The past decades have seen the growth of a variety of heated controversies about culture, history, and social structure in the United States. A number of factors have contributed to this development: the awareness that U.S. history is a creation of many different peoples and interests; the perception that social forms are the product of contest as well as consensus; the elaboration in different disciplines of new methods and perspectives for the study of U.S. society, culture, and history; and the realization that a changing global setting has a great deal to do with the changing characters and characteristics of different nations. The aim of this major is to develop a multifaceted understanding of the societies of the United States and its hemispheric neighbors: their origins, their histories, their economic, social, and political institutions; their philosophies; their distinctive cultures; their global settings and connections; and their artistic and intellectual achievements. American Studies is an interdisciplinary major, offering students the opportunity to design an individualized course of study in a number of subject areas, thereby enabling them to obtain a broad knowledge of the cultures, histories, and societies of the Western hemisphere.