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An undergraduate degree in American Studies can be great preparation for law school and other graduate programs, jobs in business and communications, and public service work of all kinds. Recent graduates have been awarded fellowships and graduate assistantships in prestigious graduate programs in American Studies, Public Service, History, and English. Some have gone on to law school, and others are working in community service agencies, museums, and businesses.
Degree Planning Guidelines
- The American Studies major consists of 48 hours of coursework including 12 hours of American Studies core courses, 15 hours of courses to fulfill the Literacy goals, 6 hours to fulfill the Competency goals, and 15 hours in a Focus Area (see the list of approved courses). Because the major is interdisciplinary, students do not need a minor.
- At least 39 hours of coursework must be taken in courses numbered 3700 and above.
- Students must take a different course to fulfill each literacy or competency goal; no single course may count in more than one category for an individual student.
- Courses must be selected from at least 3 programs or departments other than American Studies, and these courses must reflect a range of historical periods.
- Before registering for AMER 4801, American Studies Research Seminar, a student must submit a Major Proposal, listing individual goals, courses chosen, and possible topics for the senior project. The proposal must be approved by the Coordinator and the American Studies Advisory Committee.
Core Courses
American Studies 2601 American Identity: Study of American identity through historical, literary, artistic, material, media, and other sources. Emphasis on American pluralism and cultural debates over the meaning of American identity.
American Studies 3701 Approaches to American Studies: Survey of central issues and themes in American cultural studies, with emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and cultural diversity. May focus on a theme chosen by the instructor, such as Nature and Culture, Work, or Class in America. May be repeated once with a different topic.
American Studies 4801 Capstone seminar. Focuses on development and implementation of research proposal and current American studies related to topics chosen by students for their senior projects.
American Studies 4810 Work with faculty advisor on senior projects.
List of Approved Courses (course descriptions) *pending
Literacy and Competency Goals
Literacies:
Textual - includes all kinds of "texts" including visual arts, media, literary texts, material artifacts, maps, historical documents, and so on.
American Studies 4815 American Material Culture
Anthropology 3761 Cultures of the New World
Art 3744 17th and 18th Century American Art
Art 3746 (W) 19th Century American Art
Art 3747 African-American Art
Art 3781 Native North American Art
English 3732 Images of Women
English 3765 Film Genres
English 3780 American Genres
English 4862 Themes in American Literature
English 4864 American Literary Conversations
English 4865 Selected Topics in Film
Geography 3750 Topics in Regional Geography
History 4815 American Material Culture
History 5806 American Architectural History I
History 5807 American Architectural History II
Music 2616 Survey of Jazz
Social - includes knowledge about theories of culture and social processes, differences, and interactions between Americans as individuals and as members of groups as well as interactions between Americans/America and other countries and peoples.
American Studies 5845 Work in America
American Studies 5850 Class and Culture
Anthropology 3705 (T/W) Cultural Anthropology
Criminal Justice 5831 Violence in America
Education 3708 Education and Society
Geography 3726 Urban Geography
History 3723 History of American Sports
History 3736 History of American Cities
Management 3750 Human Behavior in Organizations
Management 5845 Work in America
Political Science 3712 Political Behavior
Psychology 3707 Psychology of Intimate Relationships
Sociology 2601 Social Problems
Sociology 2640 Women in Society
Sociology 3705 The Family
Sociology 3707 Urban Sociology
Sociology 3741 Social Movements
Sociology 3743 Social Stratification and Inequality
Social Work 2641 American Social Welfare
Historical - emphasize awareness of historical narratives of the U.S., both in general and within specific fields. This area would include American history courses as well as courses focusing on history within other disciplines.
American Studies 2605 Turning Points in U.S. History I
American Studies 2606 Turning Points in U.S. History II
American Studies 3770 American Literature in Historical Perspective
Anthropology 4825 New World Archaeology
English 2626 (O) American Journalism
English 3770 American Literature in Historical Perspective
Geography 3722 Historical Geography of the United States
History 2605 (T) Turning Points in U.S. History I
History 2606 (T) Turning Points in U.S. History II
History 3700 The Atlantic World
History 3702 Early America
History 3704 The Age of Jefferson and Jackson
History 3706 The Age of Sectionalism
History 3710 Incorporation of America: 1877-1919
History 3712 United States in Crises: 1920-1945
History 3713 Cold War America: 1945-1990
History 3734 History of Organized Crime in the United States
History 4801 Selected Problems in American History
Global and Cross-Cultural Perspectives - focuses on exploring cultures outside of the United States, the interactions among international cultures, and/or comparing multiple international.
American Studies 3705 Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology 3705 Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology 3790 Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Foreign Languages 2660 (W) Women in the Ancient World
History 1511 (T) World Civilization to 1500
History 1512 (T) World Civilization from 1500
History 2663 African Civilizations
History 3727 Mexico and the Caribbean
Philosophy 3702 (O) History of Modern Philosophy
Philosophy 3760 Ethics of War and Peace
Political Science 2640 Contemporary World Governments
Political Science 2660 (T) International Relations
Political Science 2695 Model United Nations
Political Science 3744 European Politics
Political Science 3751 Latin American Politics
Political Science 3763 International Law
Political Science 3764 International Organizations
Political Science 3768 International Conflict
Political Science 5860 Select Problems of Global Affairs
Religion 2605 (O) Myth, Symbol, and Ritual
Religion 3710 African and Neo-African Religions
Religion 3726 Buddhism
Religion 3751 Liberation Theologies and Revolutionary Change
Theater 4860 (W) Theater History After 1700
Cultural Pluralism – focuses on the diversity of American culture, with particular attention to ethnicity, race, gender, class, sexuality, language, and region. This area also includes attention to the politics of difference, concepts of identity, history of immigration, and other theoretical paradigms for thinking about differences in U.S. culture and life.
Africana Studies 2600 Introduction to Africana Studies I
Africana Studies 2601 Introduction to Africana Studies II
Africana Studies 3700 Africana Studies Colloqium I
Africana Studies 3701 Africana Studies Colloqium II
American Studies 3700 Minority Groups
Art 3747 African-American Art
English 2617 Women in Literature
English 2618 American Literature and Diversity
English 3790 Selected Topics in Multicultural Studies
English 4871 The Black Experience in American Literature
History 3726 (W) History of Women in the United States
History 3730 The Black Experience in American History
History 3743 Labor in United States History
Management 3755 Managing Diversity
Political Science 3706 African-American Politics
Psychology 3730 (W) Psychology of Women
Psychology 3745 The Minority Individual
Religion 3708 African-American Religion
Religion 3710 African and Neo-African Religion
Religion 3720 Islam
Religion 3722 Christianity
Religion 3724 Judaism
Religion 3736 Buddhism
Sociology 2640 Women in Society
Sociology 3700 Minority Groups
Sociology 3743 Social Stratification and Inequality
Sociology 3703 Aging and Society
Spanish 3758 Culture and Literature of Spanish-Speaking Groups in the U.S.
Spanish 5885 Topics in Hispanic Literature and Film
Competencies:
Quantitative – the ability to use appropriate qualitative data gathering and analysis techniques, including statistics, opinion polls, demographics, content analyses, and other methods.
American Studies 3720 Applied Sociology
Anthropology 4850 Research Methods
Criminal Justice 3712 Criminal Justice Research
Political Science 3712 (T) Political Behavior
Political Science 3714 American Public Opinion
Sociology 3720 Applied Sociology
Sociology 4851 Social Research
Qualitative – the ability to use appropriate qualitative data gathering and analysis techniques, including interviewing, close reading of a variety of texts and artifacts, aesthetic interpretations, use of primary and historical documents, and other methods.
American Studies 3770 American Literature in Historical Perspective
American Studies 4815 American Material Culture
Anthropology 3702 Archaeology
Anthropology 3778 Archaeological Techniques
Anthropology 4877 Method and Theory in Archaeology
English 3770 American Literature in Historical Perspective
History 4811 Practicum in Historic Preservation
History 4815 American Material Culture
History 5810 Conservation of the Historic Built Environment
NOTE: In addition to the courses listed above, students may petition to have specific courses accepted. This will most often apply to selected topics courses or courses that fit especially well with a student’s area of interest. The student should include a rationale for including a course that is not on this list with the degree proposal. |
