American Studies: Requirements

Major Requirements

The major requires eleven four-credit courses:

• Introduction to American Studies (AMST 201) - Spring. An Interdisciplinary, historically grounded introduction to contemporary approaches to American Studies scholarship, with emphasis on issues of class, ethnicity, gender, and cross-cultural studies.

• Six Core Courses in American Studies - In any given semester, there will be additional courses crosslisted from other departments that will count for the core. In some cases, these courses will not be cross-listed by the registrar but will be part of a supplemental list maintained by the DUStudies and circulated to majors. Also, expect to several offerings under the rubric of “Special Topics” (AMST 385) in any given semester. These are less likely to be repeated than other courses, so interested students should seize the opportunity they present.

314 American Lives
An approach to the study of individuals in society. The use of practical experiences in life history research in ethnographic context with supportive cross-cultural readings in life cycle theory and life history studies.

316 Southern Folk Cultures
Draws upon cultural geography and social and oral history to study the folk and working class cultures of the South. Song, food, oral/narrative, folk art, religion in historical perspective, and attention to class, race, and sex.

320 Meaning in Things: Artifacts and American Culture
Techniques for studying American objects, artifacts, the built environment and patterns of behavior in everyday life. Includes practical experience in analyzing material culture.

321 American Routes: Traditions and Transformations in American Musical Cultures
Explores the variety of traditional musical cultures in the United States,their historical and geographical influences on each other, and their influences on contempraru popular music.

322 Baseball and American Culture
Examines the history if the sport from its nineteenth-century beginnings to the present day, including its engagement with changing social realities and persistent social myths.

330 Segregated Cinema in Atlanta
This course examines the interaction of race relations and ordinary leisure of moveigoing from 1895-1996. Attention to the business of distribution, content of film shown in segregated venues.

335 The Making of Modern Atlanta
This course offers and introduction to the history of the metropolitan region and to the techniques, methods,and sources utilized in the interpretation of urban places.

345 American Visual Culture
This course examines the visual aspects of mass media, popular culture, and technology; concentrates on the period from the development of photography to the present.

348 The Ethnic Experience in America
(Same as History 348) African Americans, Indians, Irish, and Jews in recent American history. Explores patterns of immigration and the limits of assimilation. Also treats anti-ethnic reactions such as racism and anti-Semitism.

353 Women and American Identities
Focuses on the literature, history, and personal narratives of women whose identity as Americans is complicated by their status as immigrants, women of color, or in other marginalized categories.

362 Representations of Asian America
Examines issues of form and content, production and reception, in film, art, prose and poetry about the Asian American experience.

385 Special Topics
Specialized courses in American culture and history. May be repeated for credit when topic varies

495 Honors Thesis
Open only to honors candidates in their senior year. Independent research, culminating in the thesis.

496 Internship
Opportunity to integrate the theory and practice of studying American culture and history. Requires permission of the DUS. Variable credit.

498 Supervised Reading and Study
Study of an area not covered in regular course offerings. Requires permission of instructor and the DUS. Variable credit.

499 Senior Research
Independent research and writing on a topic associated with the area of concentration in the major, undertaken with faculty supervision. Requires permission of instructor and the DUS. Variable credit.

• Three Contributing Courses
one in Broad Historical Perspectives
one in Humanities Perspectives
one in Social Science Perspectives

• Senior Symposium (AMST 490) - Fall. Intended for majors. Offers the opportunity to reflect on the traditions of American Studies scholarship and its future direction.

• Other Courses (200-level) - 212 American Identities:
Fall, Spring. Examinations of American Identites, with particular attention to the experience of immigrants and the ways that issues of race ethnicity, religion, gender, and class complicate and enrich the formulation of American identity. Can be counted as a core course.

190 Freshman Seminar: Fall, Spring. Valuable topics that combine interdisciplinary perspectives and methods from the humanities and social science.