American & New England Studies Program

The American & New England Studies Program (AMNESP) is a nationally recognized leader in American Studies, dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of US society in a local, national, and global context.

Our students and faculty study the disparate yet interconnected cultures of colonial North America and the United States as seen in the ideas and actions of its people, and as expressed in a range of forms, including culture, the arts, media, literature, and institutions. We are attuned to the global and national dimensions of the experience of people living in North America and to the importance of race, gender, sexuality, and inequality. Our New England focus has placed us in active collaboration with many of greater Boston’s cultural institutions.

Intellectually vibrant, our program also seeks to give students, at all levels, skills that will prepare them professionally. The interdisciplinary skills and knowledge gained by an American Studies undergraduate major or minor can help students interested in careers as museum professionals or in journalism, education, law, communications, business, and other fields.