Bachelor of Arts - American Studies

Founded just over fifty years ago, American Studies is a vital, malleable, and growing academic enterprise, one known for the new questions it has posed, the new perspectives it has brought to the study of the cultures of the United States, and the new information it has introduced into scholarly and public conversations about national identity and experience. American Studies crosses disciplines of literature, history, art, music, psychology, political science, language, and environmental studies. It can be self-reflexive and focused, or offer a broader view of the world’s geographical, historical, artistic, cultural, and social boundaries.

American Studies at CSULB was first established in the 1970s. Recently, a group of faculty committed to current ideas and scholarship in American Studies revitalized the program on campus. American Studies offers students of today a new approach to learning. Because of its flexibility, students will actively assist in the growth and design of the American Studies program at CSULB by establishing links among departments and areas of study and by designing their own plan of inquiry. Students will explore various aspects of society and culture at different moments in American history and situate the interactions between peoples in a culturally diverse society within national and global contexts.