The two-year Master's program in American Studies offers a comprehensive range of courses on US-American literature, history, and cultural and media studies. Conceptually, the program combines current research and teaching as well as diverse forms of self-study and academic training. The program aims at fostering the skills relevant to both academic and professional life. The program offers three complementary areas of study and research. “American Literature and Literary Criticism” covers American literature in the broadest sense and the practice of critical analysis. It deals with the reading and being-read of the United States through diverse types of text. “American Culture and Cultural Studies” examines media such as films or images in terms of their cultural significance. The program’s third area, “American History and Society”, looks at transitions in American society and politics with the examination and evaluation of historical sources.