US Studies (1 Viewer)

[walker94]

Alright, here's where I'm at. I'm in year 11 at the moment, going into year 12 in the next few weeks, and I'm starting to try and figure out exactly what it is I want to do at Uni. Being born in the US, I've got a strong interest for US Studies / US History, but I have absolutely no idea about courses or anything like that. I know there's a US Studies course at the University of Sydney, but what exactly does that entitle? Can I just waltz into uni and go straight into that course? Or do I need to do others?

Also, does anyone know any American History courses at any university in NSW? I'm struggling to find many. Like I said, I have absolutely no idea whatsoever about anything to do with this kinda stuff. Help is much appreciated.

Cheers

EDIT: I've gathered a little more information now. Say I was to do a Bachelor of International and Global Studies majoring in American Studies at the University of Sydney, what subjects would I need to do? Would I just do the major (American Studies) or do I have to do other courses/subjects too? Sorry again if these are stupid questions, haha.

 

[dafs2]

If you were to do a BIGS, then you'd have to complete the core components of International Studies and two majors. For one of the majors, it has to be off this list:

The International and Global Studies core major must be chosen from:
(a)Anthropology
(b)American Studies
(c)Arab World, Islam and The Middle East
(d)Asian Studies
(e)European Studies
(f)Government and International Relations
(g)International Business*
(h)Political Economy
(i)Sociology

So yeah, you can do that. I haven't done American Studies, but i have had experience in US Studies - similar kind of name, but different departments actually. Check this out: http://ussc.edu.au/study/undergraduate

I did USSC2602 - Introduction to US Politics in 2010 (as a second year student) and was able to use that to include in my Government & IR Major. Things we learned included American political culture, the political system itself, pol parties, presidents, ideologies, 2008 Obama election, Anti-Americanism and various other themes.


I'm sure you've already checked the very limited page for American Studies on the site. Here's some others i found offered at USYD:

History department for 2012:

HSTY1023 Emerging Giant: The Making of America
HSTY2663 American Indian Holocaust?
HSTY2611 America in World Affairs: A History
HSTY2671 Law and Order in Modern America
HSTY2656 A House Divided: The American Civil War
(http://sydney.edu.au/arts/history/undergrad/units_of_study.shtml?y=2012)

Government and IR:
GOVT2445 American Politics and Foreign Policy

(http://sydney.edu.au/arts/governmen...ons/undergraduate/units_of_study.shtml?y=2012)

 

[walker94]

Thanks heaps for that answer, I hadn't checked back here in a while and was surprised to see such a good response! I've gathered a fair bit more info, along with what you just shared in your response, and I'm pretty keen to try and make something work. First things first though, I need to make sure I can get an ATAR of 95+ to even have a chance...definitely do-able, but hard (if I remember correctly, last years BIGS cut-off was ~96). Anyway, thanks for the response!

 

[funkshen]

You should always seize the opportunity to do a subject with Geoff Garrett or David Smith.