, Patricia Sawin, Rachel Willis.
