Program of American Studies
Confronting Injustice
How has systemic racial injustice shaped American life? Author Michelle Alexander, shares her expert insight in a moderated Q&A.
Enlightening a Dark Past
Two Kenyon students organized a trip into the Deep South, bearing witness to a dark past and the hope of a brighter future.
Preserving a Culture
Professor Peter Rutkoff's extensive research on Gullah culture is now publicly available.
Freedom School
Inspired by a call to "get proximate," Kenyon students help lead a teach-in at the site of an infamous lynching.
Lighting a Spark
Jules Desroches '18 started a nonpartisan group on campus to engage young people in the political process.
Education Studies
The Education Studies track within American Studies offers focused insight into the history, development, and practice of American…
Preservation Haul
Researchers collect oral histories from an endangered African-American culture.
To Know Der, You Gotta Go Der: Gullah Culture on the Sea Islands
Professors Peter Rutkoff and Will Scott discuss their research on St. Helena's Island, the last bastion of Gullah culture.
American studies explores the people, places, society and culture of the United States to give students a deeper insight into the dynamics of American society.
Offered as both a major and concentration, American studies takes ideas and methods from one field and applies them to another, transcending boundaries among disciplines to create a new structure that combines traditional values and new visions. Students begin the program by examining an artifact - such as a song, work of art, or film - and use that artifact as a jumping-off point to explore widening circles of culture. Hands-on fieldwork, collaborative exploration and public presentation are emphasized.