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North American Studies

The master’s programme in North American Studies at Leiden University takes an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to the study of the United States, with a particular emphasis on examining key aspects of American history, culture, and literature, from a historical perspective and within an international context.

Courses

Vak EC Semester 1 Semester 2

First & second semester

Thesis Seminar North American Studies 0
MA Thesis North American Studies 20

First semester

Required course

Major Issues in American History and Culture 10

Electives

Deep Rivers: the great migrations in African-American History 10
Democracy in America: The Public and the Private in U.S. Politics 10
Migration Matters: (Im)migration, Memory, and Identity in American Literature and Film 10
Internship North American Studies (optional) 10

Second semester

Required course

Students who start in February take the following course instead of Major Issues in American History and Culture

Readings in American History 10

Electives

American Comics Against the Code: Autobiography and Journalism in Graphic Novels 10
The United States and Human Rights 10
Internship North American Studies (optional) 10

More info

Programme information

In this programme you will study U.S. history, politics, and culture, including literature, film and other forms of cultural expression, as part of an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to American Studies and with a special (though not exclusive) focus on themes like emancipation struggles, human rights, migration, global interactions, US exceptionalism, and cultural identities. This approach enables you to discover connections between historical events and cultural and literary developments.. The focus of the program is on the United States, but not in isolation: in this programme we also study the U.S. in relation to other parts of the world.

The programme consists of four courses of 10 ec each and an MA thesis (20 ec), 60 ec total:

  • a required core course about Major Issues in American History and Culture (10 ec); students who start in February take the following core course: Readings in American History;

  • three elective courses, which gives a more in-depth understanding on some of the themes that are discussed in the Major Issues core course (total elective courses: 30 ec);

  • students can opt to replace one elective course by an internship (10 ec)

  • the programme will be completed with a 20 ec master’s thesis (including thesis seminar).

Fore more details, check the website for prospective students North American Studies

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