Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Lausanne
New American Studies SPEC
New American Studies (NAS) is a dynamic specialization at UNIL that explores contemporary American culture through literature, theory, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Whether your passion lies in social justice, film, or literature, this program offers tools to critically engage with the world’s most influential cultural ‘powerhouse.’
“[The SPEC] was a great program. It’s an extremely useful SPEC for any student who would like to do a mémoire on a topic related to America. Personally, it also felt like a great way to end university. It gave me one more semester where I could just study what I enjoyed the most.”
– Donjeta Sokoli
“I just wanted to thank the teachers and say that I had a wonderful time at UNIL during the SPEC. This program has greatly shaped the way I view literature and how I plan to approach it with my students throughout my career as an English teacher.”
– Amélie Bron
NAS in 10 steps
WHAT IS NAS?
he Faculty of Arts of the University of Lausanne offers a New American Studies (NAS) specialization program worth 30 ECTS that students can add to their Master’s study plan to acquire a 120 ECTS MA.
This program situates itself on the frontier of contemporary American Studies as the field is being reconceived and reconfigured from within in recent decades. More international and transnational, comparative, interdisciplinary, theoretically informed and politically engaged, the New American Studies eschews the exceptionalism of the “old” American Studies (as it was forged during the Cold War) and proposes to look at North America and its multiple cultures from a de-centered and comparativist perspective.
WHO IS IT FOR?
This program explores Cultural Studies methodologies examining gender, race, class, and cultural politics through the lens of American influence. While focused on the US as an exporter of popular culture and multicultural contact zone, our approach critically investigates America’s paradoxical global impact: simultaneously reinforcing extraction capitalism and white supremacy while providing tools for resistance movements like Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and Occupy Wall Street. Between these extremes lies a rich landscape of cultural influence through literature, film, media, visual arts, political movements, music, subcultures, and gaming.
Any student of the English Department can sign up, as well as students with a BA in English from a sister university in Switzerland. Students from other departments can be considered if they have a C1 level command of English.
To register you must meet the following conditions:
not have submitted your mémoire;
have completed the ‘mise à niveau intégrée’, if required at the time of enrolment in the Master’s program;
be able to complete the specialization program within the maximum duration of MA studies.
WHY CHOOSE NAS?
“I chose New American Studies because it lets me dig into American culture’s twists and turns, exploring everything from identity to pop culture in fresh ways. It’s a field where I got to question, rethink, and dive into what really shapes America.” – Donjeta Sokoli (Class of 2024)
“Because I am deeply interested in the American studies field so I wanted to specialize in it (the idea of taking more classes and writing my Mémoire in this field was really appealing to me) and have a degree showing that I have knowledge in this area.” – Hélène Martin (Class of 2025)
“I was interested in American lit and wanted the opportunity to take more courses on the subject.” – Anonymous (Class of 2022)
“Because American culture is fascinating.” – William Flores (Class of 2024)
“In order to do more ECTS in English (and especially American literature) as it was my favorite subject.” – Anonymous (Class of 2023)
“Because it was the area of specialization that dealt with the topics I was and still am most interested in.” – Nayansaku Mufwankolo (Class of 2019)
“Throughout my university career, I’d always been interested in American literature and American history. I wanted to further develop my knowledge around this country’s culture and literature and my tools to analysis its cultural items. I think the 2016 election of Donald Trump motivated in a way my decision as it was the result of different aspects of American culture coming together. Furthermore, throughout my studies, I was interested in the idea of the American project, the construction of American identity through text, and its unavoidable nature, even here. I guess that since childhood I had been infatuated with the idea of America and the SPEC was a great way for me to explore it more deeply. Aside that, I also imagined that the SPEC would help me in my future career as a teacher, giving me more skills and making me aware of resources to talk about this country with my students. It hasn’t been the case yet, but I am sure it will. Furthermore, because I knew that I would write my mémoire on a topic related to American literature, I wanted to study it further in order to produce a better informed text.” – Guy Da Costa (Class of 2022)
“Because I was already specialising in NAS modules and/or subjects without knowing it. I was appealed by the research topics. The interdisciplinarity really interested me. I particularly enjoyed Gender Studies, Postcolonial Studies and Environmental Studies. I also appreciated the team.” – Angela Neves (Class of 2022)
“Because I was interested in American culture and environmental studies.” – Amélie Bron (Class of 2024)
“Because throughout my studies, I have found a particular interest with American culture and literature, and I felt that this SPEC allowed me to explore it more broadly.” – Julie Bubloz (Class of 2024)
Home and Homeland in Contemporary Palestinian-American Women’s Writing
Geneva
Spring 2025
Emily Dickinson and Lyric Theory
Geneva
Autumn 2024
American War Stories in the 21st Century
Zurich
Spring 2025
Contemporary Native American Novels
Zurich
Autumn 2024
In the American Grain: Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
Zurich
Autumn 2024
ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES
“The colloque brought back all the great theories and authors I’d explored over the past two years, and summed up everything I’d learned. Beyond just preparing me for my thesis defense, it also helped with conceptualizing my thesis topic—like a warm-up presentation in front of the Americanists before the real defense.” – Donjeta Sokoli
“I did the 2024 edition of Les Mystères de l’UNIL; we created a workshop around eco poetry and I really enjoyed taking part in this project. This was very fulfilling.” – Hélène Martin
“I worked for a Mystères de l’UNIL workshop. organized by Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet. Our theme was ecopoetry and the asscoiated activity for the kids was bracelet making. So over the course of four days we taught them about ecopoetry while making bracelets with them in 45 minute sessions. It was a lot of fun!”– William Flores
“For the 3 free credits, I decide to help Agnieszka make this very blog more interactive and engaging, by collecting past graduates’ feedback and experiences.” – Andreia Abreu Remigio
“It was very interesting to have the opportunity to get involved in the process of organizing a conference. I wish students could get this opportunity more often, but also be involved even more in the organization (and not just participation, if that makes sense)!” – Anonymous
“It was very interesting and enriching to listen to the presentations and to be able to exchange with the other participants and/or speakers (if you’re not too shy ofc).” – Nayansaku Mufwankolo
“I only participated in the colloque final. It was a very nice experience. I enjoyed it, especially since we never really did anything like this in the department. This idea of exchanging on a final product with a sense of absolute freedom and make a day of it is extremely satisfying to me right now.” – Guy Da Costa
“It was a great experience! I felt free yet guided and supported in my research by Prof. Monnet. I appreciated that the colloque got announced and sort of advertised to the English section community. It was very fulfilling to present this projet in front of people who decided to be there, willingly, and not only because they had to sit through my presentation to get credits. I even got to present on the same day as a friend who actually focused on the decade right before my subject’s (the context of her research was the 50s and mine, the 60s). Prof. Monnet managed to support us enough to feel confident and ready in presenting our research in front of other students and teachers without “outshining” us. This was our moment, our time to share our research and interests with other NAS fellow colleagues. I truly felt like an expert on my research topic for the first time during my academic studies.” – Angela Neves
“I was thinking of organizing an event next semester where UNIL collaborates with Books Books Books to visit places around Lausanne where famous authors lived, roamed, or wrote about (for example, T.S. Eliot, Hemingway, etc.). I would love to prepare a booklet that people can buy cheaply (to support BBB) with extracts of the authors’ writing, perhaps pictures of what the places looked like at the time, maps, and so on.” – Thais Zhangi
UNIQUES OPPORTUNITIES
African American History and Culture Trip to Paris
This annual Paris trip explores the century-long connection between French and African American cultures, focusing on Black American artists, writers, and intellectuals in Paris since WWI when jazz first arrived.
Friday features a workshop discussing readings from the Study Trip Reader. Saturday includes Julia Browne’s walking tour of St. Germain des Prés, highlighting notable figures like Richard Wright and James Baldwin, followed by lunch and free time to explore Shakespeare and Company bookshop. The evening includes a concert or event. Sunday morning is free for independent exploration of recommended museum exhibits.
“I had a great weekend in Paris! We learned about African American writers and artists, did some museum visits and an awesome concert. The tour of St. Germain des Prés brought legends like Josephine Baker and Louis Armstrong to life, and the jazz in the evenings was the best part!.” – Donjeta Sokoli
“It was great to be able to see Paris from that perspective – I learned so much !” – Hélène Martin
“We had a really interesting program. Everything was well organized, from our accommodation to our walking tour. We got to explore aspects of Paris that were completely unknown to us. Too bad it was for such a short stay though.” – William Flores
Hemingway Society Conference
The Hemingway Society holds biennial conferences in places significant to Ernest Hemingway, in both U.S. and international venues. The conferences feature scholarly and creative treatments of his life and work.
Annual CUSO PhD Research Day
CUSO is an institution established by the universities of French-speaking Switzerland, CUSO finances, coordinates and organizes joint doctoral activities on behalf of its members (Universities of Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, and IHEID), associate member (ISDC) and partners (University of Berneamong others).
The aim of the Society is to advance the education of the public by promoting the European study and understanding of English languages, literatures in English and cultures of English-speaking peoples.
The Society endeavours to arrange regular conferences for those researching and teaching English languages, literatures in English and cultures of English-speaking peoples in Europe.
The 2024 European Society for the Study of English conference took place at the University of Lausanne, 26-30 August 2024.
SANAS
The Swiss Association for North American Studies provides a structure that facilitates contact among Swiss scholars interested in American Studies and allows them to be represented institutionally in the European Association for American Studies (EAAS). They organize biennial international conferences in even years, symposia in odd years, and an annual Spring Reading Group. SANAS regularly advertises two awards.
This program takes you beyond traditional approaches to explore the dynamic landscape of American culture, from gripping literature and captivating films to pivotal historical moments and the evolution of race relations that continue to shape the American nation today.
Program overview
This SPEC is designed to initiate you into the methodologies, key texts, and dominant concerns of contemporary American Studies, especially those known as the New American Studies, American Cultural Studies, and International American Studies. Unlike conventional programs, this transdisciplinary approach empowers you to merge together the diverse skills you’ve developed throughout your academic journey.
Curriculum approach
The introductory class combines cultural theory, historical narrative, textual and rhetorical analysis, and approaches to visual culture. You’ll examine how “America” has functioned as a powerful cultural and historical force in the Western imagination since the modern era. You will learn how narratives, tropes and myths are studied in relation to a national or transnational culture critique, and explore basic issues in African American culture, feminism and queer studies, decolonization, multiculturalism and identity politics, and cultural theory.
In this SPEC, you will:
deepen your understanding and knowledge of all sorts of texts belonging to American culture while focusing on its heterogeneity;
engage with Cultural Studies, especially on subjects such as race, ethnicity, class and gender;
study America with regard to its transatlantic relations upon which literary theory and Cultural Studies are based (notably Queer theory, Postcolonialism, Poststructuralism, Neo-Marxism, and visual culture);
analyze the global influence of American culture, for instance in film, music, literature, media and popular culture;
become more autonomous in your research and to value interdisciplinary work;
prepare for professional work in any domain where American culture and/or critical theory has had a major impact (e.g. cinema, media, music, festival planning, contemporary art).
Multilingual experience
Based in UNIL’s English Department, the “New American Studies” program offers a unique multilingual experience. While English serves as your primary gateway, you’ll also engage with perspectives in French and Spanish—reflecting the multicultural reality of American influence.
AFTER UNIL: MÉMOIRE & CAREER
Mémoire & after-UNIL
This program is ideal for students interested in developing a mémoire on American themes!
Examples of mémoire topics:
“Silence and Loss: Racial Melancholia and Racial Dissociation in Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown and Ocean Vuong’s Time is a Mother.– Donjeta Sokoli
“The Individual in Religious and Capitalist Ideology in American Literature.” – Anonymous
“My mémoire was entitled “Sleeper Train Lovers: An Attempt at Writing Solarpunk Fiction in a Time of Monsters.” It is composed of a creative part, which invilved writing a short solarpunk novel, and a critical part, which analyzed the themes in my novel.” – William Flores
“It was on narratives of the future, and more specifically solarpunk and its relation to the ideology of progress” – Anonymous
“Redesigning Art History with The Simpsons: Parodic Pastiche as Postmodern Artistic Practice” – Nayansaku Mufwankolo
“My mémoire is called “Space, Women’s Marginalization, and Mestiza Consciousness in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Americanah” and Mohja Kahf’s “The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf”.” It focused on how these two writers, both of whom are migrant writers, use space in their novels to resist the racism and sexism they encounter inside and outside of their communities. It was a bit of a split as the two novels dealt with very different cultural contexts and are even set in different time periods. Yet, they are connected by their use of space.” – Guy Da Costa
“Alice in Wonderland & Environmental Justice” – Angela Neves
“Rediscovering Nature through Fantasy Fiction A 21st Century Ecocritical Reading of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings” – Amélie Bron
“’Cool Girls Never Get Angry’ The Femme Fatale Archetype and its Critical Reception in Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and its Adaptation” – Julie Bubloz
“The individual in religious and capitalist ideology in the fictions of Melville, Dos Passos and Gold. The idea was to try and understand how these two ideology worked in similar ways to submit individual agency. I started from the analysis of my texts and used theories from Althusser, Marx and others.” – Anonymous
NAS can also provide exciting career opportunities – from journalism to cultural institutions, teaching to doctoral studies:
“I finished in 2022 and now work for the canton du Valais where I teach French to refugees” – Anonymous
“I finished my studies in June 2024, and am now working as an assistant diplômé in the German department” – William Flores
“I finished UNIL in January 2023, I taught French in Scotland for 6 months, did some substitute teaching and worked in a kindergarden and now I’m in the HEP.” – Anonymous
“Finished in 2019. I’m currently a lecturer in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory, and the Delegate of Diversity and Inclusion at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD Genève). Aside I give workshop on intersectional violence and discriminations in cultural and associative institutions and I have a research-based art practice using poetry.” – Nayansaku Mufwankolo
“I finished in 2022 and I am an English teacher at the high school level.” – Guy Da Costa
“[I finished in] June 2022 [and I’m] still a student (at HEP) to become an English teacher (middle school and high school levels)” – Angela Neves
“[I finished in] Jan 2024. I am doing a master’s degree in secondary education in Geneva and teach English part-time to teenagers (10e-11e Harmos) in Le Lignon (GE)” – Amélie Bron
“[I finished in] 2024, [and I’m] Communications Intern for a contemporary photography festival” – Julie Bubloz
HOW TO APPLY
Have you made your decision? If so, you should contact the Décanat, as well as Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet(ANT 5133) and Boris Vejdovsky (ANT 5120) by the end of the first year of your Master’s, so that you can validate those credits before writing your mémoire.
TIPS FROM GRADUATES
Before you go, have a look at the some of our graduates’ tips!
“I’d say, not to be afraid to ask questions and reach out to anyone you think might be helpful. Everyone here is eager to help and share their knowledge, so take advantage of that. Also, embrace the freedom to explore and write about anything that interests you. No one will judge you for your choices—there are no bizarre topics or right perspectives. This is your chance to dig deep into what fascinates you, so go for it!” – Donjeta Sokoli
“Take the opportunity this SPEC offers if you want to know more about the American as a nation and as a global phenomenon” – Hélène Martin
“1. Try to go beyond what they teach you. While the classes will give you plenty, the real fun starts when you can use the tools you’ve learned in class in the context of your own interests. 2. Do the readings 3. Try to find niches that speak to you. No need to be limited by the syllabus.” – Guy Da Costa
“Be mindful of the classes you take in English: you might decide to do the SPEC later on and realize you’ve already validated most of the plan d’études! It’s not a problem per se but it does complicate your curriculum” – Anonymous
“I highly recommend this SPEC, and if you do take it, I’d recommend immersing yourself by not only reading the required reading, but also by reading/watching optional literature/movies. You might want to reserve an entire semester just for NAS. This might not be feasible for everyone, but if it is, go for it.” – William Flores
“Enjoy yourself, and be ready to possibly add a few semesters to your MA because writing that many essays is going to be time consuming if you’re a slow thinker like I am!” – Anonymous
“Do what you love while studying and hopefully, you can instill some of that into your professional project some day. Be ambitious, no topic is off-limits. You just gotta dig deep enough.” – Angela Neves
“The topic of my Mémoire really influenced the courses I selected and the way I reflected on them. That said, even if you don’t know what you want to work on or write about before enrolling in the SPEC, the variety of topics addressed in the lectures gives you a lot to think about and opens up your critical perspective. With the SPEC, you will discover new ways of thinking that you might not encounter in the standard MA program. As well as being really thought-provoking, the SPEC gives you a lot of freedom in how you address topics for validations. For this reason, I’d recommend students to be curious and creative with their projects (essays, presentations, colloque).” – Amélie Bron
