Postgraduate Scholarships

If you're a current UEA undergrad or a UEA Alumnus, we're currently offering some postgraduate scholarships that might interest you:

50% Scholarships for postgraduate study - available to current undergraduate students!

10% Scholarships for postgraduate study – available to UEA Alumni!

Find out more here: www.uea.ac.uk/50percent

Let us know if you have any questions.

American Studies Research Seminar: Uta Balbier

At this Wednesday's Research Seminar, Uta Balbier (King's College London) will be talking about Billy Graham's 1957 New York Crusade.

Wednesday October 22nd, 4pm (not 3.30 as advertised), Arts 3.01. All welcome!

And if you're interested in getting a flavour of Billy Graham and his tenure at Madison Square Garden in 1957, here's a taste:

Black History Month 2014: American Studies Events

We are delighted to announce the following Black History Month events for October 2014. Run by staff and students at the University of East Anglia all talks, workshops and an exhibition will be hosted at the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library, located in the Millennium Library in Norwich city centre.

To book a place at any of these events please contact the 2^nd Air Division Library on 01603 774747 or via email: 2admemorial.lib@norfolk.gov.uk - All EVENTS ARE FREE. Full details below:

The Life and Legacy of Maya Angelou – Thursday 9^th October, Vernon Castle Room, Norwich Millennium Library (6:30-7:30pm)

This event will commemorate the life and work of the African American writer Maya Angelou, who sadly passed away in May of this year. The open discussion will feature contributions from staff from the Department of American Studies at UEA, who will address various aspects of Angelou’s career and reflect on what her writing means to them.  

  

The Anti-Apartheid Movement in Britain: A Roundtable Discussion – Wednesday 22^nd October, Vernon Castle Room, Norwich Millennium Library (6-7:30pm)

 

20 years after the first democratic elections in South Africa, academics and former activists (Tony Dykes, Action for Southern Africa) will lead a general discussion reflecting on anti-apartheid activism in Britain. To coincide with the ‘Forward to Freedom’ exhibition based at the Millennium Library, this roundtable will provide a general overview of the anti-apartheid struggle as well as reflecting on the activities of local activists in Norfolk.

Film and Black History: 12 Years a Slave and Belle – Wednesday 29^th October, Vernon Castle Room, Norwich Millennium Library (6:30-7:30pm)

A discussion of recent films that document black history and the legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lecturers and postgraduates from UEA will examine how Hollywood has dealt with black history and discuss the political significance of films such as Belle and 12 Years A Slave in terms of how we remember and debate the issue of slavery today.

Exhibition: Forward to Freedom: The History of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1959-1994 – Norwich Millennium Library (20^th October - 7^th November) 

A pop-up exhibition telling the story of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and its campaigns to support the people of South Africa in their fight against apartheid. The AAM also campaigned for freedom for Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola, and against South Africa’s attacks on its neighbours.  For more information about the Forward to Freedom project click here.

American Studies Seminar Series: Autumn 2014

We've recently announced the visiting speakers that are part of our American Studies seminar series for the following semester. All welcome, from any department (undergraduate and postgraduate) or the general public. All events are free to attend and take place in Arts 3.01 at 3:30pm on Wednesday. Full details below:

War Short of War - An Interview with Dr. Kaeten Mistry

To coincide with the publication of his new book, The United States, Italy and the Origins of the Cold War: Waging Political (Cambridge UP, 2014), AMS's Kaeten Mistry has been discussing how American interactions with Italy in the early years of the cold war, helped set the stage for a over half century of US overseas interventions. Read the full interview here.

Kaeten joined UEA in 2011 and teaches courses on twentieth century American history, US foreign relations, the Cold War and state intelligence. He is currently working on two interlinked projects that examine dissenting voices to American foreign relations throughout the twentieth century, with a specific emphasis on the rise of whistleblowers.

BrANCA Reading Group: The Leavenworth Case

American Studies colleagues Hilary Emmett and Thomas Ruys Smith are co-organising the next BrANCA (British Association of Nineteenth-Century Americanists) Reading Group on November 7. Details above. The text under discussion will be Anna Katherine Green's pioneering detective novel The Leavenworth Case (1878), one of the bestselling books of the late nineteenth century. The event will be taking place at the Anteros Arts Foundation. If you're interested in attending, please e-mail the organisers.

The Hobby Lobby Decision: Just How Bad is it?

Our very own Dr. Emma Long has posted her take on the Supreme Court's recent ruling in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case on the highly regarded George Mason University's History News Network Blog. Emma's piece, which takes up the question 'How Bad is the Hobby Lobby Ruling?', provides an analysis of the legal background to the case, as well as it implications for religious freedom and the ability of American women to access contraception.

You can read the entire piece here and find out more about Emma's existing and ongoing research projects here.

1st for American Studies in the UK

Just to follow up on the recent news that we've recently be named the number one American Studies programme in the country in the Guardian University Guide for 2015. As part of this year's poll the subject rankings league table found that 95.5% of students were satisfied with their course, whilst 96.4% were satisfied with their overall teaching experience whilst at UEA.

In terms of the guide's institutional rankings, UEA has risen to 14th place - the university's highest ever league table position. The university has jumped three places, from 17th last year, in the UK’s most widely read university ranking. The Guardian University Guide ranks UK universities in a range of categories including teaching, student-staff ratios, entry tariffs and career prospects. The result is the latest league table success for UEA, following a climb to 15th in the Complete University Guide and a second year in the top 3 of the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey.

You can find out more about the benefits of an American Studies degree here, whilst the Guardian's summary of what UEA offers as an institution can be found here. Information about what courses and modules we offer in American Studies at UEA can be found here and please do consider booking a place on one of our forthcoming open days.

We're #1 in the Guardian University Guide 2015

We're delighted to announce that we've been ranked #1 for American Studies in the Guardian University Guide 2015. Full results are available here. The University of East Anglia itself climbed to its highest position yet, placing 14th in the overall league table. Why not come and find out why at one of our upcoming Open Days?

American Studies Annual Symposium - 10th June 2014

On the 10th June in UEA Arts 3.03 postgraduates and staff will be presenting their research at the 5th Annual American Studies Symposium. There is a definite interdisciplinary feel to this year's symposium, with panels addressing themes including the body, race and representation, nature, poetry and aesthetics. Full programme after the jump.