Program in American Studies
The American studies graduate program is housed in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, whose faculty serve as the core teaching faculty of the graduate program.
Students in our program explore interdisciplinary analyses of the United States as a multiethnic, multiracial, multigendered, and multicultural society shaped by transnational forces. Our program has particular strengths in the critical analysis of comparative ethnic studies, feminist studies, environmental justice cultural studies, global indigenous studies, popular culture, social movement analysis, and the cultural study of digital technologies.
We also have affiliated faculty in anthropology, communication, digital technology and culture, English, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, and teaching and learning.
In addition to taking our own American studies courses, students can take graduate courses in other departments across the campus and synthesize these into their programs of study. Rather than an exam structure, students prepare a portfolio of publishable papers for their preliminary exams.
While most of our graduate students enter careers in university and college teaching, an advanced degree in American studies can also be utilized as a useful preparation for community activism, museum and archive work, traditional and electronic publishing, and government service, among other careers.
Director, Program in American Studies
Lisa Guerrero, Ph.D
509-335-4182
laguerre@wsu.edu
Academic Coordinator
Rose Smetana
509-335-0012
rsmetana@wsu.edu
Degrees Offered
About the Program
The American studies graduate program at WSU was founded in 1962 and is one of the recognized leaders in this field in the Northwest.
Since its inception, it has continued to offer a rich, rigorous approach to analyzing American society and culture, combining the best intellectual insights from cultural anthropology, literature, history, women's studies, ethnic studies, environmental studies, global indigenous studies, and the social sciences.