American Studies
American Studies focused on the United States is an interdisciplinary field that examines the history, culture, politics, society, and literature of the world's most globally influential nation. It asks how the United States came to be what it is, how it has been experienced from the inside by diverse populations, and how it has shaped and been shaped by the wider world. Rather than belonging to a single discipline, American Studies draws on history, literature, political science, sociology, film studies, and cultural theory, making it an unusually broad and flexible degree that rewards those who want to understand the US in its full complexity.
At the University of Essex, this three-year full-time programme allows you to explore the United States across periods and themes, from colonial settlement and the Revolution through the Civil War and Reconstruction to the civil rights era and the political and cultural upheavals of recent decades. You will read American literature and engage with American film, music, and popular culture as serious objects of study, alongside the historical and political texts that illuminate the nation's development. You will examine questions of race, class, gender, immigration, and national identity, and consider how these dynamics have played out differently across regions and communities.
Essex's strengths in politics and social science are an asset for a programme that takes seriously both the cultural and the political dimensions of American life.
Graduates of American Studies go on to careers in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, international business, government, policy, education, and the arts. The degree's interdisciplinary training in research, critical analysis, and communication prepares graduates well for roles that require understanding complex social and cultural phenomena. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in American studies, history, politics, English, or cultural studies, as well as graduate routes in law, journalism, and public affairs.