Resources

Below are the departmental learning goals mapped to College-wide goals for student learning.

Students who graduate with an American studies degree should be able to:

• Locate, credit, and effectively evaluate primary and secondary sources. (IIb)
• Approach any inquiry with multiple methods and approaches. (Ia, IIb, IVa)
• Produce scholarship that cuts across and bridges traditional disciplinary lines. (Ic, IIIb, IVa)
• Be reflexive and ask questions of sources, texts, and ourselves. (IIa, IIIa, IIIb, IVb)
• Demonstrate written communication skills — i.e., write well in clear, concise English prose. (IIIc, IVc)
• Exhibit oral communication skills — i.e., speak well in class, extemporaneously and formally. (IIc, IVc)
• Demonstrate facility with presentation skills, tools, and technologies. (IIIc, IVc)
• Design and execute small and large-scale research projects. (IIIc, IIId)
• Consider the epistemological implications of how we know what we know. (Ia, IIIb, Iva, IVc)
• Understand that American identity and culture are shaped by social and political forces and historically and geographically contextual/contingent. (Ib, IIIb)
• Examine questions of social justice and equity across intersectional identities. (Ib, IId,  IVc)
• Make connections between course work and the larger world. (Ib, IId, IVc)
• Embrace an enduring passion for learning. (IVd)

The American Studies Program at Skidmore College was founded in 1956-1957, making it one of the oldest American studies programs in the country. American Studies began as an interdisciplinary program consisting of American subject courses in various social science and humanities departments, including Art, Economics, English, Government, History, Philosophy, and Sociology. By 1960, student demand for an interdisciplinary major in “American Civilization” led to the appointment of a coordinator of American Studies, Donald Baker, and the creation of core seminars that integrated various American subject courses. In 1964, David Marcell (Ph. D. in American Studies, Yale University) was hired as director of American Studies, and he oversaw a three-person advisory committee and about 25 junior and senior majors. In 1967, Marcell delivered a paper on “Courses and Programs in American Studies” at the first national meeting of the American Studies Association in 1967 for a special session devoted to “American Studies in the United States.” That presentation provided the intellectual rationale for a proposal to create a Department of American Studies at Skidmore, which was approved in 1968.

The Department of American Studies grew steadily over the next  five decades. In 1968, the curriculum was centered primarily on two introductory courses — AM 101 and AM 102 — which surveyed the development of American society and culture in its historical context, giving special attention “to various kinds of imaginative and intellectual expression, especially art, architecture, literature, and philosophy and their convergence at different periods throughout American history.” By the early twentieth century, the curriculum was adjusted to increase the role of diversity in American Studies courses, especially gender, sexuality, class, racial, and ethnic diversity. The department redesigned the gateway course to the major and minor, abandoning the coverage model inherent in AM 101/102 in favor of a new topics-centered AM 101: Introduction to American Studies. The specific content of these new courses varied with the instructor, but all sections emphasized reading critically, thinking historically, practicing interdisciplinarity, acknowledging diversity, and making connections. Students were asked to analyze and synthesize multiple kinds of texts (fiction, film, music, art, and other primary sources) and knowledge (sociology, economic, media criticism, etc.) to better appreciate the complexity of American life and culture. 

Many of these new offerings contribute to other programs across the campus, including Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Environmental Studies, International Affairs, and Media and Film Studies. As this extensive list of courses suggests, during the first 60-plus years of its existence, the Department of American Studies has remained committed to its interdisciplinary roots — first established in the 1956-57 inaugural year — by offering a substantial variety of topics and theme-based courses that reflect the diverse training of its faculty and the eclectic interests of its students.

The American Studies Faculty Award has recognized excellence in American studies at Skidmore College since 1980. Below are the most recent award recipients:

• 2026: Ashley Paige Wilkerson
• 2025: Juliette Dube
• 2024: Liz Tybush
• 2023: Maelcom Leann Thayer
• 2022: Samantha Horowitz
• 2021: Sylas Hebert
• 2020: Eve Gertzman
• 2019: Charlott Simon
• 2018: Laila Morgan
• 2017: Andrew Uebelein