UK: The Obama bounce

President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office have sparked off all kinds of unintended consequences: the return of the once-despised studded leather belt as worn by the First Lady, the rise in popularity of Portuguese Water dogs, and now, the increase in the number of students applying for American Studies.

Dr George Lewis, director of Leicester University's centre for American studies, has identified what he calls an "Obama bounce" in applications this year: a 22% rise nationally and a 60% increase at Leicester. This follows a decrease in applications during the presidency of George W Bush.

Lewis says the bounce is particularly pronounced for four-year degrees where students spend a year in the US. "I think the idea of spending a year in Obama's America is probably more appealing to many students than doing so under the Bush regime."

The president has intellectual as well as popular appeal, he says. "He is perhaps the first intellectual American president we have had since Woodrow Wilson. He is of interest to academics as a self-confessed avid reader of books and a possessor of a rich intellectual background."