This study aims to approach a critical question amid the current political turmoil. How should scholars in American literature teach now? It explores the reflective thinking on the historical context of American Studies, focusing on its central topics such as American exceptionalism, transnational turn, and multiculturalism. It further examines academic discussions on American Studies education and its possible future directions. On the other hand, this study presents a case study of redesigning the “Introduction to American Studies” course within an English department using Project-Based Learning, detailing syllabus, reading materials, dialogic text analysis, and team projects. Through this, the study aims to demonstrate that a project-based pedagogical approach can serve as an effective strategy for fostering students’ critical thinking skills in a time marked by the crisis of the humanities and polarization.