American Studies

What is "America?" Qué es "América?" Is it a country, a region, a continent, the New World? Is it a state of mind, a set of loyalties, perhaps a way of belonging to a national community? Who defines its meanings and in what contexts?

The American Studies Program at Mount Holyoke provides students with the skills and flexibility to work across disciplines and borders to formulate and address the many crucial questions about what America is and has been for its many peoples. Just as important, American studies asks students to discover what it means today, in an ever-changing world, to be an American.

The program's award-winning faculty are drawn from throughout the College and teach a wide range of subjects, from art history to literature, history to politics, anthropology to film. The curriculum is one of the most interdisciplinary at Mount Holyoke and, in its breadth of courses and opportunities for intensive individual study, represents the finest aspects of a liberal arts education. Its goal is to challenge students to explore, confront, and help reshape the many understandings, experiences, and expressions that have made, and continue to make, America.

Notice:

The program in American Studies will no longer admit students after the class of 2010. Students in subsequent classes who want to specialize in American studies may design a special major or a special minor with an American Studies focus.