American studies is an interdisciplinary field that is united by both an object of study—American culture—and a mode of inquiry that moves beyond the scope of any single disciplinary approach. Marked by an interplay between cultural history and the examination of diverse creative forms, social analysis, and critical theory, American studies explores primary sources and asks how they might be understood in the broader contexts of aesthetic traditions, political power, and cultural beliefs. While American studies substitutes for no single field or way of looking at American culture, students in the major may find themselves drawn toward the visual arts and the literary, toward mass media and popular culture, or toward the study of intellectual and religious traditions. They may engage in sociological, literary, geographical, and historical interpretations of America as they come to conclusions about the meanings, politics, and diversity of American culture.