B.A. English Studies / B.Ed. English
The North American Studies Program currently offers three elective modules in the B.A. programs and cooperates with colleagues from the field of English literatures and cultures in the modules "Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies," as well as the M.Ed. module "North American and Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures." B.A. and B.Ed. students have the option to write their final thesis on a topic of their own choice in the field of North American Studies. Faculty members working in the program supervise these theses and offer research colloquia.
For detailed information on these degree programs (B.A. major, double major, minor, and teaching degree) please follow this link to the department's website.
This module introduces first-year students to a specialized topic in the area of North American literatures and cultures and teaches them the principles of academic writing. Course offerings in the field of North American Studies in the past have included classes on climate change fiction, the American presidency, civil religion, representations of private property, 21st-century romance novels, and many more.
North American Literatures and Cultures is an advanced module which provides students with an historical overview of North American literature in its cultural contexts, from early new world encounters to the twenty-first century. Weekly lectures introduce the literary and cultural periods; selected texts are discussed and analyzed in smaller groups during the tutorials.
Course offerings in the intensive module North American Studies each focus on a specialized topic in transdisciplinary perspective. Co-taught by colleagues from the fields of literary and cultural studies, economics, and political science, seminars in the past have investigated the urban culture of New York, terrorism and 9/11, poverty in America, African American culture, Black feminism, and the politics of emotion in U.S. culture.
Faculty in the North American Studies Program are available as supervisors for final theses and regularly offer research colloquia for B.A. and B.Ed. students.