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.
| Vak | EC | Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
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First & second semester |
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| Thesis Seminar North American Studies | 0 | ||
| MA Thesis North American Studies | 20 | ||
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First semester |
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Required course |
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| Major Issues in American History and Culture | 10 | ||
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Electives |
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| 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 | ||
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Second semester |
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Required course Students who start in February take the following course instead of Major Issues in American History and Culture |
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| Readings in American History | 10 | ||
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Electives |
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| 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 | ||
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