American Studies

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Professor Frances Pohl, coordinator
Steering Committee: Valorie Thomas, Frances Pohl, Victor Silverman, Hillary Gravendyk, Joti Rockwell

Sponsored by the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges, American Studies is a multidisciplinary major that encourages students to think critically and creatively about the United States. American Studies allows students to comprehend the complexity and diversity of the U.S. by drawing on the strengths of the humanities and the social sciences. Majors take courses in a variety of fields such as literature, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, music and the visual arts. In addition, multidisciplinary core courses give majors materials from different disciplines to explore a particular issue about life in the U.S. The interdisciplinary approach to this major affords students many career choices, including law, academia, library science, journalism, education, business and museum curatorship.

Core Faculty in American Studies

While several faculty at the Claremont Colleges offer courses that fulfill the American Studies major, the faculty listed below are considered core members of the program and, as such, are available to serve as advisors for those students who decide to major in American Studies.

Claremont McKenna: Niklas Frykman (History), Diana Selig (History), Lily Geismer (History)
Harvey Mudd: Hal Barron (History), Jeff Groves (Literature), Isabel Balseiros (Literature), Erica Dyson (Religion)
Pomona: Hilary Gravendyk (English), Frances Pohl (Art History), Victor Silverman (History), Val Thomas (English), Tomas Summers Sandoval (History)
Pitzer: Bill Anthes (Art History), Stu McConnell (History), Claudia Strauss (Anthropology)
Scripps: Matt Delmont (American Studies), Julie Liss (History), Warren Liu (English), Rita Roberts (History), Cheryl Walker (English)

• American Studies Major
   
• American Studies Minor
   
• American Studies Courses
   

Read more about our learning objectives:
www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/learning-objectives

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