American studies bachelor’s degree to be available for first time this fall semester

Although American studies is one of the first interdisciplinary fields in the U.S., starting around the 1930s, the bachelor’s degree has never made it to IU. \n“IU must have missed it,” Director of the IU American Studies Program Matthew Guterl said.\nIU has had respected master’s and doctoral programs in American studies since the 1970s, and there are 30 students enrolled. With IU’s growing popularity for interdisciplinary majors, IU will also offer a new bachelor’s degree in American studies starting this fall. Organizers of the program hope it will attract at least 50 students to the degree in the next five years.\nGuterl said the major will do two things.\n“It is an interdisciplinary major and students will learn about art, film, history, music and a range of different American cultures,” Guterl said. “Also, they will gain an understanding of the United States’ place within the world.”\nStudents will be encouraged to make comparisons and explore the many aspects between the U.S. and the world. They will have an understanding of the music and film across the Americas, as well as its different meanings.\nGuterl said students will not simply study the United States, but compare and contrast it to other countries as well. \n“Students access culture as a whole and understand what it means to live in a globalized world,” said Kathryn Lofton, a professor in religious studies who is also working in American studies. “The degree is mostly interested in the present, but it also explores the past in order to understand why we are doing things now.”\nLofton said the new major is appealing because it would supplement other areas of study, such as business, journalism or pre-law. \nIU’s American studies degree is a little different than degrees offered at other campuses. It focuses not only on the United States, but also the rest of the Americas. The course requirements for the degree will require another year of language studies and a senior seminar.\nStudents will make parallels to understand the history and different cultures in the Americas. For example, to learn about American culture, students will compare American writer Jack Kerouac’s novel about Bohemian drifters, “On the Road,” to the film “The Motorcycle Diaries,” based on the journals of Latin American Che Guevara.