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Graduate students in American Studies come from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds, usually because they have found traditional disciplines too limiting for their wide-ranging interests. No doubt, that also is why American Studies is one of the fastest-growing fields of study in universities throughout the United States. Dedicated to an interdisciplinary examination of American society and culture, American Studies draws on the techniques and insights of literature, history, film, cultural studies, anthropology, art, music, ethnic and gender studies, and other fields, in an effort to understand the American experience in a multidimensional way. But why pursue an advanced degree—MA or PhD—in American Studies? And why choose the University of Hawai‘i? Taking the MA program first, students seek Master's degrees in American Studies for a variety of reasons. Some acquire the degree on the way to a PhD in American Studies or another discipline, such as English, history, political science, or anthropology. Others are interested in advancing careers that already are underway. Many elementary and secondary school teachers, for instance, enter the American Studies MA program because they find it allows them more flexibility than traditional fields. Lawyers, journalists, curators, social workers, and consultants do the same. As for PhD students, most (though not all) are preparing for teaching careers in colleges and universities. Indeed, UH alumni/ae with doctorates in American Studies hold teaching and administrative positions on college and university campuses throughout the world. Although many of those positions are in American Studies programs, others are not. Recent graduates also have found positions teaching and conducting research in departments of ethnic studies, history, English, dance and performance studies, communication, journalism, labor studies, and more. The reason for this noteworthy placement success rate in a diversity of departments is that leaders in higher education have come to realize that knowledge can rarely be contained any longer within the borders of old world disciplines. Forward-thinking institutions have placed a premium on scholarship that synergizes among various bodies of knowledge. And few, if any, fields do this better than American Studies. American
Studies at the University of Hawai`i is distinctive in that it offers
unique opportunities for the study of American society and culture
within an Asian and Pacific context. Since its founding more than
four decades ago, American Studies at UH has endeavored to pursue
scholarship from a cross-cultural/East-West perspective. The University
boasts a renowned faculty and world-class library collections that
deal with Asia, the Pacific, and US relations with countries in
the Eastern Hemisphere. While students are not required to follow
this approach in their studies (and many do not), a good number
of the Department's core faculty and its growing circle of associate
faculty have strong teaching and research expertise in these areas.
PhD
students acquire:
As noted on the page headed "American Studies in Hawai‘i," UH American Studies graduate students come from Hawai‘i, from throughout the United States, and from numerous foreign countries. But perhaps the best way to convey the range and diversity of graduate student interests is simply to list the titles of a sampling of doctoral dissertation titles completed in the Department:
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