Master’s Program in North American Studies

 

In the introduction to the curriculum and course descriptions of the Master’s program in North American Studies, it is necessary to briefly review the background and origins of cultural studies in the United States to clarify the availability of research resources in this field. Parallel to the growth of cultural studies in Britain, cultural studies in the U.S. developed in a decentralized, heterogeneous, and scattered manner across various academic centers. Unlike Britain, the roots of cultural studies in America are dispersed and less aligned with leftist intellectual traditions. Moreover, cultural studies in the U.S. did not necessarily originate within the university environment.

Due to historical realities such as World War I and II and the post-war conditions, some cultural issues emerged from non-academic contexts. Social issues such as race and gender first appeared in racial confrontations—between whites and people of color, including Black and Native Americans—and were accompanied by debate, analysis, and theoretical engagement before entering academic circles. Media studies also arose out of commercial as well as academic needs and became part of cultural studies.

In both the U.S. and Britain, the impact of the world wars and the post-war era, along with American dominance, had profound effects on academic studies, leading to greater diversity in the racial and cultural backgrounds of students and scholars. It should also be noted that American Studies began with the study of American culture. Since there was no serious intellectual movement in the U.S. aimed at defining a national American thought, culture, and civilization, the field evolved into an interdisciplinary study of American studies, with a significant focus on American culture, literature, and civilization.

This field has diverse roots, but early on, Frederick Jackson Turner’s 1893 work, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” was highly influential. The attention to progress disrupted the formal perspectives on historical topics. In 1936, George Washington University initiated an American Studies program. In the same year, Harvard University established a bachelor’s program in American Civilization, with key works such as Pringle’s Major Trends in American Thought (1927–1930) and Matheson’s The American Renaissance (1941) representing Harvard’s early contributions.

Jane Wise argues that the main goal of Americanist scholars between 1930 and 1950 was to develop concepts and meanings of America under the assumption that a distinct “American mind” exists—one living cohesively in the New World. This ideal type was hopeful, innocent, individualistic, pragmatic, and idealistic, theorized by writers like Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Wayne (American Quarterly, 1979).

Nash Smith, in his 1957 article, sought to establish a new methodology for American Studies research. Nash emphasized that American Studies is challenged by sociological methods that generalize common experience, and he believed that new critical methods that study texts independently of historical and social contexts conflict seriously with the comprehensive perspective of American Studies. He aimed to develop a method to analyze literary masterpieces or historically rich exceptional periods as valid documents, selecting features characteristic of American culture from them.

The rise of Nazism in Germany caused many German cultural thinkers, such as Hannah Arendt and members of the Frankfurt School like Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse, to migrate to the United States. Their presence brought critical perspectives into German cultural studies and highlighted the role of mass media in manipulating the masses.

Accordingly, the body of research conducted on American culture across various knowledge domains—including civilization, literature, art, and media studies, especially American cinema—has generated a broad range of scholarly resources. These resources serve as an extensive base of study materials for Master’s students in the field of International Cultural Studies of America.
 

PhD Program in North American Studies
 

The North American Studies program, under the Department of American Studies, positions itself as a key player in producing knowledge, awareness, critical thinking, decision-making, and policymaking in service of national interests. The main features of this program are: instruction in English; an interdisciplinary approach; consideration of strategic and practical thinking; and a holistic perspective based on political (domestic and foreign), economic, cultural, social, and media issues.

Considering the history, status, and role of the United States in Western civilization and order, contemporary international relations, and the developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries on one hand, and the hostile behavior of this country towards Iran before and after the Islamic Revolution on the other, the PhD program in North American Studies is one of the important internal and international tools in this regard.

The use of experienced professors and expert educators, both domestic and international, as well as multiple specialized seminars and workshops on the United States, are among the key characteristics of this program at the Faculty of World Studies.