American studies

“Discovery of America” or discovery of geography?

Authors

Keywords:

American Studies, Geography, Area Studies

Abstract

The main goal of this work is to offer some possible conceptual explanations for the apparent estrangement between the scientific fields of Geography and American Studies. For this purpose, it discusses the relationship between the above academic subjects in terms of the similarities and differences in how they constitute their objects of study.

The author uses an interdisciplinary approach and comparative analysis of their research content and determines that it is quite inefficient at best to rediscover “America” yet again. The conclusion posits that, rather than overlooking existing knowledge, it is of crucial importance for the American Studies field, as well as any other Area Studies field, to use the scientific insights, methodological experience, approaches, and results of the science of Geography.

References

Barsky, R. (ed.) (2013). AmeriQuests: A Decade of Quests and Border Crossings. – In: AmeriQuests, Vol 10, No 1. http://ejournals.library.vanderbilt.edu/ojs/index.php/ameriquests/issue/view/184/showToc

Danova, M. (2010). American Studies Today: Traversing Middle Grounds. – In: American, British and Canadian Studies, Lucian Blaga University Press, vol. 14, June 2010.

Maddox, L. (ed.) (1999). Locating American Studies: The Evolution of a Discipline. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Menand, L. (2002). American Studies. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Rowe, J. C. (2000). Post-Nationalist American Studies. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Rowe, J. C. (2002). The New American Studies. Minneapolis and London: The University of Minnesota Press.

Rowe, J. C. (2012). The Cultural Politics of the New American Studies. Open Humanities Press, University of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor.

Santos, L. (2005). American, United Statian, USAmerican, or Gringo? – In: AmeriQuests, 2:1.

The Encyclopedia of American Studies (2007). The Johns Hopkins University Press. http://eas-ref.press.jhu.edu/index.html

Yoshimi, S. (2005). Reinventing America as the Other: A New Perspective on American Studies. – In: The American Review, 39, March 2005.

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Published

2026-03-27

Issue

Section

LITERATURE AND CULTURE

How to Cite

American studies: “Discovery of America” or discovery of geography?. (2026). Philology, 38, 34-39. https://periodicals.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/philology/article/view/3861

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