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[phantom_friend]

I can't really speak much for popular culture, but the race and ethnicity foci at the following American Studies departments are excellent:  Brown, Michigan, Minnesota.  Also, be sure to check out the Modern, Thought, and Literature dept. at Stanford (essentially an American Studies program with an offbeat name) and the Cultural Studies dept. at UC Davis.

[pcunningham080574]

Thanks, phantom_friend.  I had no idea that Stanford had a program of this sort as Stanford is not listed on the ASA website (as is the case with several other programs that I have discovered).  I will most certainly look into it.

I can't really speak much for popular culture, but the race and ethnicity foci at the following American Studies departments are excellent:  Brown, Michigan, Minnesota.  Also, be sure to check out the Modern, Thought, and Literature dept. at Stanford (essentially an American Studies program with an offbeat name) and the Cultural Studies dept. at UC Davis.

[sarahanne]

I was in a similar situation as yours when thinking of grad schools. I wanted a degree in Ethnic Studies. However, my undergrad adviser encouraged me to seek a classical degree in either History, Political Science or Sociology.

For some reason, the Ethnic Studies, American Studies, Liberal Studies, Urban Studies etc.. aren't well respected in academia. These "studies" degrees are not considered scholarly because they lack a specialized focus. Also you should know that you are limiting your employment options. There are a paucity of tt positions.

My suggestion is to work on an English degree, and you can always minor, if possible, in American Studies.

Good luck.

[jds2006]

In Boxed In, Mark Crispin Miller writes about how, as a grad student many years back, he was doing a lot of publishing in the then-emerging field of popular culture (especially TV) and at the same time writing about literature. His advisor, he said, took a look at his CV and said (I'm cleaning this up slightly): "Good. Solid scholarship in the discipline and then you distinguish yourself by writing about TV and excreta like that." (Actually, I cleaned that up a lot.)

At many of the American Studies conferences I attend, the presenters are, as sarahenne suggests, members of more traditional disciplines who are doing what amounts to their real intellectual work around the edges of their professional obligations as English or Poli-Sci profs. The Journal of American Culture that i happen to have within reach (March 2006 edition) lists the disciplines of its writers as: English; history; library science; Liberal Studies; sociology; library science; and English. It's a special edition, dedicated to Children's Literature, so it is NOT representative of most issues. Still, it does illustrate the point the previous poster made. 

[fiona]

A slight clarification to what jds2006 says, for those who are choosing graduate programs or going on the market: It's not a matter of "discipline," but a matter of "departments."

You can be studying almost anything and make it fit into an English Department.

The key problem with "Studies" degrees is that they don't SEEM to fit easily into a department, and almost all of tenure-track hiring is done in departments.

So your "discipline" (interest area) can be a variety of things, but to get a job, you have to make what you do sound like it fits into a traditional "department."

P. S. I have a "Studies" degree myself, but my research fits into several possible traditional departments.

At many of the American Studies conferences I attend, the presenters are, as sarahenne suggests, members of more traditional disciplines who are doing what amounts to their real intellectual work around the edges of their professional obligations as English or Poli-Sci profs. The Journal of American Culture that i happen to have within reach (March 2006 edition) lists the disciplines of its writers as: English; history; library science; Liberal Studies; sociology; library science; and English. It's a special edition, dedicated to Children's Literature, so it is NOT representative of most issues. Still, it does illustrate the point the previous poster made. 

[pcunningham080574]

Though this may make me sound as if I am independently wealthy (which, I can assure you, I am not), I am not really wholly concerned about a TT job upon completing my Ph.D.--well, at least it's not my sole purpose.  I do realize that a "studies" degree is not apt to make me the most wanted man in academia; however, American studies best reflects that in which I am most interested.  My degrees thus far are in English (with an emphasis in creative writing), so I was not much of literature buff, per se, in the first place.  Thus, I have no real interest in pursuing a degree in English.  I am skeptical about my chances of being accepted into a History program given that most of my background is in creative writing and 20th Century lit. and African American studies (undergraduate certificate). 

All that being said, however, my interest still remains in going to a top notch program.  Of course, I hope to emerge from the program with a doctorate that will carry me into a TT job.  However, if that does not happen, then I am not going to buy the proverbial farm, so to speak because it does not stop me from pursuing my major passion: writing.  Granted, I could write on my own without a program, but I do not have the strong research background, at least not to the magnitude that I would like.  Furthermore, if there was ever a time for me to pursue this, it is now, without the constraints of a job in which I am fully invested or a family.