Designed to complement the student’s major, this minor program examines the development of American society and culture from several perspectives. It features a study of the United States through a combination of relevant courses in a variety of academic areas: history, literature, art and architecture, philosophy, religion, political science and others. Through this interdisciplinary focus, the minor encourages an integrated and inclusive sense of the American experience.

The area around Bridgewater is rich in library and museum resources for American studies. In addition to the holdings of Boston‑area colleges and universities, there are the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Museum, Plimouth Plantation, the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Fuller Museum of Art, the Boston and Providence Athenaeums, the John Carter Brown Library and the Harris Collection at Brown University. Bridgewater itself has the Microbook Library of American Civilization and the PCMI humanities collection.

A student wishing to pursue a minor in American studies will ordinarily be assigned an adviser from the American Studies Committee, and will be expected to take the following sequence of courses in the sophomore, junior and senior years: