The American Studies Program is a nationally recognized leader in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies. 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, especially culture, the arts, media, literature, and institutions – often seen through a global or transnational lens.
Formerly known as the American & New England Studies Program, we maintain active collaborations with many cultural institutions in the region, especially in the Boston Area. Our large, prestigious PhD program has produced professors, public historians, museum curators, and directors at major universities, museums, and other cultural and historical institutions. Our individualized BA program benefits majors and non-majors seeking a rigorous interdisciplinary experience. The skills and knowledge gained by an American Studies undergraduate concentration can help students interested in careers in journalism, education, law, communications, business, and other fields.
American Studies Director Joseph Rezek is hosting a class this Spring relevant to the nation's commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American War for Independence. The class, "Revolutionary Icons," delves into the iconic texts of 1776 (including Tom Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration) and then focuses on four truly revolutionary writers from North America, Haiti, and […]
The American Studies Program was very honored to host Professor Bethany Hughes this week on March 2 at the Howard Thurman Center for a public talk on her new book Redface: Race, Performance, and Indigeneity (2024) followed by a conversation with Professor Brianna Tafolla Rivière (BU, History). Hughes is the Director of the Native American Studies […]
We are pleased to announce that Jesse Dritz and Genna Kane, two American Studies PhD students, have received General Awards from the Public Humanities Fund, which was newly established in 2024. These awards are given by American Studies to students currently enrolled in its PhD program. They support projects that have a public-facing element or might […]
We are excited to announce that American Studies PhD candidate, Fallon Murphy, will be giving a talk at the "Five College Seminar in Book History" at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on February 19th from 5:00-7:00pm. She will be discussing her dissertation titled "To be a Walking Cabinet: Alice Walker, Feminist Methods of Recovery, and […]
American Studies professor Japonica Brown-Saracino's new book, The Death and Life of Gentrification: A New Map of a Persistent Idea, looks at the changing meaning of gentrification and what it ideas the word reflects about our own society. Take a look at The Brink article featuring her new work!
American Studies Director Joseph Rezek discusses "Common Sense," which Thomas Paine wrote in 1776, in this week's New York Times Book Review. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/books/review/thomas-paine-common-sense-anniversary.html
Congratulations to American Studies PhD student, Perri Meldon, who recently defended their dissertation titled "Dwelling with Ditches: Conservation, Cultural Memory, and Ecological Resilience in the Great Dismal Swamp" advised by Sarah Phillips!
American Studies Professor Adriana Craciun will be giving a TedX Talk on November 15 as a part of MIT's Planet Action conference where she will be discussing Svalbard's Global Seed Vault. Registration is free and can be found here.