American Studies
By Neda Mostafavi
Published: 15 August 2004
What do you come out with? BA
Why do it? Because it's fascinating and now and happening. No matter your opinion on the country, there's no doubting its incredible influence. You can study JFK, Marilyn Monroe, the Blues, cowboys and Indians, Hollywood, even Monica Lewinsky, and still claim to be doing something serious. Best of all, you can spend a year at an American university. Sussex enables you to go to the University of California at Berkeley or Santa Barbara.
What's it all about? That depends on the course. At Keele you study the history, literature, culture, constitution, human geography and music of the most dominant nation in the world. Liverpool offers courses in both North American and Latin America studies, either comparing the two or focussing on the individual. In the Comparative American Studies degree languages such as Spanish, Portuguese or French are all options, but are not compulsory. You start with the ideas that underpin the USA, the people who created it and the ethnic groups that comprise it. You move on to the different regions, the South, the West and so forth and examine why all things American hold such sway. At Keele you have to combine it with a degree in English, history or politics. The University of East Anglia gives you a fairly traditional diet of literature and history with the chance to specialise in politics and film. At Nottingham you can do single or joint honours. Birmingham tries to create an objective idea of what "America" is, who the people are, and what their ideology is. They also explore America's relationship to the rest of the world, placing it in an international context.
How long is the degree? Four years at UEA and Sussex, because all students spend a year in the USA or Canada. Students of American politics gravitate to Georgetown University, film students to San Francisco State. Three or four years at Birmingham depending on whether you want to spend a year abroad or not. At Liverpool it's four years with the third year spent abroad.
What are the students like? Hip, lively, keen on the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Wall Street, eggs sunny-side-up, Friends and Ally McBeal; around 60 per cent female. Otherwise they're like any other arts and humanities students and don't have a clue what they want to do in life.
How is it packaged? It's taught via a mixture of continuous assessment and exams. At the end, students write a dissertation on a subject of their fancy - anything from what Theodore Dreiser tells us about industrialisation to black American female writers such as Toni Morrison and modern misogynists such as John Updike. One UEA student compared the Gary Hart scandal with the way the Gennifer Flowers revelations nearly unseated President Bill Clinton. Birmingham has assessment in many formats: documentaries, web-based and group presentations, and of course exams and essays, with the final year dissertation counting for a massive 25 per cent of the total degree.
How cool is it? Very.
What A-levels do you need? Anything goes at Keele and Sussex. UEA asks for English and history and Nottingham and Birmingham tend towards humanities and arts subjects.
What grades? BBB or BBC at UEA and ABC-BBB at Nottingham; ABB at Birmingham; ABB-BCC at Keele and ABB-BBB at Sussex.
Will you be interviewed? It depends. Yes at Sussex, maybe at Nottingham but not at Birmingham.
Will it keep you off the dole? Yes. Students go into all kinds of things: the law, the diplomatic service, work with NGOs, television, accountancy, marketing, advertising, business and teaching.
What do students say? Louisa Anderson, 20, at Warwick. "The professors here are really charismatic and interesting. I am really looking forward to going on my year abroad, there is such a wide range of places to go in North or South America, or even the Caribbean."
"Going away for a year is a really good opportunity and I like the broad range of US history, politics and cinema." Nina Jagersbacher, 19, student at Sussex.
"The year abroad was undoubtedly the highlight of my degree, understanding the human rights organisation that became the focus of my research as well as immersing myself in local life." Sally Harrison, graduated 2004, Liverpool
Where's best for teaching? Keele, UEA and the University of Central Lancashire scored 24 out of 24; Sussex, Hull and Leicester 23; Nottingham, Birmingham, Middlesex and Ulster, 22.
Where's best for research? Top was Nottingham with a 5* (top grade). Keele, Liverpool and Sussex scored a 5;Birmingham, East Anglia and North London a 4.
Where's the cutting edge? Popular culture, women's and ethnic studies, intellectual and cultural history, foreign relations. At Sussex it's at the intersection of literary theory and philosophy. Visual culture (film, TV, photography) at Birmingham because those are the media that let us see America and form our opinions on it.
Who are the stars? At Nottingham Professor John Ashworth, who has written a class analysis of the Civil War and Professor Douglas Tallack for his book on the intellectual and political history of 20th century America. Professor Peter Nicholls at Sussex, who has written a book called Modernisms. Professor Scott Lucas at Birmingham for his book "The Betrayal of Descent". At UEA, it's Chris Bigsby, Professor of American literature, and Adam Fairclough, Professor of American history. Professor Jim Higgins at Liverpool for Latin American Literature and James Dunkerley at the Institute for the Study of the Americas.
Added value: UEA runs an international literary festival in the autumn and spring terms. Recent guests have included Joseph Heller, Norman Mailer, Frank McCourt and Gore Vidal. Sussex has a popular course in US cinema. You can choose to do the degree in three or four years at Nottingham, which makes it accessible for those who can't afford four years.
