Studiegids

nl en

North American Studies

Master

In this programme you will study U.S. history, literature and culture, as part of an integrated approach to American Studies and with a special (though not exclusive) focus on themes such as U.S. politics, international relations, immigration, civil rights, racial, ethnic, national identities and memory. This approach enables you to discover connections between historical events and cultural and literary developments, but the range of elective courses also makes it possible to specialise in either U.S. history or literature and culture. The focus of the program is on the United States, but not in isolation: in this programme we also study U.S. history, politics, and culture in an international context.

Courses

Vak EC Semester 1 Semester 2

First & second semester
Thesis Seminar North American Studies 0
MA Thesis North American Studies 20

First semester

Required course
Major Issues in American History and Culture 10

Electives
American Comics Against the Code: Autobiography and Journalism in Graphic Novels 10
Deep Rivers: the great migrations in African-American History 10
The United States and Human Rights 10
Internship North American Studies (optional) 10

Second semester

Required course

Students who start in February take the following course instead of Major Issues in American History and Culture
Readings in American History 10

Electives
Migration Matters: (Im)migration, Memory, and Identity in American Literature and Film 10
The Rise and Decline of American Empire 10
Internship North American Studies (optional) 10

More info

Programme information

In this programme you will study U.S. history, and culture, including literature, film and other forms of cultural expression, as part of an integrated approach to American Studies and with a special (though not exclusive) focus on themes like emancipation struggles, global interactions, US exceptionalism, and cultural identities. This approach enables you to discover connections between historical events and cultural and literary developments, but the range of elective courses also makes it possible to specialise in either U.S. history or literature and culture. The focus of the program is on the United States, but not in isolation: in this programme we also study U.S. history, politics, and culture in relation to the rest of the world.

The programme consists of four courses of 10 ec each and an MA thesis (20 ec), 60 ec total:

  • a required, interdisciplinary core course about Major Issues in American History and Culture (10 ec);
    students who start in February take the following course instead of Major Issues in American History and Culture: Readings in American History;

  • three elective courses, which gives a more in-depth understanding on some of the themes that are discussed in the Major Issues core course (total elective courses: 30 ec);

  • students can opt to take do an internship (10 ec) or one elective course outside the North American Studies programme;

  • the programme will be completed with a 20 ec master’s thesis (including thesis seminar).