Interdisciplinary Clusters in
American Studies

Clusters, comprised of five courses, give American Studies majors the opportunity to focus on a particular theme or topic from an interdisciplinary perspective by selecting relevant courses from departments throughout the university. At least two of the courses counting towards the cluster must be at the 100 level, and no more than one independent reading course or internship will count. Students have flexibility on course selection in completing their clusters, but the cluster as a whole should be intellectually coherent, not merely a random selection of courses. Courses not listed in this handbook might be accepted with approval of the Director of American Studies. American Studies core or affiliate faculty with expertise relating to each of the clusters will serve as cluster advisors, assisting students in selecting the specific contents of their cluster. Students' Senior Special Project or Honors Thesis is to be considered a capstone and must be on a topic related to the cluster.

In addition to the clusters listed below, there are several areas of inquiry relevant to American Studies that are represented in other interdisciplinary programs such as Women's Studies, Environmental Studies, Peace and Justice, and Communication and Media Studies. American Studies majors interested in areas that are not represented in existing clusters can either choose to combine their American Studies major with a minor or second major, or create an independently designed cluster. Independently designed clusters should reflect the goals articulated in the American Studies mission statement. Students seeking to design their own cluster must obtain approval from the Director by submitting a written rationale for the proposed cluster and course selection, and a letter of support from an American Studies affiliate who has agreed to supervise the cluster.

Any questions? Feel free to contact the Director, your adviser or the Program Coordinator.

Current Clusters Listing
Revised November 2007

The cluster themes are:

For the most complete information on clusters, including which courses are included in each cluster, download the PDF file by clicking below:

View Clusters Listings

The courses listed are guides only for helping students structure their clusters. While several of these courses are offered on a regular basis, others are offered in one semester only, alternate years, etc. Other courses which are new might not have made this list at this time, and alternatively, some courses might have been dropped. Therefore, always check course availability on the respective department websites before committing any course to your schedule.

These lists will be updated frequently as needed. Please stop by the American Studies Office if you have questions, or email Deborah Pacini, the Director of American Studies or Kathy Spagnoli, the Program Administrator.

*NOTE* Some Clusters are still under construction. If you have questions, please contact Deborah Pacini.