American Studies Program — Requirements & Recommendations for the Major

The Major

The American studies major requires ten courses (30 credits). Five of these must be upper division and six must be American studies courses. The rest can be chosen from an approved list of some 100 related courses offered by other liberal arts departments and programs. Students can take up to two independent studies courses as part of their major. For students undertaking a double major, two related courses-including cross-listed courses—from the other major can be counted toward the American studies major. The American studies major has a special track for students interested in receiving teaching certification. The American studies handbook provides complete information about this option and related courses.

Courses for the major are distributed as follows:

A. One required introductory course:

• AMST 100 (American Identities) or AMST G110 (U.S. Society and Culture Since 1945)

B. Two courses to complete the discipline-based survey requirement:

• Either AMST 210 (American Dreams/American Realities) or HIST 165 (American History I) and
• HIST 166 (American History II)

C. Three “Modes of Analysis” courses chosen from among the following four areas:

1.  Historical analysis:

• American Studies decades courses—202, 203, 204, 205, 206, G212
• AMST 210 (American Dreams/American Realities)
• AMST G240 (War in American Culture)
• AMST L311 (American Oral History)
• ANTH 240 (Historical Archeology)

2.  Ethnographic analysis:

• AMST L270 (North American Indians)
• AMST L301 (Childhood in America)
• AMST L383 (Men’s Lives in the U.S.)

3. Literary analysis:

• ENGL 200 (Literary Studies I)
• ENGL 300 (Literary Studies II)
• ENGL 320 (Autobiography)
• ENGL 325 (Narrative in the Novel and Film)
• ANTH 368 (Myth in Cultural Context)

4.  Media analysis:

• AMST 101 (American Popular Culture)
• AMST 215 (America on Film)
• AMST 235 (Social History of Popular Music)
• AMST 310 (TV in American Life)
• AMST L349 (HIST L349) (Cold War: Rise and Fall)
• ART 265 (Film Analysis)
• ART 272 (History of Photography)
• POLSCI 365 (Politics of Communication)
• POLSCI 367 (Politics by Internet)
• WOST 220 (Women and the Media

D.  Three electives:

To give coherence to their program of study, we encourage students to focus three of their elective courses within the major in one of the following areas:

1. Literature and History
2. Media/Popular Culture Studies
3. Gender and Sexuality
4. Race and Ethnicity
5. The US in Global Context

E. The Senior Capstone Project:

     The capstone, or final project requirement, can take two forms that direct students to the most appropriate culmination of their major/minor studies in terms of their post-graduate plans: immediate entry into the work force, continued study in a graduate program, or teacher certification. Prerequisites for the capstone are junior-level standing and three American studies courses. Capstone options include

• A 400-Level Research Seminar: recommended for students who are interested in teaching and graduate study. An alternative is an independent study (AMST 478, 479) that will lead to a research-based paper or project, under the sponsorship of an advisor.
• A supervised three- or six-credit internship: recommended for students entering the work force directly (AMST 490, 491). Students should select an internship the semester before they wish to do one, in consultation with an American studies faculty advisor and the Office of Co-op Education and Internships. Students are evaluated for the Internship by their academic advisor, based on the reports of their work supervisor and their academic advisor’s assessment of the work they have produced during the term. A six-credit internship is recommended for students engaged in a long-term (two-semester) work project; this project must result in a substantial piece of applied research (see American Studies Undergraduate Handbook for complete details).

American studies majors who are doing a double major or a minor in related departments or programs are encouraged to take advantage of internship and field work opportunities in those fields.

The Minor

Requirements for the minor include:

1. Six courses (18 credits), three of which must be at the upper level, and three of which must be American studies courses.
2. One of the following discipline-based survey courses:

• AMST 210 (American Dreams/American Realities)
• HIST 165 (American History I)

1. One 300-level course and one 400-level capstone course.
2. Students can count one independent study course and one three-credit internship toward completion of the American studies minor.

It is recommended that students take three of the courses in one of the following five focus areas:

1. Literature and History
2. Media/Popular Culture Studies
3. Gender and Sexuality
4. Race and Ethnicity
5. The US in Global Context

Students majoring in another discipline can count two related courses from their major toward an American studies major or minor, including cross-listed courses.