American studies as an academic discipline is taught at some British universities and incorporated in several school subjects, such as history, politics, and literature.
However, an 'outsider's' view of a foreign culture, a variety of intellectual trends, such as the Birmingham school of cultural studies, and institutional arrangements often lead to a different approach to that pursued in the U.S.[3] The support of the U.S. Embassy and other official U.S. bodies and awards also shows that American Studies has also been used to promote closer ties and greater understanding between the two countries.
The fledgling Association could not support this venture and, concerned with their independence from the U.S. State Department, unsuccessfully sought funding from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Taylor's successor at the Embassy, Myron Koenig, offered a $20,000 grant to survey British library resources and $100,000 to establish the society.
Membership fees provided a small income, and although BAAS accepted the grant for the library survey, they were able to decline the larger sum in the interests of intellectual and political independence.
BAAS has continued to provide a focus for American Studies in Britain, organizing a series of conferences and administrating various awards and funds for research.
During World War II, The British Government also sought to "counter the Hollywood image of America as a land of violence and corruption by a vigorous campaign to develop American studies".
Americanists also began to seek the 'meaning of America' outside the traditional areas of political institutions and dominant social class but in marginalized groups.
This revival was generally maintained until the controversial election of Bush in 2000, then 9/11, the subsequent "War on Terror" and the invasion of Iraq which put together encouraged a critical attitude to the United States in the public sphere which eventually had a negative effect on recruitment and caused a number of programmes to close (for instance at Reading) or amalgamate with English, History or other departments (see above reference to Polly Toynbee.)
Thomas Paine, William Cobbett, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Rudyard Kipling, Alistair Cooke and Christopher Hitchens, have written about the political and cultural differences between Britain and America.
The Fulbright Program, which began in 1948, has been the backbone of many scholarly exchanges between Britain and the United States[21] As a heterodox discipline, American Studies incorporates many fields, from literature to international relations.
Although no clear method emerged, the influence of Marxism and other theories, such as post-structuralism informed a politically engaged, sophisticated analysis of contemporary society.
Its members included Jorge Larrain, the Chilean sociologist and cultural historian, author of Identity and Modernity in Latin America.