Historically, that has meant developing strong credentials in a traditional discipline, often history or literature. In many colleges, where there are small programs in American studies but no tenure lines in the field, opportunities to be hired into a traditionally defined discipline such as history are much enhanced by experience in American studies. Many graduate programs in American studies also afford chances to teach in small, writing-intensive courses now being inaugurated at a number of colleges. For some students, including several of our most successful recent doctorates, the goal will be a job in museum work or other public venues, and the ability to explain U.S. culture to broad audiences will be a central qualification. The diversity of doctoral programs in American studies has proved important in shaping the training of students for new job openings, especially in ethnic studies and women's studies.
All students benefit from exchanges in seminars where multicultural issues are consistently central.
Indeed, one practical matter currently being studied by such leading programs as those at the University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California is how to train doctoral students in both American studies and another interdisciplinary field, such as women's studies or Native American studies. In terms of our recent searches and of placement of recent graduates, the experience of Minnesota's program suggests that candidates asking large questions, and crossing boundaries in subject matter and methods, enjoy significant advantages in the job market. One of our recent students brilliantly juxtaposed ethnographies of powwows and of West Indian immigrant celebrations in her dissertation. Among her job offers were several from history departments. Two Minnesota students who won prestigious national fellowships this year combine American Indian studies and African American studies in their dissertations.