Principal Investigator Craig Wilder
Project Website http://shass.mit.edu/undergraduate/interdisciplinary/conc/american
American Studies at MIT offers students the opportunity to organize subjects from various fields (e.g., history, anthropology, literature, political science, music, art and architecture, and urban studies) into personally constructed interdisciplinary programs as a way of gaining an integrated understanding of American society and culture.
American Studies is a field of concentration; it is also available as the humanities component of a joint major program (the 21E and 21S degrees), or as a full major by special arrangement. American Studies majors work out a coherent program of study with an advisor, usually including two subjects each in literature and history, although variations are possible. Major programs can center on a particular interest or aim more broadly at a comprehensive knowledge of various aspects of American life and culture.