Broaden your understanding of various A Level topics by hearing from university academics from around the country.
These mini-lectures are designed to help think about American History, Literature, Politics and Culture through an American Studies lens. Explore ideas from the A Level syllabus in more depth, with academics from all around the UK sharing their research.
For more information and advice on how to use our mini-lectures, take a look at our How-To Guide.
English Literature and Media Mini-Lectures
Visibility and Black Feminism in Media Studies
This mini-lecture introduces the concept of ‘visibility’ through Black feminist perspectives.
Find Out MoreLynn Nottage’s ‘Sweat’ (2015)
This mini-lecture will offer an analysis of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
Find Out MoreModernist Literature and the Black Atlantic
This mini-lecture explores modernist literature through the lens of Paul Gilroy’s influential theory of “The Black Atlantic.”
Find Out MoreFilm Studies Mini-Lectures
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull’ (1980)
This mini-lecture explores Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull’ through the lenses of genre and micro-analysis.
Find Out MoreAnna Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’ (2014)
This mini-lecture will offer an analysis of Anna Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night,’ considering the theme of transgression.
Find Out MoreHistory Mini-Lectures
Mini-Lectures: Gender and Slavery
This mini-lecture will explore the relationship between gender and slavery, and consider the unique experience of Black women who were enslaved.
Find Out MoreThe Origins of the Modern Environmental Movement in the US
This mini-lecture will broaden understanding of twentieth century American history through the framework of environmental history, including the history of Earth Day.
Find Out MoreRed Power: The Forgotten Movement
This mini-lecture will explore the Red Power Movement that formed part of the protest culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
Find Out MoreAlice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935)
This mini-lecture explores the biography of Alice Dunbar-Nelson and how her story intersects with important cultural and political moments in the US, including the Harlem Renaissance.
Find Out MorePolitics Mini-Lectures
The US Supreme Court, Abortion, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (2022)
This mini-lecture will explore the US Supreme Court through the issue of abortion, and contextualise the outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (2022).
Find Out MorePresidential Power
This mini-lecture explores the development of presidential power over time, with particular focus on vetoes.
Find Out MoreAre you interested in contributing a mini-lecture to this series? Email development@baas.ac.uk for more information.
This resources presented as part of the Bridging the Resource Gap project, funded by the British Association of American Studies and the US Embassy.