BA in American Studies (45 hours*)

Program Requirements    |    View MAP

1. Students can complete the Advanced Writing requirement by taking Engl 311, 312, 314, 315, or 316 according to individual academic direction. Those interested in graduate work are urged to take the Hist 200, 490 option.
2. Majors should begin course work in the major by taking AmSt 303 fall semester of the sophomore or (at latest) junior year.
3. Complete the following prerequisite courses:
   ECON 110 : Economic Principles and Problems. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ECON 110 : Economic Principles and Problems. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W, Sp, Su
   DESCRIPTION:	Strengths and weaknesses of markets and governments for solving problems of social organization or conflict, including policy response to inflation, unemployment, pollution, poverty, growth, etc.
   
   
   HUM 261 : Introduction to American Humanities 1: Colonial Era Through 1876. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 261 : Introduction to American Humanities 1: Colonial Era Through 1876. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W, Sp; Honors also.
   DESCRIPTION:	Value systems reflected in the arts and ideas of the United States from the colonial era to 1876.
   
   
   HUM 262 : Introduction to American Humanities 2: 1877 to the Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 262 : Introduction to American Humanities 2: 1877 to the Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W; Honors also.
   DESCRIPTION:	Value systems reflected in the arts and ideas of the United States from 1877 to the present.
   
   
   PL SC 110 : American Government and Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 110 : American Government and Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W; Sp and Su on demand. Honors also. Independent Study also.
   DESCRIPTION:	Origin and development of federal Constitution; national, state, and local governments and politics.
   
   
4. Complete the following:
   AM ST 303 : Studies in the American Experience. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   AM ST 303 : Studies in the American Experience. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   Social and intellectual life in American culture from the colonial period to the present.
   
   
5. Complete ten courses (30 hours) from the following:
   AM ST 200 : The American West as a Region. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   AM ST 200 : The American West as a Region. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   Geography, natural history, history, and cultures of the American West.
   
   
   AM ST 360 : Film in American Culture. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   AM ST 360 : Film in American Culture. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   Selected readings, lectures, and analysis of specific motion pictures as social documents, reflecting different facets of the American experience.
   
   
   AM ST 390R : Topics in American Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   AM ST 390R : Topics in American Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   Multidisciplinary study of a carefully defined problem in American culture. Topics vary.
   
   
   (twice only)
   AM ST 395 : Theories and Methods in American Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   AM ST 395 : Theories and Methods in American Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	AmSt 303.
   DESCRIPTION:	Readings/discussion seminar introducing students to theories, definition, and practice of American Studies.
   
   
   ARTHC 345 : American Art. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ARTHC 345 : American Art. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	ArtHC 202 or instructor's consent.
   DESCRIPTION:	American painting and sculpture from colonial through modern times.
   
   
   ARTHC 365 : American Architecture. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ARTHC 365 : American Architecture. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   Major figures, monuments, and movements in American architecture from colonial period through "Gilded Age."
   
   
   ECON 274 : American Economic History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ECON 274 : American Economic History. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	Econ 110 or equivalent.
   DESCRIPTION:	Impact on households, firms, and government of America's transformation from a rural, agricultural colony to a major industrial nation.
   
   
   ENGL 336 : The American Novel. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 336 : The American Novel. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W; Independent Study also.
   PREREQUISITE:	Engl 251 or 252.
   DESCRIPTION:	Representative novels of the American tradition from the late eighteenth century to the present.
   
   
   ENGL 358R : Ethnic, Regional, and Other Literatures in English. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 358R : Ethnic, Regional, and Other Literatures in English. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W, Sp, Su
   PREREQUISITE:	Engl 251 or 252.
   DESCRIPTION:	Sections stressing Native American, African American, Chicano, third-world, regional, or other literatures in English.
   
               : African American Literature.
               : Asian American Literature.
               : Latino/a American Literature.
               : Native American Literature.
               : Native American Literature.
               : Post-Colonial Literature.
   
   
   ENGL 392 : American Folklore. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 392 : American Folklore. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W
   DESCRIPTION:	American folk art and literature and the historical and cultural circumstances from which they developed.
   
   
   ENGL 395R : Studies in Literature. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ENGL 395R : Studies in Literature. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	Engl 251.
   DESCRIPTION:	Topics vary.
   NOTE:	Independent Study also.
   
   
   GEOG 250 : United States and Canada. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   GEOG 250 : United States and Canada. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	W
   DESCRIPTION:	Analysis of the natural environment, historical development, cultural patterns, economic systems, and political structures of geographic regions.
   
   
   HIST 395 : Technology in America. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HIST 395 : Technology in America. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F odd years.
   DESCRIPTION:	Benefits and liabilities of technological complexity.
   
   
   HUM 420R : Studies in Periods and Movements. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 420R : Studies in Periods and Movements. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W; alternate Sp, Su
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Interdisciplinary study of literature, philosophy, and the arts of a particular period or movement. Problems of periodization. Topics vary.
   
              : 12th Century Renaissance.
              : 14th Century.
              : 17th Century.
              : 18th Century.
              : Character in 17th Century.
              : Classical Period.
              : Fin De Siecle.
              : Impressionism.
              : Later 19th Century.
              : Medieval Period.
              : Modernism.
              : Postmodernism.
              : Reformation and Counter Reformation.
              : Renaissance Humanism.
              : Renaissance.
              : Romanticism.
              : Victorian Art and Culture.
              : Women in 19th Century.
              : Women in the 18th Century.
   
   
   HUM 425R : Area Studies in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 425R : Area Studies in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W; alternate Sp or Su
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Interdisciplinary study of literature, philosophy, and the arts of a particular geographical area. Topics include American, Latin American, and Asian humanities. Topics vary.
   
              : America Between World Wars.
              : American Culture.
              : American Immigrant Experience.
              : American Popular Culture.
              : Arts of Japan.
              : Asian Culture.
              : Classics and Eastern America.
              : Colonial and Federalist America.
              : Islamic Culture.
              : Latin American Culture.
              : Maya Art and Culture.
              : Poetry of Americas.
              : Precolumbian Culture.
              : Satire in American Culture.
              : Scandinavian Cultural History.
              : Slavery and Americas.
              : Southwestern Native American Culture.
              : U.S. and Caribbean Culture.
              : Women in Americas.
   
   
   HUM 430R : Genres and Forms in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 430R : Genres and Forms in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Interdisciplinary study of genres and forms. Topics include epic, tragedy, narrative, historiography, film, relationship of text and music. Topics vary.
   
              : Comedy.
              : Epic.
              : Film as Art.
              : Historiography.
              : Narrative.
              : Text and Music.
              : Tragedy.
   
   
   HUM 440R : Themes in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 440R : Themes in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Interdisciplinary study of themes. Topics include Eden, Arthur, Don Juan, Faust, Ulysses, Troy. Topics vary.
   
              : Arthurian Theme.
              : Classical Tradition.
              : Don Juan Theme.
              : Don Quixote and the Arts.
              : Eden Theme.
              : Faust Theme.
              : Gothic and Gothicism.
              : Matter of Troy.
              : Ulysses Theme.
   
   
   HUM 460R : Critical Theory and Methodology. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 460R : Critical Theory and Methodology. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Theoretical and practical criticism; problems in critical theory. Topics include aesthetics, interrelations of the arts, models of cultural history, cultural theory, and aspects of contemporary theory. Topics vary.
   
              : Aesthetic Theory.
              : Art Interrelations.
              : Classical Criticism.
              : Contemporary Theory.
              : Cultural Theory.
              : Gender Theory in Humanities.
              : Mimesis.
              : Models of Cultural History.
              : Narratology.
              : Native Multiculturism.
              : Practical Criticism.
              : Rhetoric and Truth.
              : Rhetorical Theory.
              : Theory of Film.
   
   
   HUM 490R : Seminar in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HUM 490R : Seminar in the Humanities. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	F, W, Sp
   PREREQUISITE:	Hum 350 or concurrent enrollment.
   DESCRIPTION:	Interdisciplinary study of problems and major figures in the humanities. Topics vary.
   
              : Classical Tradition.
              : Montaigne and Classical.
              : Nietzsche and Aesthetic.
              : Wagner and Wagnerism.
   
   
   PL SC 320 : American Politics Through Literature. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 320 : American Politics Through Literature. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   DESCRIPTION:

   American politics through the novel and other literary works. Developing political concepts and themes that come from significant political novels.
   
   
   PL SC 321 : The Media in American Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 321 : The Media in American Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	On demand.
   DESCRIPTION:	News media's role in processes of American politics, including electoral process, legislative process, and public policy-making.
   
   
   PL SC 322 : Early American Political Thought: 1620-1865. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 322 : Early American Political Thought: 1620-1865. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	On demand.
   DESCRIPTION:	Core principles and seminal texts of American politics from Colonial times through the Lincoln administration.
   
   
   PL SC 323 : Modern American Political Thought: 1865-Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 323 : Modern American Political Thought: 1865-Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	On demand.
   DESCRIPTION:	Core principles and seminal texts of American politics from Reconstruction to the present.
   
   

Note 1: Engl 358R and 395R, as well as the humanities courses, must be topics in an American subject.

Note 2: Course substitutions may be made only with written, prior permission of the American Studies coordinator unless they are on the approved list.

Note 3: Students may substitute 3 credit hours of Washington, D.C., seminar credit for one American Studies elective.

*Hours include courses that may fulfill university core requirements.

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