The programme will help you deepen your understanding and knowledge of the culture, history and society of the USA while providing a range of skills crucial to success, both in university and in the world of work. We will create a friendly and supportive academic culture in which our enthusiasm, knowledge and active involvement with the subject as teachers and researchers foster an awareness of various issues - such as ethnicity, identity, class, gender, representation and power - that are relevant to both the study of America and your own wider experience of life. Through a multi-disciplinary exploration of cultural,historical and socio-political themes and issues, an understanding of the different ways in which the American nation defines and represents itself to the world will be developed. Over the duration of your degree, and across a range of stimulating modules, this work will develop and build your own skills, knowledge and ability. We're particularly strong in literature, film, and history and we also look at a range of different aspects of culture in the United States to give you a comprehensive view of this subject. You can study US film, television, literature, history, politics and music as part of the programme, with plenty of opportunity to work on independent projects as you grow in confidence throughout the course. Our course has a modern emphasis, examining the USA from the nineteenth century onwards. In the early stages of your course you'll get a good grounding in the major elements of the subject and move on to more focused, thematic modules as you progress. You'll be taught by our experienced and research-active staff. Many of us have written key books on these subjects including: American Cultural Studies (Routledge, 2006), American Visual Cultures (2006), The Cultures of the American New West (Edinburgh, 2000), Issues in Americanisation and Culture (2004), American Youth Cultures (Edinburgh, 2004). So you're being taught by people who are really passionate and active in these subjects.

Our graduates get jobs in teaching, journalism and the media, advertising and marketing, and retail management, both in the UK and abroad. You'll also develop transferable skills that are highly prized by employers, including the ability to work to deadlines, effectively communicate and carry out independent research. Our course will require you to work both within and across different academic disciplines, making you more adaptable, flexible, and critically insightful. Graduate Melody Banner is now working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. And graduate Aimee Feenan is working for a publishing company as an assistant desk editor.