Requirements & Courses
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Minor Requirements
Thirty credits which must include:
- Core: AMS-101, 102, and 301 and 16 credits from the following (no more than one course per department): ECN-111; ENG-260 or 261; HST-104, 105, 228; POL-101; and SOC-101.
- Advanced Electives: eight credits from the following (no more than one course per department): ART-250; ENG-361 or 366; HST-277, 323, 325, or 326; POL-231, 325 or 336; and SOC-241 or 380A; or other approved (with substantial American content) topics courses (e.g., African American literature or religion, Native-American literature, etc.) AMS independent study or practicum subject to approval of the AMS coordinator.
Courses
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AMS101.Introduction to American Studies2 creditsPrerequisite: First- year or Sophomore StandingFocuses on the multi-disciplinary perspectives needed to understand the complexity of “the American experience(s).”
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AMS102.Perspective American Experience2 creditsPrerequisite: First- year or Sophomore StandingFocuses on seminal sources for deepening one’s perspectives on “America.”
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AMS120.Superheroes & Identity4 CreditsStan Lee himself once said Superheroes, like Jazz, were a uniquely American creation. This class examines that statement by studying superhero and supervillain archetypes in multiple media. The class will explore how these 4-color characters are both rigid representations of morals and ideals while also analyzing how they stretch, mutate, and ultimately evolve over time to better reflect an ever-changing society.
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AMS301.American Studies Seminar2-4 creditsPrerequisite: AMS 101 and 102Open only to students who have completed or are concurrently enrolled in the completion of 24 credits toward the AMS minor.
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ART250.Sculpture I4 creditsAn investigation of both traditional and contemporary materials, methods, and subject matter. Form will be approached through processes that utilize addition, subtraction, manipulation and transformation. Course fee.
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COM110.Media Systems and Influence4 creditsThis course serves as an introduction to the study of the major media industries and effects of contemporary mass communication. Emphasis will be on analyzing the way media technologies affect news, advertising, and entertainment functions of media and the way media professionals and organizations use media to influence perception, behavior, and social identity.
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ENG260.Survey of American Literature I4 creditsPrerequisite: ENG-101, 120, 201 or 202Analyzing American literature from its beginnings to the Civil War, including the Puritan and Romantic periods.
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ENG261.Survey of American Literature II4 creditsPrerequisite: ENG-101, 120, 201 or 202Examining American literature from the Civil War and the Realistic movement to the present.
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ENG361.Modern American Writers to 18654 creditsPrerequisite: Two courses in literatureExamines in depth selected writers from the Revolution to the Civil War, with a special focus on the struggle to define an “American” literature. Includes such authors as Brown, Irving, Poe, Douglass, Jacobs, Dickinson, Melville, Hawthorne, Whitman and Stowe.
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ENG366.Modern American Literature4 creditsPrerequisite: Two courses in literatureStudies of American literature from post-WWII to the present.
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HST104.The Making of America to 18774 creditsExamines American history from colonial times to Reconstruction; concentration on political, constitutional, social, economic and intellectual problems. (ESPITH/GP)
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HST105.The American Century: 1877-Present4 creditsPolitical, economic, social and intellectual issues from Reconstruction to the present. Focuses on 1877-1990. (ESPITH/GP)
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HST228.Immigration & Ethnicity in American Hist4 creditsExamination of the experiences of immigrants and their transformation into ethnic Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries. Discussion of what it means to be American and the diversity of American society in a historical perspective. (ESPI/GP)
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HST277.Am Studies: Civil War and Reconstruction4 creditsExamines sectional crisis, disunion and reunion from 1845-77. Topics include significance of Civil War era for industrialization; agriculture and urbanization; emancipation of slaves and race relations; development of the Presidency; constitutional issues; and modern warfare. (ESPI)
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HST323.Creating the Republic, 1763-18154 creditsPrerequisite: Sophomore Standing, and one history course or PermissionAnalysis of selected economic, social, political and intellectual issues, including the coming of the American Revolution; “state-building” during the war for Independence; the “Critical Period,” ratifying the Constitution; origins and early development of political parties, ideologies of republicanism and nationalism; diplomatic problems and territorial expansion; minorities in the early republic; and the War of 1812. (ESPI/GP)
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HST325.Reform and Search for Order4 creditsPrerequisite: Sophomore Standing, and one history course or PermissionUrban revolution; middle class reforms; response of industry, labor, and public institutions to the progressive era; World War I; the Jazz Age; the stock market crash of 1929; and the Hoover administration. (ESPITH/GP)
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HST326.The Roosevelt Revolution, 1932-454 creditsPrerequisite: Sophomore Standing, and one history course or PermissionAnalysis of the Great Depression, the New Deal, American isolation in 1930s, and American involvement in World War II. Historical perspectives of the New Society which emerged from the Great Depression and World War II. (ESPITH/GP)
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POL101.The American Political System4 creditsStudy of institutions and processes of politics and government. Contemporary political problems. Primary focus on federal government with some attention to state and local politics. (APP)
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POL231.American Political Thought4 creditsExplores American political thought from the founding to the present. Key themes considered include majority rule and minority rights, participatory versus elite theories of democracy, the tensions between democracy, freedom and equality, and civil disobedience. (THE)
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POL325.U.S. Foreign Policy4 creditsStudy of goals of American foreign policy and U.S. role in changing world; structure, processes and politics of foreign policy-making; and U.S. foreign policy since end of WWII. Analysis of selected current U.S. foreign policy concerns. (INR)
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SOA101.Principles of Sociology4 creditsIntroduction to concepts and methods of sociology: society and its institutions, social and cultural change, and their implications. Prerequisite for all other Sociology courses except those in the Anthropology sequence. Computer laboratory; no prior computer experience required.
