American Studies
Source: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs/american-studies-ab Parent: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs
The concentration in American Studies seeks to understand American society and cultures as emerging from historical and contemporary processes at work in local, national, and global contexts.
Degree Type
A.B.
department
Department of American Studies
CIP Code
05.0102ℹ
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to categorize educational programs in the U.S. for a variety of reporting purposes. Each program at Brown is assigned a CIP code that best matches its academic curriculum.
Current STEM Eligible CIP Codes
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American Studies
The concentration in American Studies seeks to understand American society and cultures as emerging from historical and contemporary processes at work in local, national, and global contexts.
Concentrators study four broad themes: social structure and the practices of identity, space and place, production and consumption of culture, and science, technology, and everyday life. The concentration is predicated on the ideal of scholarly engagement with the public, so students take junior seminars that engage some aspect of the public humanities such as public policy, memorialization, community studies or civic engagement. Study abroad is supported and encouraged. Interested students may contact the director of undergraduate studies.
Student Goals
Students in this concentration will:
- Analyze texts, contexts, and data from multiple disciplinary and historical perspectives
- Synthesize research as verbal, visual and/or digital presentations
- Explore the theory and/or practice of the engagement of scholarship with a broader public
- Understand how American society and cultures have been and are being shaped by global flows of people, goods and ideas
- Experiment with new media as critical tools for scholarship
Department Undergraduate Group (DUG)
Student Leaders: Kaiolena Tacazon, Sophia Cheng
Graduating Class
| Class Year | Total Students | Honors Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | 1 |
| 2022 | 10 | 6 |
| 2023 | 8 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 |
Graduates with an A.B. in American Studies are working in journalism, publishing, business, education, community arts, union organizing, and social welfare organizations, as well as graduate study in every field in the social sciences and humanities.
What are American Studies concentrators doing…
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is typically the first point of contact for prospective concentrators. Once students have declared, they may be assigned a specific concentration advisor from within the department or program.