American Studies – University California, Berkeley

Understanding “American culture” as the interplay of material practices and the realm of ideas

The Undergraduate degree program in American Studies considers technology, economy, urbanism, and ecology, as well as literature, the arts, and political and geographic history. American Studies takes a particular interest in cultural hybridity, cultural layering, and in American culture exported abroad.

Announcements

American Studies Major Brittany Postle Wins 2024 Haas Scholarship

American Studies Major Cat Stoehr Wins 2024 Haas Scholarship

Emma Gerson, American Studies graduate (class of 2023), has won the 2023 American Cultures Student Prize!

We are proud to announce that Sarah Gold McBride has won the 2023 American Cultures Excellence in Teaching Award!

American Studies Spring 2024 Conference – Twice Told Tales: May 3, 2024, at the Women’s Faculty Club, Lucy Ward Stebbins Lounge

American Studies Senior Thesis Showcase: Thursday, May 2, 2024, 12:00– 3:00 pm, 3335 Dwinelle

Student Academic Advising

Laura Spautz, MPH

The Student Academic Advisor’s job is to guide students and faculty as they navigate University, College, and Major Program policies. Laura is an experienced advisor who is available to serve as a sounding board for ideas and concerns as they arise.

Faculty Advising

Alexander Benjamin Craghead

Christine Palmer

Michael Mark Cohen

Sarah Gold McBride

News

American Studies Major Brittany Postle Wins 2024 Haas Scholarship

Mar 27 2024

Brittany is a junior with a concentration in Disability and Human Rights in America. Her Haas project is called "William O. Douglas and Fight for Pristine Wilderness in a Damaged World: How Ableism in the ...

American Studies Major Cat Stoehr Wins 2024 Haas Scholarship

Mar 27 2024

Cat is researching the history of strikes and unionization drives among American ballet companies from the 1930s to the present.

Emma Gerson, American Studies graduate (class of 2023), has won the 2023 American Cultures Student Prize!

Mar 20 2024

American Studies is proud to announce that Emma Gerson, a graduate of our program (class of 2023), has won the 2023 American Cultures Student Prize! This prize recognizes exemplary student projects developed in American Cultures courses "that promotes ...

We are proud to announce that Sarah Gold McBride has won the 2023 American Cultures Excellence in Teaching Award!

Mar 19 2024

This coveted prize recognizes "inspiring and sustained commitment" to address the "multivocality of America’s diverse social fabric; the scales of geographic assemblage that support political and economic ways of being; the often contested nature of ...