BA American Studies / Course details

Our four-year single honours American Studies degree will give you a grounding in the history, culture and literature of the US, from colonisation through to contemporary times. 

The course includes a full year in North America as a part of your degree programme. 

At Manchester, we train our students to be attentive to the counter-currents of US history and literature, and our course places a particular emphasis on the themes of race, capitalism, sexuality, the cultures of labour, political protest and the environment. 

You will master the approaches and tools found in several academic disciplines, including cultural theory, history, visual studies, literature and politics. 

You will learn how to analyse and interpret a wide range of texts and materials, including historical documents, films, manuscript collections, literary works, visual and marketing campaigns, and musical works. 

Years 1 and 2 will give you a wide knowledge of US politics and history, and American literature and film, and will familiarise you with concepts such as: 

• mass incarceration; 
• inequality; 
• racial stratification; 
• poverty; 
• the logics of policing; 
• the changing nature of work and leisure; 
• radical organising; 
• military power; 
• cultural imperialism; 
• climate change; 
• urban politics; 
• conspiracy theories; 
• gender and sexuality; 
• literature and film analysis. 

Upon returning to Manchester from your year abroad, you will be able to choose from an extensive range of advanced modules, while also completing a substantial piece of independent research.

You will study at a university in the US or Canada in Year 3. 

A list of exchange partners, and further information on the scheme is available on the  American Studies Study Abroad  page, as well as via the University's  Study Abroad  scheme.

In Year 1 and 2, you will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, and small-group tutorials.

Lectures are used to sketch an outline of the major themes and questions, and often to examine the wider significance certain topics have had in society or among scholars.

Seminars usually involve groups of around 12 students, enabling you to discuss a particular text in detail, or to debate a specific subject or question.

To benefit from lectures and seminars you will spend a good amount of time preparing through reading, taking notes, and drafting and writing essays. 

On some units, students are also taught in regular tutorials, which are small tutor-led sessions, and are used to discuss a draft of an essay, or provide feedback on work already submitted.

Several final-year course units are also taught through a weekly workshop model, in which students work collaboratively with each other on a research project, assignment, or presentation.

Your degree is completed by your final-year dissertation, which is undertaken under the supervision of a specialist, and will allow you to carry out independent research and produce an extended piece of writing.

Our assessment methods for this course are designed to improve your ability to work and think independently, to express your ideas with clarity, and to allow you to produce imaginative and incisive interpretations of the subject.

We are keen for our students to learn to write for different audiences. To do this you will produce varied written work, including essays, journals, gobbet responses and your final-year dissertation.

Most units are assessed through a combination of an essays and final examinations. American Studies modules also allow you to undertake more creative forms of assessment, such as producing visual essays, films, historical map-making and short radio-style oral essays. All modules encourage you to work collaboratively with other students.

Within the American Studies department you quickly establish and realise the dedication of your lecturers and teachers to their particular field of expertise. This creates an environment in which you feel very trusting and grateful to be studying under the guidance of those that carry great knowledge but are also passionate about their subject areas.

Isabel Pugh (History and American Studies, 2016)

My time at Manchester was invaluable for understanding the importance of working to deadlines, being organised, and learning how to prioritise my workload. Studying English and American Studies meant that I had experience in evaluating and responding to a text - a great starting point for learning how to edit.

Natasha Barsby (English Language and American Studies, 2012)

American Studies offered an opportunity to read literature and to do so alongside history, film, cultural studies, and art history. I was drawn to what I saw as the degree's diversity and its contemporary relevance.

Tom Cornelius (American Studies, 2015)

Deciding to join the American Studies programme at the University of Manchester in 2014 was one of the best decisions I have made. I spent three wonderful years on the course, including a semester abroad at North Carolina State University. I believe the skills I learnt on this course set me up brilliantly for the challenges and pressures I have faced as a young graduate trying to get my foot on the career ladder.

Stephanie Keyte (History and American Studies, 2017)

The University of Manchester has one of the strongest collections of archival, printed, and digitised materials relating to the Americas anywhere in the UK. Some of these materials, such as those relating to the transatlantic abolitionist movement, civil rights and race relations and 19th century American popular culture are housed at the University's John Rylands Library, the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Centre, and the University Special Collections Library.

The University Library, which has benefited from Manchester's long history of scholarship in this field, has one of the largest collections of electronic databases relating to the US, providing access to important newspapers, literary works and movements, entertainment and popular culture journals, as well as unique materials relating to US politics, civil rights and black power groups, and the cultural industries.

Further details on these resources can be found on the subject's Facilities page.