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The American Studies Diploma Program at Smith College - a one-year, one-of-a-kind opportunity for international students to study in the United States - was inaugurated over forty years ago, in 1962. Since that time, this unique interdisciplinary program has allowed hundreds of foreign students, both male and female, to complete a year of intensive work in the study of American society and culture.
The AMS Diploma students have consistently pursued an amazing breadth of topics, both in their coursework and in the culminating achievement of their year at Smith, the Diploma thesis. A report from more than twenty years ago, for example, lists thesis titles which include "Meritocracy vs. Class in American Education," "Emma Goldman, Anarchist," and "Elvis Presley and the Convergence of Black and White Musical Forms"; recent thesis work has been, if anything, even more diverse, focusing on U.S. interventions into recent global conflicts, on the journalism of Jose Marti during his years in the States, on Riot Grrrl and the neo-punk movement, and a host of equally intriguing and compelling topics.
In a time when increased misunderstanding and fear, as well as more overt and brutal demonstrations of militancy, characterize far too much of the reciprocal relations between the U.S. and the rest of the planet, the AMS Diploma Program is more essential than ever. We are dedicated to a study of American society and culture which is both historical and critical; our program contributes to a deeper, more specialized understanding of American society, one which moves beyond flag-waving and provides life-long lessons, and friendships, both for our graduates - affectionately termed Smith's "foreign legion" - and for the rest of Smith's student body as well.
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