Explore the intersection of dance, Latin American studies, and Latinx studies. Examine how movement and performance can mobilize, remember, and reimagine Latinx histories and identities. No previous dance experience is necessary for this course.
What You’ll Study in the Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies
Explore the complexity of American studies, including transnational, hemispheric, oceanic, and global approaches, as well as the approach centered on the U.S. nation-state. Choose a primary home department, and learn from expert faculty with a range of disciplinary lenses. Prepare for a career in law, journalism, government, or business, or for more advanced study at the masters or doctoral level.
Roadmap to the BA in American Studies at Reed
Think critically about how American cultures, identities, and politics have been produced and consumed—and the contested definitions of Americanness—using the framework of your chosen home department as well as an interdisciplinary approach. In your fourth year, draw on a range of disciplines to demonstrate your knowledge with a senior thesis project.
Year One
Set the Foundation
Begin your journey with introductory courses in history, sociology, and English, which set the stage for deeper exploration in the American studies major. Attend our American Studies Colloquium, an informal discussion group that meets about once a month to encounter and learn from influential scholars, writers, and artists.
Join your fellow first-year students in Reed’s signature Humanities 110 course. This yearlong class is your first taste of Reed’s ethos of overlapping academic boundaries. Study human history, religion, art, and culture and how it all weaves together and impacts the present.
Year Two
Find Your Home Department
Choose a primary discipline, such as English or history, and complete additional requirements in American subject matter from two other departments. Affiliated faculty members’ areas of expertise range from art, theatre, history, and music to anthropology, environmental studies, English, and religion.
Submit your application to the major, detailing your reasons for pursuing American studies and outlining the courses for your particular path of study. Explore the added value of taking an interdisciplinary rather than disciplinary path.
Explore research opportunities. You can work with faculty during the summer break or find an external organization. If you find other outside opportunities, you can apply for Reed funding to help cover the cost.
Year Three
Articulate Your Understanding of Interdisciplinarity
Continue to take American studies courses in your home department and across other disciplines. Study for and complete your junior qualifying examination, which will be designed by the American Studies Committee in consultation with the department corresponding to your field of concentration. This exam ensures you are ready to begin your senior thesis.
Year Four
Present and Defend Your Senior Thesis
For your senior thesis, you’ll execute a genuinely interdisciplinary study of an American phenomenon of your choosing. This is the culmination of your time at Reed and will allow you to showcase your intellectual curiosity and your ability to synthesize diverse disciplinary lenses. Once you’ve completed the writing process, you’ll defend your project to faculty and present it at a colloquium during your final semester.
Why pursue American studies at Reed College?
Practice Genuine Interdisciplinarity
As an American studies major, you’ll critically reflect on what interdisciplinarity means. Course topics vary widely—from gender and sexuality to race and ethnicity—and you’ll learn how to consider transnational, hemispheric, oceanic, and global approaches, as well as the more traditional approach centered on the U.S. nation-state. This level of complexity provides the opportunity to learn together with other students and faculty, finding connections through intellectual curiosity and creative collaboration.
Learn from Faculty with Wide-Ranging Expertise
Affiliated faculty members’ areas of expertise include art, theatre, history, music, anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, English, and religion, with research interests ranging from African American music to urban anthropology to Islam in America. Expect a wide-ranging course of study from a dynamic set of professors.
Our American Studies Courses
Dance 241 - Dancing Latinx America
History 270 - Introduction to American Environmental History
Investigate the natural world as both a material place and a historical and cultural idea. Consider how human societies have shaped the natural world, how the natural world has shaped human societies, and how ideas about nature have been created, challenged, and changed in American history.
Religion 226 - Islam in America
Examine the history of Islam in America and discuss the relationship between race, ethnicity, and religion in the United States. Dive into concepts of theology, diversity, colonialism, and civil rights in this expansive and engaging course.
Careers for American Studies Majors
Reed’s American studies graduates are ready for careers in law, journalism, government, or business, or for more advanced study at the masters or doctoral level. Here is a sampling:
- Technical recruiter, Reddit, Inc.
- Research assistant in public health, Oregon Health & Science University
- Early childhood educator, Deutsch Early Childhood Center
- Associate producer, WarnerMedia
- EdM candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Physician, Kaiser Permanente
Recent Senior Theses
Each American studies major formulates and executes a genuinely interdisciplinary study of an American phenomenon for their senior thesis. Here are a few recent examples:
- “On the Road Again: Roadtrips, Personhood, and National Identity for Young White Americans” (Ethan Brisley ’21)
- “Standing Up and Standing Out: An Analysis of American Female Standup Comedians Confronting Social and Political Issues through Humor” (Sonia Varah ’21)
- “How We Made a Black President on TV” (Sarah Nixon ’19)
- “From Criminality to Insanity: Contesting Deviance in Mental Health Courts in Portland, Oregon” (Michelle Owens ’19)
- “Cowboy Confederate: Silent Westerns, the American Family, and the Mythology of the Lost Cause in the 1920s” (Connor Cantrell ’18)
- “The Hands of Harlem: Coalition, Conflict, and Legacy in Harlem’s Aid to Ethiopia Movement, 1934–1938” (Joshua Lash ’18)
Our American Studies Faculty
The five members of the American Studies Committee represent the music, sociology, history, and English departments, with affiliated faculty drawn from linguistics, art, religion, political science, and other departments.
