American Studies | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Understand, analyze, explore

Acquire a broad familiarity with the dynamics of cultural experience and life in the United States.

Why Iowa?

Explore how American institutions, values, gender and ethnic relations, artifacts, popular and fine arts, and everyday life have developed over time to define what we know as America.

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Build a foundation

American Studies is committed to the study of American culture. In our scholarship and teaching, we model interdisciplinary inquiry and stress the central role of power and struggle.

Build a foundation

Get your MA or PhD in American Studies, or explore our specialized Graduate Certificate in Native American and Indigenous Studies. We prepare students for a wide range of careers in the arts, education, and public service.

Expand your horizons

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Learn from experts

Faculty in our department specialize in a wide variety of interdisciplinary topics, helping students acquire a broad familiarity with the dynamics of cultural experience and explore aspects of life in the United States.

Learn from experts

See yourself here

Critically examine the complex connections between past and present culture and history to understand the impact people have on American society.

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3

Minors

10+

Course options

10

Faculty

2

Certificates

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Write your story

Prepare for a wide range of careers in the arts, education, and public service through interdisciplinary inquiry into the central role power and struggle have played in American culture.

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News and announcements

Where literature and lived experiences meet: Elizabeth Rodriguez Fielder’s path as a scholar and educator

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Since joining the Department of English and American Studies at Iowa, Rodriguez Fielder has brought together research, teaching, and mentorship to help students turn their curiosity into deeper questions about the world around them.

CLAS industry professionals bring tomorrow's creative industries into today's classrooms

Monday, August 24, 2026

From literary agents to filmmakers, the Industry Professionals in the Arts and Humanities program gives students direct access to the professionals shaping today's creative industries.

4 University of Iowa students awarded Leona Zaharis Scholarship to study abroad

Monday, August 3, 2026

Four University of Iowa students have been awarded the Leona Zaharis Scholarship to support their study abroad experiences in summer and fall 2026.

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Events

All Majors Career Fair

Thursday, September 24, 2026 11:00am to 4:00pm

Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

This job and internship fair will focus on recruiting students in ALL MAJORS! Typically about 100+ employers attend and 1,000+ students attend!

Visit careers.uiowa.edu/all-majors-career-fair for more details.

Irwin Lecture Series presents: Evie Shockley

Thursday, October 1, 2026 4:00pm to 5:30pm

English-Philosophy Building

Professor Evie Shockley is the author of Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry (U Iowa P, 2011) and six collections of poetry, most recently suddenly we (Wesleyan UP, 2023). Her books have been recognized with a number of awards: the new black (Wesleyan UP, 2011) received the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; semiautomatic (Wesleyan UP, 2017) received the same award in 2018, and was also a finalist that year for the LA Times Book Review Prize and the...

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