American Studies: A Sad Tale of Academic Decline
Dec 28, 2016Charles KupferCharles Kupfer15 Comments
My academic field, American Studies, is the interdisciplinary study of American cultures, past and present. Once it was a vibrant and useful discipline. Today, I’m sad to report, it is a regular source for “What wacky stuff are they up to on campus?” articles and blogs.
These days, when American Studies captures any attention, it’s usually for unfortunate reasons.
Sometimes, a jargon-y article wins an ironic bad writing award. Consider, for example this excerpt from a paper in the Australasian Journal of American Studies:
http://www.popecenter.org/2016/12/american-studies-sad-tale-academic-decline/