Bridging the Resource Gap was a project devised by Dr Emily Brady and Dr Emma Hall. This project was designed to promote the study of the Americas for schoolchildren aged 16 to 19 years, by supplementing existing modules and programmes.
This project aimed to:
- Expand knowledge of American Studies as a discipline among FE institutions, for career advisors, department heads, educators, and students.
- Create American Studies recruitment resources (or ‘American Studies advocacy toolkits’) for career counsellors and academic advisors.
- Establish a bridge of educational resources between higher education institutions offering American Studies as a degree programme, and FE institutions and their curricula.
- Disseminate the work of UG, PGT, PGR and ECR scholars in American Studies, to demonstrate to FE students the areas of study that American Studies covers.
As part of this project, the Bridging the Resource Gap team produced: Alumni Profiles from people who have undertaken American Studies degrees, Classroom Resources to compliment the A Level curricula in English, History and Politics, Mini-Lectures from members of the American Studies community which further understanding of A Level topics, and an Advocacy Toolkit to encourage students and careers advisors to think about American Studies.
The research assistants on this project were Dr keisha bruce and Dr Katharina Donn. This project was funded by the BAAS / US Embassy Small Grants Programme and the BAAS Development Grant from 2022-2023.
All educational resources have been created by independent scholars in the American Studies community, and will cover issues at the centre of debates on American Studies. As such, all resources reflect the views and research of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the British Association for American Studies or the US Embassy, who jointly funded this project. If you have any comments on the materials available, please contact development@baas.ac.uk.
If you are interested in contributing resources to this project – be they an alumni profile, classroom resources, mini-lecture, or any other ideas you may have – please contact development@baas.ac.uk