From literature to political science, from film to economy,
from history to popular culture:
the American Studies Center offers interdisciplinary perspectives on the U.S. culture, politics and society.

The American Studies Center of University of Warsaw (ASC UW) is one of the biggest American Studies departments in Europe. The Center is a part of the Institute for the Americas and Europe (IAiE), together with the Center for Latin American Studies (CESLA) and the Center for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG). The ASC employs over 20 faculty from Poland and the United States and provides excellent research facilities for students, scholars and professionals interested in the field. The ASC Library is the largest American Studies library in Central Europe, containing a sizable microfiche and microfilm collection and a wide array of recent academic publications.

The ASC runs interdisciplinary B.A., M.A. and postgraduate programs. All courses are taught in English. The ASC promotes American Studies in Poland by conducting research, hosting conferences, debates and various events open to the general public. It also publishes a series of ASC monographs and its own periodical The Americanist, which is peer reviewed and open to submissions from scholars of different nationalities;

The American Studies Center is a place of dynamic learning. We respect our students and listen to them. We believe that true understanding is reached in open dialogue, by confronting controversy and coming to one’s own conclusions. As a student, you will be exposed to many views on every issue, many readings of every text - it is up to you to come up with your own. Rather than forced to memorize endless facts, you will be asked - again and again - to read and think for yourself. In the process, you will find that many ideas you have taken for granted are up for debate.

Some of the questions we ask:

• What is race and what are its uses?
• Why is there no single canon of American literature?
• Is there censorship in the U.S.?
• Why a black president and not a woman president?
• Where are the roots of hip hop and why do they go back to the 19th century?
• Why wasn't Katrina a natural disaster?
• Is there American cinema outside Hollywood?
• Why do Americans like movies about extraterrestrials?
• What do Mark Zuckerberg and Benjamin Franklin have in common?
• Why is there no universal health care and no maternity leave in the U.S.?