Major Requirements – American Studies

American Studies is an interdisciplinary major which a student constructs from offerings in two or more departments of instruction. Students take both core courses in the field of American Studies and additional courses from one of five broad, thematic streams (listed below). This theme will both provide additional structure and points of comparison and a foundation for a comprehensive exercise.

Majors must complete 69 credits in the following general areas:

I. Core Courses: Each student must complete all of these:

AMST 115 Introduction to American Studies or AMST 287 California Art and Visual Culture (offered as part of the “Visions of California” OCS Program). One or the other of these is a prerequisite for AMST 345 and AMST 396.
AMST 345 Theory and Practice of American Studies
AMST 396 Junior Research Seminar
AMST 398 Advanced Research in American Studies
AMST 399 Senior Seminar in American Studies
AMST 400 Colloquium and Integrative Exercise in American Studies (3 credits, to be taken in winter term of the senior year, along with AMST 399.) A senior may choose:
- Essay or Project Option: A 35-40 page essay on an approved topic; or an approved project (e.g., a critical documentary, radio narrative, web design project, performance piece, or academic civic engagement project) accompanied by a 15-20 page essay. Open only to students who receive approval of a project prospectus.
- Examination Option: A written examination given early in spring term.

II. Survey Courses: Students must take three survey courses. Two of these courses must come from a single department. Students will also take a one-term survey course from a different department. Because the entire range of these survey courses is not offered every year, students should consult the online catalog and plan accordingly.

Two courses from a single department (two-term sequence):

HIST 116: Intro to Indigenous Histories, 1887-present · not offered in 2023-24
HIST 122: U.S. Women’s History to 1877
HIST 123: U.S. Women’s History Since 1877
HIST 125: African American History I: From Africa to the Civil War · not offered in 2023-24
HIST 126: African American History II
POSC 271: Constitutional Law I
POSC 272: Constitutional Law II

One-term course from a different department:

AMST 254: The 1930s: Social and Cultural Impact of the Great Depression · not offered in 2023-24
ARTH 160: American Art to 1940 · not offered in 2023-24
ENGL 117: African American Literature · not offered in 2023-24
ENGL 120: American Short Stories · not offered in 2023-24
ENGL 212: Nineteenth-Century American Literature · not offered in 2023-24
ENGL 215: Modern American Literature · not offered in 2023-24
ENGL 235: Asian American Literature
MUSC 126: America’s Music
POSC 122: Politics in America: Liberty and Equality
RELG 140: Religion and American Culture

III. Topical Courses: Each student must take twenty-four credits that deal with elements of the American experience from one of the thematic streams below. Courses that will fulfill this requirement are listed under each group. No more than six of these credits may be from a 100-level course. (Survey courses above and beyond those used to satisfy the required one-term and two-term sequences may count as a Topical Course.) Students must take courses from at least two departments. In order that majors acquire the research skills necessary to complete the major, six of these twenty-four credits must be at the 300-level.

Race, Ethnicity and Indigeneity: What is the relationship between race and ethnicity and U.S. cultures? Students will look at these questions in a comparative and interdisciplinary framework. Concentrators in this area should take a combination of courses that will allow them to comparatively assess the experiences of at least two ethno-racial groups in America.

Democracy, Activism, and Class: How does a longstanding American Studies emphasis on engaged scholarship reveal the relationships of politics, capitalism and power? This theme investigates the emergence of social groups and their political struggles at the local and national levels emphasizing the themes of power, inequality, and social justice.

Space and Place: How is space organized, and how do people make place? This includes the study of natural and built environments; local, regional, national and transnational communities; and international and inter-regional flows of people, goods, and ideas.

Production and Consumption of Culture: How do people represent their experiences and ideas as culture? How is culture transmitted, appropriated and consumed? Students will examine the role of artists and the expressive arts, including literature, visual arts and performance as well as that of consumers and producers.

America in the World (Migration, Borderlands, and Empire): How is the society and culture of the United States shaped by the historical and contemporary flows of people, goods and ideas from around the world? In turn, students will also focus on the various ways in which both colonial America and the United States have shaped the world.