Dirk (and possibly others),

You asked what are American studies?

American Studies, simply put, is a multidisciplinary exploration and study
of the development of American society and culture from the colonial
period to the present, incorporating history, literature, politics,
economics, visual art and film, ect. Topical areas are quite diverse and
are only limited by the imagination of those exploring the area(s):
urban-industrial transformation, war and society, race and ethnicity,
politics, poetics, fictions, non-fiction, and other literary forms such as
the comic book, detective fiction, horror and pulp fiction.  Other
historic and contemporary sources include literature, law, photography,
painting, film, TV, music, fashions, environments, events of everyday
life.  Often AS programs are sponsored by English Department’s in
cooperation with faculty from the departments of Anthropology, Art, Drama,
Economics, History, Music, Religious Studies, and Sociology, Philosophy,
as well as from the Schools of Architecture and Law, among others.  My
particular interest is aesthetics, poetics, and philosophy (American
Pragmatism and Poetics-Modern Studies, Postmodernism.)  I personally love
the excitement of not limiting myself to the departmentalized notion of
scholarly studies.

I think most of us share the American studies type interests.  Pound would
have thought it a good idea, since he liked to cross-over.

Ezstoner

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