This paper aims to ponder what it means ‘to do national studies’ in the era of transnationalism, going over the past and the present of American Studies over one century from the nation-centered focus of historiography to transnational turns. How do we set the boundaries of each national studies such as American Studies or Korean Studies, when the recent paradigm moves forward to transnational approaches by decentering or reinforcing the national framework? Can each national studies cross within the diverse transnational possibilities? What does a new regional unit of scholarships such as Asia and the Pacific studies beyond the national studies represent in the paradigm shift of American Studies? What should Americanologists in Korea prepare for this change, if any? Based on such questions, this paper aims to point out that we need a new direction of national studies in the very place where the border between national studies, such as American Studies and Korean Studies, becomes ambiguous.
I. Introduction
II. Nationalism and American Studies
III. Transnationalism and American Studies
IV. Conclusion
Works Cited