Teaching American Studies in a Changing World Environment
Keywords:
American Studies, pedagogy, cross-cultural education, institutional challenges, student perceptionsAbstract
This article analyzes the evolving landscape of American Studies as a discipline and its shifting role within academia, with a particular focus on the challenges faced by educators in non-American Studies departments. The author contends that students often lack foundational knowledge of American history, literature, or politics, and may harbor misconceptions about U.S. culture due to media exposure. Drawing from teaching experiences in England, France, Germany, and the United States, the paper explores how varying academic backgrounds influence student perceptions of American Studies. It also examines institutional pressures, such as financial uncertainties and shifting educational policies in the UK, which impact the teaching of American Studies. The article argues that these factors contribute to a decline in student enrollment in American Studies programs, particularly amidst rising tuition fees and anti-American sentiment. This study demonstrates the need for adaptive pedagogical strategies to engage students and highlight the relevance of American Studies in an increasingly interconnected world.
(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
References
Amott, Teresa L., and Julie A. Matthaei. Race, Gender and Work: A Multicultural Economic History of Women in the United States. Boston: South End P, 1991.
Beard, Charles. An Economic Interpretation of the American Constitution. New York: Macmillan, 1913.
Bell, Thomas. Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America. Pittsburgh, PA: U of Pittsburgh P, 1976. Original. 1941.
Briggs, Laura. “Gender and U. S. Imperialism in U. S. Women’s History,” in Kleinberg, Boris, and Ruiz, ed.
Brody, David. Steelworkers in American: The Nonunion Era . New York: Harper, 1960.
Eastman, Crystal. Work Accidents and the Law. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1910.
Eccles Centre, British Library. “American Studies in UK Higher Education.” The British Library. 5 Oct. 2006 <http://www.bl.uk/collections/americas/amstudies.html>.
Etzioni, Amitai. The Monochrome Society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2001.
Ferguson, Niall. “What’s the one thing that unites the world? Hatred of America.” Sunday Telegraph 25 February 2007, 23.
Fitch, John A. The Steelworkers. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1910. Higher Education Funding Council for England and Wales. Research Assessment Exercise, 2005. 8 October 2006 < http://www.rae.ac.uk/pubs/2005/03/rae0305.pdf>.
Kaplan, Amy. “Manifest Domesticity,” in Pease, Donald E. and Robyn Wiegman. The Futures of American Studies. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2002.111-134.
Kleinberg, S. J. The Shadow of the Mills: Working Class Families in Pittsburgh, 1880 – 1907. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1989.
—, Eileen Boris, and Vicki L. Ruiz, eds. The Practice of U.S Women’s History: Narratives, Intersections, and Dialogues. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP. Forthcoming, 2007.
Moss, Howard. Letter to the Editor. Times Higher Education Supplement 20 October 2006, 16.
Newman, Simon. Personal communication, 12 January 2007.
Pease, Donald E. and Robyn Wiegman. The Futures of American Studies. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2002.
Pessen, Edward. Riches, Class, and Power before the Civil War. Lexington, MA.: Heath, 1973. “Q&A: Student fees.” British Broadcasting Company 14 Feb.2007. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3013272.stm>.
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Vintage, 2005.
Smith, Alexandra. “Jump in Applications for University Places.” Guardian Education Weekly 14 February 2007. <http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityaccess/story/0,,2012700,00.html>
Smith, Henry Nash. “"Can American Studies Develop a Method?” American Quarterly 9 (1957): 197-208.
Thomas, Robert E. “A Reappraisal of Charles A. Beard’s An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.” American Historical Review 57 (1952): 370-375.
Times Higher Education Supplement 27 October 2006.
Times Higher Education Supplement 3 November 2006, 15.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. New York: Adlard, 1831.
United Kingdom Parliament. Higher Education Act of 2004. Introduced 8 Jan. 2004. Office of Public Sector Information. 5 October 2006. <http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/en2004/2004en08.htm>.
United States Census Bureau. “United States Manuscript Census for Pittsburgh, 1900, Supervisor’s District No. 18; Enumeration District No. 313.” 5 October 2006. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/hiscendata.html>.
University and Colleges Admissions Service (UK). UCAS Course Search. 8 October 2006. <http://search.ucas.co.uk/cgi bin/hsrun/search/search/search.hjx;start= search.HsSearch.run?y=2007>.
