Starting next year, students will be able to major in American Studies, which until now only has been offered as a concentration within a department.
The American Studies major received final approval from the College's faculty yesterday afternoon.
American Studies is a 30-hour major that includes three core courses, AMST 301, 302 and 401, as well as seven classes from a list of 180 possible courses from a variety of departments.
"I think of this as a horizontal sampling across all kinds of disciplines," said English Prof. Stephen B. Cushman, the director of the new major.
Cushman mentioned architectural history, theories of modern American Urbanism, American environmental policies and a drama class studying the American circus as examples of the 180 courses included in the major. The major also draws courses from anthropology, African-American studies, economics, religious studies and psychology, as well as many other departments.
American Studies previously has been a possible concentration for students majoring in other subjects such as English and history, which provided the force behind the push to make an American Studies major.
Cushman cited English Prof. Alan Howard and College Dean Edward L. Ayers as its main proponents.
"Increasingly, we've been looking for students from a variety of disciplines," said Howard, who was the director of the American Studies program in the English department before the major was created. "In order to do that, we had to move [the program] out of history and English."
Howard said the initial group selected for the major will be limited to 15 or 16 students who would remain together for two years.
"We're going to try to keep this small," Howard said. "If there's more demand for space, we'll create more sections."
Ayers mentioned the diversity of the University student population, the talented faculty and the University's international connections allowing scholars to view the country from an outside perspective as reasons that make the University ideal for an American Studies major.
"I think this could become one of the most popular majors at U.Va. for students who hope to gain a deep understanding of the nation where they live and work, whether they were born here or not," Ayers said.
A meeting for interested students will be held Wed., April 3, at 5 p.m. in Cabell 431.
Cushman said the American Studies major could be an ideal second major for students who want to focus on a particular subject as well as get an interdisciplinary survey of courses.
He added that the major has lasting relevance after college.
"You can be an English major, graduate and quit reading," Cushman said. "But you can't graduate and quit being an American"
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