Comparative American Studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines issues of power and identity formation in the United States through the lenses of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. Comparative American Studies takes a broad view of “America” that extends beyond U.S. geopolitical boundaries to consider the global reach of American political, economic, and military power as well as U.S. cultural production and histories of social change. Course materials encourage students to engage critically with notions of “American” and “Americanness” and to locate these concepts within historicized transnational and global contexts. While Comparative American Studies draws on the research and insights of a wide range of fields--including American Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies, Latina/o Studies, Native American Studies, and Gender and Women's Studies—the program is distinctive in that it pursues comparative approaches to analyzing identities, territories, and modes of social change.

Winter Term. When on duty, faculty members with appointments in Comparative American Studies sponsor Winter Term projects.

Off-Campus Programs for Credit. Students are encouraged to broaden their educational experience by taking advantage of off-campus programs, preferably sometime during their junior year. A maximum of ten credit hours of such work may be applied toward the major (five for the minor).