American Studies at Michigan State University

From the Director

The Program in American Studies has had another successful and productive year. As Acting Director, I was honored to serve our many fine faculty and students in achieving their teaching, research and outreach goals. Our achievements for the 2007-2008 year included a highly attended comics and graphic novels event as part of the University's Year of Arts and Culture and impressive scholarly activity in our graduate students who were able to present their work at national and international conferences. [read more]

Journals based at MSU

Journal of Popular Culture
Journal for the Study of Radicalism
CR: The New Centennial Review

Associated Journals

American Quarterly
ASAIL: Studies in American Indian Literatures
the Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social

Established in 1967, the American Studies Program at Michigan State University offers students the opportunity to examine American culture in all its diversity from an interdisciplinary perspective.

While the disciplines of history, literature, material culture, and museum studies have traditional appeal, we encourage our students to combine disciplines in non-traditional ways by drawing upon the resources of the entire university. Distinguished faculty offer courses in a wide variety of disciplines and interdisciplinary themes that probe the cultural and social dynamics of American civilization.

Because of the program's flexibility, you may pursue your intellectual interests in areas as diverse as popular culture, African-American studies, Native American Studies, animal studies, ethnic studies, science and technology studies, and women's studies.

Michigan State University's American Studies Program attracts American and international students from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds. Besides access to its faculty, MSU provides other enticements to individuals interested in studying American culture. The MSU libraries contain more than four million volumes as well as the Russel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection and the National Voice Library.

The university's proximity to the state capital provides access to public and private organizations that offer opportunities for additional academic work.