The Department of American Literature and Culture, one of the four departments that constitute the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, was established in 1987.
The Department’s main aim is to promote the study of American literature and culture, and to support research that investigates the complex concept of American culture and the multiple and polyphonic narratives that characterize it. American literature and culture are approached through an interdisciplinary lens that acknowledges and emphasizes the intercultural character of American Studies and its inextricable connection with contemporary socio-political and historical forces shaping experience on both sides of the Atlantic.
The courses that are offered at an undergraduate level, as well as the research projects that are supervised at a postgraduate and a doctoral level, cover a wide range of topics in the context of American fiction, drama and poetry. The breadth and scope of research activity undertaken by the Department is also reflected in the research interests of its academic members of staff. Apart from the courses taught by the latter, courses are also taught by visiting Professors or Writers who are granted visiting fellowships funded by the Fulbright Foundation.
Throughout their studies the Department’s students familiarize themselves with critical analyses of a wide range of primary and secondary texts drawn from American history, politics and culture. Students are expected to engage with research in the field, deliver in-class presentations on special topics, write argumentative essays and conduct supervised research projects. The Department of American Literature and Culture places great importance on effecting and sustaining close connections with the local community and society at large. For that reason it organizes colloquia, international conferences and summer schools, and it undertakes the publication of monographs and collective volumes in Greek and in English.
The Department’s profile is further strengthened by the active involvement of its members in the following academic associations: the Greek Association of Theatre Critics; the Hellenic Association of American Studies (HELAAS); the European Associations of American Studies (EAAS); the European Early American Studies Association (EEASA); and the Association for Multi-Ethnic Studies in Europe and America (MESEA).
The Department of American Literature and Culture is also actively engaged in the following endeavors:
Students graduating from the School of English who have specialized in courses offered by the Department of American Literature and Culture can pursue professional careers as primary and secondary school educators; alternatively, they may seek employment in the public sector, in Anglophone enterprises, in journalism and the media, in public relations, in advertising etc; or they may further pursue their studies at a postgraduate or doctoral level.
