Mission And Goals Of The Department Of American Culture And Literature

The British historian Arnold Toynbee once said, “America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair.” In other words, for better or worse, America’s influence reaches into almost every corner of the world. As we live through these historic times, American politics, business, literature, music, and film affect all of our lives, whether we live in Turin or Turkey, Anchorage or Ankara. Throughout the world at this very moment, young people are watching the same videos on YouTube, listening to the same music on their Apple iPods, and downloading the latest Hollywood movies.

The Department of American Culture and Literature at Bilkent University affords students the special skills needed to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world. Studying a variety of topics including American history, politics, literature, culture, and media, students receive a broad education about this influential nation. With particular attention paid to English language and writing instruction, and with classes demanding a large amount of reading and writing, our graduates leave the department with a fluency in English not matched by other academic disciplines. More than just being able to read, write, and speak clearly in English, our students acquire the critical thinking and analytical skills needed to make sense of the wealth of information available to them through books, media, and the Internet.

The diversity of topics offered, and the skills acquired through such study, provide a gateway into many other disciplines. Our students have gone on to graduate study all over the world, often with scholarships, in areas such as History, Business, International Relations, Sociology, and Cultural Studies. But studying American Culture and Literature at the undergraduate level does not necessitate pursuing an academic career. Graduates of our department currently work in business, media, marketing, tourism, and government. Employers have recognized that a degree from American Culture and Literature creates a highly-skilled, highly-motivated, and highly-successful employee.

“America” is not a single thing. With its diversity of geography, races, and ideas, studying America means studying an almost unlimited list of topics: from urban novels, to Hispanic poems; from classic films, to web-based videos; from the American Revolution, to the Iraq War; and from George Washington, to Barack Obama. “America” continues to change and evolve, and in the end, students will not be taught a single definition of “America.” Instead, graduates of American Culture and Literature will end up defining “America” for themselves.


Source: http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~amer/