What is Area Studies?
‘Area Studies’ is the term used to describe the multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary study of specific geographical areas of the world. This includes subjects like American Studies, Middle East Studies and European Studies. The disciplinary identity of area studies has been the subject of much debate at events such as our Disciplinary Identity of Area Studies workshop in 2004 and The Future of Interdisciplinary Area Studies (pdf), hosted by the University of Oxford in 2005.