American Studies (AMST) has been the home for the interdisciplinary study of American culture at Carleton since the 1950s. It is not a department, but rather a place where faculty from a great variety of departments can come together to study and teach aspects of American culture. Here it is not our discipline — History, Sociology, Art — that is primary, but our subject: America past and present, from as many points of view as we can provide.
Students interested in questions about American culture that are not easily confined within the boundaries of a single discipline will find American Studies a congenial program in which to work. We offer a core of courses that provide a coherent introduction to and experience of the work that scholars in the field of American Studies produce, and we supplement this core with special courses taught by members of the American Studies faculty and a long list of courses offered in departments that carry American Studies credit. A student who chooses to major in American Studies will have some of each category on his or her transcript, but no major is like another one; each student will have his or her own individual program. (Majors, please see the comps information.)
The program is located on the 4th floor of Willis Hall. (The office of the director, Adriana Estill, is located in Laird Hall 207A.) American Studies shares the Lounge with the other programs on the floor; students are welcome to browse or wait in the Lounge before meeting with faculty. Anyone wishing to use the lounge for a meeting must first make a reservation with Lisa Falconer (Willis 402).