Popular Electives
- African-American Literature
- American Ways: Ecomedia
- Business Law I
- Inequality, Class, and Poverty
- Intro to Urban and Regional Planning
- Mass Media and Society
- Politics of Judicial Process
- Popular Music in America
- US Foreign Policy
- Work and Workers in America
Recent Internships
- Genesee Country Village and Museum
- George Eastman Museum
- Landmark Society of Western New York
- Livingston County Family Court
- Livingston County Historical Society Museum
- New York Supreme Court
Alumni Spotlight
Katherine Peter '21
Majors: American Studies, History
Minor: Political Science
Career: Peter earned an MA in public history from American University, then worked as a public history fellow at the White House Historical Association and an event supervisor and education specialist at Dunbarton House. She is currently a staff genealogist for the Daughters of the American Revolution.
American Studies
Why study American studies at Geneseo?
American studies is committed to understanding American histories, cultures, institutions, and arts through multiple perspectives. Its interdisciplinary curriculum offers a wide range of courses that develop analytical, research, and communication skills necessary for success in a variety of fields. American studies emphasizes these and other skills as tools for civic engagement by illuminating social inequities, movements, and change.
The major integrates materials, themes, and approaches from diverse areas of study, including courses in history, literature, political science, sociology, communications, film and media studies, gender and sexuality studies, African American studies, and Native American studies. Students explore issues, frames, and theories of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and other aspects of American identity. Coursework examines the United States in global, transnational, cross-cultural, and comparative contexts.
Students get a broad grounding in the study of social issues in the United States as well as the flexibility to pursue their own intellectual interests and goals. American studies can help prepare students for a complex, shifting job market and a variety of careers.
Program Options
Partnership Program
Additional Option
Program Highlights
- Substantial flexibility for students to create an individualized pathway in the major
- Opportunities to engage in project-based coursework, internships, study abroad, and a senior capstone seminar
- Interdisciplinary coursework that can be paired with a second major
- Center for Social Justice Studies, a centralized home for independent majors outside of a traditional departmental structure
Sample Courses
- Race, Prisons, and Policing
- Senior Capstone Seminar
- Topics in American Studies: Immigration Nation
Example Career Fields
- Academia
- Education
- Government
- Library Sciences
- Law
- Media
- Museum Management
- Social Work
Recent Grad Schools
- American University
- Ohio University
- University at Buffalo
Contact Info
Caroline Woidat, Program Coordinator
woidat@geneseo.edu
Welles Hall 228A
585-245-5271
