American Culture Studies

In 1957, an undergraduate interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts program in American Studies was established under the direction of Dr. Alma Payne of the Department of English, who was named as the first faculty joint appointment in English and American Studies. This program was expanded in 1964 to include a Master of Arts. The B.A. and M.A. in American Studies were the first two non-departmental, interdisciplinary degrees offered at the University.

BGSU established the American Culture Studies PhD program in 1978. The program draws on the expertise of full-time and joint-appointed faculty in the program as well as affiliated faculty. Particularly, the program relies strongly on affiliated faculty from BGSU's Department of Popular Culture, Department of Ethnic Studies and the Women’s Studies Program. The program also draws on expertise from, and interdisciplinary collaborations with, existing doctoral programs in English, Theater, Art, History, Sociology, Communication, Political Science and Media Studies. From its inception, the ACS PhD program had a strong interdisciplinary focus, drawing faculty from across the BGSU campus and attracting students from across the US and world. Today the ACS program is the flagship program for interdisciplinary study in the humanities and social sciences at BGSU and a leading innovator in the cultural studies field nationally.

ACS NEWS AND EVENTS

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ACS Students, Affiliated Faculty Win BGSU Wide Awards

Digital Cultures in the Era of Big Data

Dissertation Defense: Sudipto Sanyal

ACS Students Win Teaching Award

ACS PhD Alumna to Give Brown Bag Talk

BGSU Hosts Heavy Metal Conference