To think American studies is a stupid subject?

[firsttimeucaser]

DD's school (in year 12) have been encouraging students to decide what university course they want to apply for next year.

DD came home yesterday and said that she has decided she's going to apply for 'American studies'.

AIBU to think that this is a stupid subject? From what I have read about it, it seems like a course about American history/literature/politics, but wouldn't she just be better doing a general History//Politics degree and choosing modules to do with the USA if that's what she wants?

I suppose, as an employer myself, I think I would find it very odd if a British person with no American connections had a degree in 'American studies'. I can't see how it's very useful.

I'd love to study it, it's always interested me especially the American Literature modules.

I did American Studies, majoring in politics. I went to uni in the US for a year, did a few internships and then worked in parliament when I graduated. I now have a career working in the third sector. It hasn't done my employment any harm!

Degrees, unless they are vocational, tend to be vehicles for learning a whole range of skills, from time management, to report writing, carrying out research, learning how to debate. Not a waste if time to my mind.

Haven't read the full thread so someone may have already suggested this but do you think she fancies the year abroad in the States that is usually part of the degree?! It is just as well thought of as other degrees like English etc but I'd be aiming high in choice of Uni..

I did American Studies at a Russell Group uni as well and it was enjoyable but it wasn't easy. All my modules were in history or literature... American history is fascinating IMO. Paul Revere, Civil War, slavery, the underground railroad, abolition, Salem, Great Depression, FDR, WWs I and II, Eisenhower, Vietnam, cold war. And literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, bloody Henry James Langston Hughes, the Beat poets, Marilynne Robinson, etc etc etc. And those are just some names/events pulled at random from my rusty recall of what I studied. TV and shopping?! Yeah ok

OP one of the main factors is probably whether the course includes a year at an American university - mine did, and it was a four year course, so that is worth bearing in mind.

A friend of mine did it, she spent a year split in USA and Argentina as it's a study of both North and South America. Now she's a teacher in South Carolina. I thought it sounded really interesting.

Nigh on 20 years ago, I went to a Russell Group uni to do a BA Joint Hons in Politics and American studies and it was brilliant. Interesting, diverse, stimulating, eye-opening. Plus, I spent my third year studying in the USA, which was one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I was guaranteed a place as I was doing American studies.

I’ve had a great, successful career, and had course mates who went on to train as a lawyer, work in PR, become a trend forecaster and journalist. I would highly recommend it!

It's a fascinating degree.

Lots of opportunity to work in FCO and other parts of the Civil Service afterwards too.

Are there any universities that have offered women's studies since the 90's? It was all gender studies when we looked a couple of years ago. Maybe it only happens at the really good universities?

It seems to me like a course for teenagers with no particular passions who like American TV and shops.

I can't see any reason to sneer at it as a subject. America has a huge presence and history on the world stage, in politics, history, culture... everything really. If you study America you will perforce study most of the rest of the world too in some way and to some extent.

And anyway, as pps have said, your degree need not relate directly to a particular career.

Here is a list of the departments that you can choose courses in to fulfil the requirements for an American Studies degree at a great American university. It doesn't look useless or frivolous to me:

The American Studies program offers a unique opportunity to explore the breadth and depth of the University’s offerings in all topics American, including the place of the United States in the wider hemisphere and world. Represented on the Program’s oversight committee are faculty from many departments, programs, and faculties:

AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
DIVINITY (GRADUATE SCHOOL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES)
ECONOMICS
EDUCATION (GRADUATE SCHOOL OF)
ENGLISH
GOVERNMENT (POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT)
GOVERNMENT (GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY)
HISTORY
HISTORY AND LITERATURE
HISTORY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
LAW (GRADUATE SCHOOL OF)
MUSIC
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
SOCIOLOGY
VISUAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
WOMEN, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES

@pedigreeracer I'm an academic but not sure if you'd class my subject as a 'proper' subject and you'd probably look down at the non-elite status of my institution but last year 100% of my students were in employment before the course officially ended and the overall employability figures for my institution are impressive.
Academic snobbery like yours does nothing but harm a sector which already does itself no favours

Yeah, she's going to learn nothing from American Studies. Apart from gaining great critical thinking skills, being able to work across multiple disciplinary areas, being highly educated about the historical and political background to a major global player, and having a broad base from which to develop a life that is actually enriched by culture, rather than just material possessions. Apart from that, nothing.

I can see it from both sides. on the one hand any degree that you take shows that you have the capacity for extended independent learning, you pick up transferable skills etc. on the other side whats the point of doing any course these days unless you know its going to actively lead to a job that you want to do?

Its not just the 9K fees that you need to factor in but the size of the maintenance loan which also needs repaying and the amount of parental contribution. the days when you went to uni to do a subject you fancied on a punt that you might get a job at the end of it have well and truly gone.

is your DD's school also encouraging students to look at other options like apprenticeships etc or is a degree of nothing.

i find american a fascinating place the civil war and politics but ill give a one line basic on us politics historically every issue the democrats have been on the wrong side

A close friend did this at an RG university. She enjoyed it very much. After graduation, she went on to work in really high profile places in press and marketing, before career changing a few years ago to teach.

I didn't do American studies but my degree did allow me to spend one semester at a top US university and I had the time of my life. Still have very fond memories now. I'd say if you get the chance to spend time at a decent American university grab it with both hands. Apart from anything else it broadened my horizons because the teaching and learning were so utterly different from my UK experience - neither better nor worse but definitely different.

As others have said, it's no different from any other decent humanities/social sciences degree and if it's what she wants to do I'd support her. I've always done best academically at things I'm really interested in, not things I'm forcing myself to learn because they might be useful or earn me money. Most careers only need a decent degree not a particular subject.

There's no categorical list but the entry requirements to various courses should give you a clue. If they don't, look at employment prospects and earning potential of graduates

The entry requirements for American Studies are typically the same as for History. Is that not a proper subject?

"whats the point of doing any course these days unless you know its going to actively lead to a job that you want to do?"

As people have said - over and over and over again - many people take a degree in one subject and end up working in a different area. This does not make the degree irrelevant. It means that the student has gained transferable skills and the versatility to apply them to a new area. These are things like being able to follow a difficult/extended argument, being able to write a paper, being able to think critically through different options and way them up, being able to question assumptions, being able to use rhetoric to influence or persuade, being able to use data in advanced and difficult ways to support a particuilar case, understanding the wider context and background to a range of issues - and a whole range of others.

These things are important, but there is also more to education than this.

I would trust your daughter who knows her own mind and, more importantly, knows a lot more about this course than you do. It's a bit rude to say it's about tv and shopping. She will be studying literature, history and politics. Employers don't really care about what your degree is unless it's a professional requirement.

I studied American Studies at the UEA 16 years ago. Had a fantastic time, studied a really interesting range of modules including the Civil War, the West, the American Dream-all of these were either history or literature modules. I also did several modules in the EAS school including the Brontes and history of art and photography modules. Led to a career in the Civil Service.

This was in a different time though when people came to our schools to explain it didn't really matter what you studied-any degree was of worth as long as you were really interested and invested your energy into it. Didn't have the uni fees that exist now either.

If I had to apply now I imagine I'd be pushed down a more business/economics route but so glad I did my degree as it was so interesting. Only problem for me has been the people who when I told them my degree would say I must be great at flipping burgers! . Glad to say that employers didn't feel the same way.

I'm wheeled out every 4 years to explain the Electoral College system.

Are you like a human version of Schoolhouse rock?

I did a BA in European Studies (French and Politics) and a course in South Asian Studies (Hindi/South Asian culture). Then a Masters in West European Government and finally a PhD on Political Economy in Japan. Worked in academia, consultancy and then government social research. Loved my courses and love my jobs.

One of my uni friends did something like Latin American studies at the University of Essex 20 years ago (God, I'm getting old!) and it was studying literature, art, politics, culture etc of Latin America ie Mexico etc. It sounded fascinating. She even had a year in Mexico as part of her degree.

Not to be sniffed at as a 'soft' social science/arts degree - the American studies degree is probably very interesting if it is anything like this. Sounds great.

It's no different to doing a degree in German or French.

I think most people I knew who took it did so because there's a fairly lengthy trip to America built into it somewhere!

Knowledge is valuable in its own right if you're happy to pay for it and have done your research into what further career prospects it will bring.

Yay for all the AmStuds love on this thread!