American Studies

Professors: Robert E. Bonner, Director, Clifford E. Clark, Jr.

Assistant Professor: Sharon Atsuko Akimoto

Fred C. Andersen Fellow in American Studies: Marisela Marquez

Committee Members: Sharon Atsuko Akimoto, Barbara Allen, Robert E. Bonner, Scott D. Carpenter, Nancy J. Cho, Clifford E. Clark, Jr., Roy F. Grow, Mary Hermes, Kirk Jeffrey, Richard A. Keiser, Stephen K. Kelly, Michael J. Kowalewski, Lúis Léon, Jerome M. Levi, Burton Levin, Justin M. London, Marisela Marquez, Kofi Owusu, Philip Rhodes, Ronald W. Rodman, Kim Rodner, Nader Saiedi, Steven E. Schier, Rachel Filene Seidman, Gregory Blake Smith, Lauren Soth, Jenny Bourne Wahl, Joseph White, Harry M. Williams

This program is designed to encourage and support the interdisciplinary study of American culture. It draws upon the expertise of faculty in various disciplines and strives to understand the institutions, values, and beliefs that have shaped the experiences of U.S. residents. Recognizing the diverse and pluralistic nature of our society, the American Studies program enables the student, with the help of two faculty advisors, to construct an interdisciplinary major around topics of the student's own choice such as poverty, ethnicity, film, religion, gender roles, environmental thought or some other aspect of the U.S. experience. The program supports interdisciplinary courses taught by Carleton faculty and it brings to campus nationally known visiting artists and scholars under the auspices of the Fred C. Andersen Foundation.

Requirements for a Major:

To major in American Studies students must fill out an application form that may be obtained from the Director. The form asks the student to specify the general topic or focus for the major, at least two disciplines in which he or she will work, and two faculty advisors who will supervise their program. In addition, all majors must complete ten courses in the following three general areas:

I. Core Courses:

American Studies 115, Introduction to American Studies; American Studies 345, Topics and Perspectives in American Studies; and American Studies 400, Colloquium and Integrative Exercise in American Studies

II. Survey Courses:

Students must take three survey courses. Two of these three survey courses should be part of a two-term sequence in one department. The third survey course should be a one term course in a different department.

One term survey courses:
American Economic History
American Art
American Literature
American Political Thought
Comparative Issues in Native North America (Anthropology)
The Sociology of American Society
Two-term survey courses:
African American History
American Religion
American Social History
US Women's History
American Constitutional Law

III. Topical Courses and American Studies Seminars:

Students must take at least three courses that deal centrally with the American experience and at least one interdisciplinary course offered by Carleton faculty as an American Studies course or by the visiting scholar under the American Studies program.

Among courses that might fulfill this requirement are the following, by department:

American Studies: Introduction to Chicano Studies

Introduction to Asian American Studies

Art History: American Art to 1940

Art Since 1945 (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Modern Architecture (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Economics: American Economic History

Water and Western Economic Development
Urban Economics
Economics of Poverty, Discrimination and the Distribution of Income
(Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Educational Studies: Schooling and Opportunity in American Society

Multicultural Education
Youth, Culture and Schooling (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

English: American Nature Writing

African American Literature
American Literature
Contemporary American Playwrights of Color
Growing Up Ironic (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Faulkner, Hemingway and Fitzgerald (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Literature of the American West
Post-Modern American Novel
Rereading the African American Novel

Environmental Studies: Water and Western Economic Development

Geology: Introduction to Environmental Geology

Canyonlands Research Seminar (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

History: Gender and Work in US History (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

American Indian History
American Society to 1865
American Society, 1865-1945
Disease and History
U.S. Women's History to 1900
U.S. Women's History in the 20th Century
U. S. Women's History
History of the American West (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
The Concord Intellectuals (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Machine Civilization in America, 1800-1900
African American History Since 1945
American Environmental Thought (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
American Intellectual History (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
African American History I & II
American Material Culture (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
American Public Lands Policy
Civil Rights Movement, 1942-1965 (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Media Studies: Hitchcock: The Classic Films (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Media and American Politics (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Digitized Culture
American Image in Fiction and Film (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Music and the Media

Music: Bluegrass and Country-Western Music (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

From Blues to Rock
History of Jazz
Traditional Appalachian Music
Music and the Media
Folksongs to Gospel: Aspects of African-American Music Traditions (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Philosophy: Twentieth Century Anglo-American Philsophy (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Political Science: Politics in America: Liberty and Equality

Gender Discrimination and Constitutional Law (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
American Constitutional Law IV
American Political Thought
Congress and the Presidency
Latino Political Participation
Political Theory of Martin Luther King
Readings in American Politics
de Tocqueville (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Urban Politics
Urban Racial and Ethnic Politics
Environmental Policy and Politics
Poverty and Public Policy (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
Vietnam War and American Policy

Psychology: Psychology of Prejudice

Religion: Religion in America

Twentieth-Century American Religion
Latino Religious Traditions
Women and Religion (Not offered in 1997-1998.)
New Religious Movements in America (Not offered in 1997-1998.)

Sociology/Anthropology: American Society: An Evolutionary, Materialist Perspective

Class, Power, and Inequality in America
Comparative Issues in Native North America

112. Introduction to American Literature
Refer to English 112.
Fall, Winter and Spring

115. The Immigrant Experience
A team-taught, comparative study of the experience of migrants and immigrants to America as well as to countries like France and Canada. The course will focus on two or three national or ethnic groups and investigate such general topics as the causes of emigration; the experiences of dispossession and separation; acculturation and assimilation, including education, changes in family structure and gender roles, language acquisition, creation, and loss; the role of religion; the preservation and transformation of customs and traditions; public and private policy re. legal status, housing, welfare, and employment; discrimination; and the representation of ethnic and racial groups in literature, photography, film, and other media. 6 credits, HU
Spring -- R. Bonner, M. Marquez

116. Music and the Media
Refer to Music 115 and Media Studies 115.

117. African-American Literature
Refer to African/African American Studies 117 and English 117.

118. Disease in History
Refer to History 118

120, 121. American Society to 1861, American Society 1861-1945
See also History 120, 121.

122. American Society: An Evolutionary, Materialist Perspective
Refer to Sociology/Anthropology 120.

123. Politics in America: Liberty and Equality
Refer to Political Science 122.

128. Introduction to Chicano Studies
Cross-listed with Political Science 128. 6 credits, SS, RAD
Winter -- M. Marquez

130. History of Jazz
Refer to Music 130.

131. From Blues to Rock
Refer to African/African American Studies 131 and Music 131.

136. Traditional Appalachian Music
Refer to Music 135.

140. Religion in America
Refer to Religion 140.

141. Twentieth-Century American Religion
Refer to Religion 141.

160. American Art to 1940
Refer to Art History 160.

205. Congress and the Presidency
Refer to Political Science 205.

207. Urban Politics
Refer to Political Science 207.

220, 221. African-American History I and II
Refer to African/African American Studies and History 220, 221.

222. U.S. Women's History to 1900
Refer to History 222.

223. U.S. Women's History Since 1900
Refer to History 223.

224. Class, Power, and Inequality in America
Refer to Sociology/Anthropology 220.

225. Readings in American Politics
Refer to Political Science 225.

226. Machine Civilization in American, 1800-1900
Refer to History 224.

227. History of The American West
Refer to History 227.

228. American Indian History
Refer to History 228.

237. American Nature Writing
Refer to English and Environmental and Technology Studies 236.

239. Introduction to Asian American Studies
This team-taught course is designed as an interdisciplinary study of Asian American identities and cultures. We will address the diversity and fluidity of Asian American experiences through an examination of history, social sciences, literature, and film. Students of all majors and backgrounds are welcome to enroll. 6 credits, ND
Spring -- N. Cho, S. Akimoto

244. Latino Religious Traditions
Refer to Latin American Studies 243 and Religion 242.

251. Digitized Culture
Refer to Environmental and Technology Studies 251, Literary and Cultural Studies 251 and Media Studies 251.

252. American Political Thought
Refer to Political Science 252.

259. Comparative Issues in Native North America
Refer to Latin American Studies 259 and Sociology/Anthropology 259.

289. California Field Study
Students will participate in a number of field trips dealing with California's history, literature and environment. Sites visited will include Mt. Shasta, Yosemite, Sutter's Fort, the California Indian Museum, Hearst Castle and the Watt's Towers. They will complete an oral culture project. Offered only as part of the California program. 2 credits, S/CR/NC, ND
Winter -- M. Kowalewski

290. Independent Reading
Credit by Arrangement

291. Independent Study
Credit by Arrangement -- Staff

301. American Consitutional Law I
Refer to Political Science 301.

304. American Constitutional Law IV
Refer to Political Science 304.

306. Urban Racial and Ethnic Politics
Refer to Political Science 306.

319. Latino Political Participation
Refer to Political Science 319.

329. Vietnam War and Political Policy
Refer to Political Science 329.

330. Literature of the American West
Refer to English 330 and Environmental and Technology Studies 330.

334. The Postmodern American Novel
Refer to English 334.

338. Multicultural Education
Refer to African/African American Studies 338 and Educational Studies 338.

339. Re-reading the African-American Novel
Refer to African/African American Studies 338, English 338 and Women's Studies 338.

341. Topics in U.S. Economic History
Refer to Economics 340.

345. Methods: Topics and Perspectives in American Studies
This course will explore how many academic disciplines have studied and reflected on American culture. We will briefly examine how literary critics and historians have tried to comprehend cultural phenomena in terms of myth and symbol; how anthropologists' study of rituals and social drama has affected perceptions of social behavior; how environmentalists and economists have stressed the material conditions of culture; and how the work of recent scholars in urban studies, gender studies, and ethnic studies has suggested an "intercultural'' conception of American Studies. 6 credits, HU
Winter -- R. Bonner

353. Feminist and American Separatist Movement
Refer to Political Science 353 and Women's Studies 353.

357. Toqueville: Topics
Refer to Political Science 357.

360. Issues in Native American Education
Refer to Educational Studies 360.

386. Literature of California
Refer to English 386 and Environmental and Technology Studies 386.

387. California Environmental and Visual Culture
Refer to Environmental and Technology Studies 387.

391. Independent Study
Credit by Arrangement -- Staff

394. Psychology of Prejudice
Refer to African/African American Studies 384 or Psychology 384.

395. Topics in African American History Since 1945
Refer to History 395-04.

395. U.S. Women's History
Refer to History 395-02.

395-06. American Public Lands Policy
Refer to History 395-06.

395-04. Re-reading the Nation
Refer to English 395-01.

400. Colloquium and Integrative Exercise
Satisfactory completion of the program will depend upon the writing or performance of a project approved by the director and the student's two advisors. The project is submitted for approval early in the fall term. Most of the work is normally done during fall and winter, and the completed project is submitted at the beginning of spring term. Students will enroll for a total of six credits over the three terms and are encouraged to arrange enrollment to correspond to their actual project schedule, taking most credits in winter term. In the fall and winter, students will meet biweekly to discuss their projects with each other and members of the committee, and in the spring term students will present their projects to faculty and junior majors in the program. American Studies 400 is a continuing course, and a grade will be registered at the end of spring term. 6 credits, S/NC, ND
Fall, Winter and Spring -- Staff