How do theories, methods, and scholarly practices shape major research projects currently underway in American Studies? In twenty original essays, the contributors to 'Projecting American Studies' interrogate their ongoing work in various interdisciplinary contexts, shedding light on contemporary Americanist practices, styles, and publics. In keeping with the original meaning of the French term 'essai', each contribution is a try, an attempt, an experiment: Several chapters employ a personal tone, others distill their arguments into condensed prose, some use non-linear formats.

All contributors openly reflect on the future of American Studies in its interchange with Literary, Cultural, and Media Studies as well as with History and Political Science. Avoiding the rhetoric of "turns" and paradigm shifts, 'Projecting American Studies' aims to replace perennial appeals to do things differently with sustainable ideas for how to do things better.