American Studies

Courses

American Studies is offered as a major sequence within:

Why study American Studies?

Study of the United States, the largest English-speaking nation and the third largest nation in terms of population, is critical for an understanding of today's world. It is particularly relevant for Australians, given the US role in the Pacific region. The US remains the world's largest economy; combined with its influence on world affairs, US advanced technology and economic power impact on practically every nation.

The 305 million people living in America constitute one of the world's most diverse cultures, which cannot be understood simply through media stereotypes. While Australia and the United States have some similarities, the two countries also have fundamental social, political and economic differences. The free trade agreement between Australia and the US adds importance to developing an informed understanding of the nation which is Australia's third largest trading partner. Sustaining the Department's extensive teaching and research programs is the Flinders Library which houses one of the richest collectiions of US materials in the country. Both hard copy and electronic titles totalling 50,000 are available.

At Flinders, American Studies is taught as an area study. It introduces students to the society as a whole by linking the historical experience of the United States with the development of its political institutions and distinctive cultural forms. The area studies approach is used extensively in universities around the world. In this country, Asian Studies is perhaps the best known example, and Australian Studies is beginning to become more widely used as a way of integrating the many strands of our national experience.

Flinders University is the only university in the Asia Pacific region with a department dedicated to the study of the United States.

Study overview

The American Studies major is built on First Year studies in American Studies, Politics or History.

In Second and Third Years students choose from topics which focus on such areas as: the American political system; the history of the United States over the past century; the development of American business and working class culture; and the place of ethnic and racial groups in American society. All of these topics can be taken as electives if your major is in another area, and some can count towards a major in Politics, History or International Business.

Students who complete the major with strong grades can enter Fourth Year honours level work. The Department offers full honours and postgraduate programs, and successful honours graduates can go on to advanced research and study at the masters and doctoral levels.

The Department continues to develop the exciting six-week placement program which takes selected students, majoring in American Studies, to Washington to work in the US Senate, or the House of Representatives. This initiative, developed at Flinders, has sent 45 undergraduate students to work in the US Congress. For further information contact the Department about the Washington Internship Program.

Career opportunities

Students with an undergraduate major or an honours degree in American Studies have found positions in a great variety of areas in the private sector, in particular banking, media and international law. This especially emphasises the international component of a student's undergraduate work.

Students returning to Australia from the Department's Washington Internship Program have reported that this experience is highly attractive in the employment market, particularly in the areas of foreign affairs and trade, treasury and defence intelligence.

Other students have found employment in the State and Federal Public Services, Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Electoral Offices. As with most social science majors, however, there is no standard career path.

The skills and background that an area studies program provides can be deployed in most parts of the public and private sector, and our graduates can be found working in areas as diverse as local government, law enforcement and marketing.

Further information

Don DeBats, PhD (Wisconsin), Professor and Head, Department of American Studies
David Palmer, PhD (Brandeis), Senior Lecturer
Dr Amanda Laugesen, PhD (ANU) Room 386 Social Sciences North.

Ruth Harris, Secretary, American Studies Department,
Room 385, Social Sciences North.
Tel (08) 8201 2004. Fax (08) 8201 5165

Admissions/Prospective Students Office, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001
Tel (08) 8201 3074 or 1300 657 671 (local call cost) Fax (08) 8201 2580
Email: admissions@flinders.edu.au