Minor in American Studies


The interdisciplinary minor in American Studies consists of 18 hours of course work, distributed as follows:

1.  Core Requirements                        3 hours
2.  International Requirement          0-3 hours
2.  Distribution Requirements             9 hours
3.   Electives                                    3-6 hours

Note:  No course may be counted twice in calculating the 18 hours. No more than 6 hours at the 100 level can count toward the interdisciplinary minor (with the exception of History courses above 160, which count as 200-level courses).  Students seeking a minor may count a maximum of 3 hours of course work  toward meeting requirements in both their major and minor.

 1.  Core Requirements (6 hours)

Core Course:
            American Studies 294, The American Studies Workshop (3 hours)

2.  International Requirement:  (0-3 hours)

ONE of the following:
            A) a semester abroad in a Vanderbilt-approved study abroad program  
            B) American Studies 202, “Global Perspectives on the U.S.” (3 hours)        
            C) ONE of the following: 
                                Anthropology 231 – Colonial Encounters in the Americas
                                East Asian Studies 240 – Current Japan-U.S. Relations
                                English 271 – Caribbean Literature
                                English 288 – Panama: Culture, Identity, History from the Inside Out
                                History 137 – Colonial Latin America
                                History 138 – Modern Latin America
                                History 244 – Rise of the Iberian Atlantic Empires, 1492–1700
                                History 245 – Decline of the Iberian Atlantic Empires, 1700–1820
                                History 247 – Modern Mexico
                                History 248 – Central America
                                History 251 – Reform and Revolution in Latin America
                                History 257 – Caribbean History, 1492–1983
                                History of Art 245 – Art of Pre-Columbian America
                                Latin American Studies 201 – Introduction to Latin America
                                Latin American Studies 235 – Gender, Ethnicity, and Language in the Americas
                                Latin American Studies 294a – Special Topics in Latin American Studies
                                Political Science 217 – Latin American Politics
                                Political Science 219 – Politics of Mexico
                                Political Science 228 – International Politics of Latin America
                                Religious Studies 251 – Islamic Mysticism
                                Sociology 277 – Contemporary Latin America
                                Sociology 279 – Contemporary Mexican Society 

3.  Distribution Requirements  (9 hours)
3 hours in each of the following three areas.

A.  Humanities:  Classical Studies, Communication Studies, English, History of Art, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, Theatre

B.  Social Sciences:  Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology. (Note: History courses above 160 count as 200-level courses.)

C.  Interdisciplinary Programs:  African-American and Diaspora Studies, American Studies, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Film Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Medicine, Health and Society, Women’s and Gender Studies.

See below for a list of approved courses in each of these areas. 

4.   Electives    (3-6 hours)
One to two courses taken from the approved list of courses.  Students should choose this course in consultation with their advisor to form a study of concentration. 

Approved List of Courses
AFRICAN AMERICAN AND DIASPORA STUDIES: 101, Introduction to African American Studies; 110, Race Matters; 201, African American Family History;  202, Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem in the Black Detective Fiction; 215, Black issues in Education; 221, History and Myth:  Black Women in the United States.

AMERICAN STUDIES: 100/100W, Introduction to American Studies; 115F, First Year Seminar; 202, Global Perspectives on the US; 240, Topics in American Studies; 280a–280b, Internship, Research, Reading, and Training; 289a–289b, Independent Readings and Research; 294,  American Studies Workshop; 295, Undergraduate Seminar in American Studies; 297, Senior Project; 298, Senior Honors Research; 299, Senior Honors Thesis.

ANTHROPOLOGY: 214, North American Indians; 229, North American Archaeology.

CLASSICAL STUDIES: 222, Classical Tradition in America.

COMMUNICATION STUDIES: 220, Rhetoric of the American Experience, 1640–1865; 221, Rhetoric of the American Experience, 1865 to the Present; 223, Values in Modern Communication; 224, Rhetoric of Social Movements; 228, Rhetoric and Public Memory; 241, Rhetoric of Mass Media; 242, Communication, Culture, and Consciousness.

EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES:  110, Geology of National Parks

ECONOMICS: 212, Labor Economics; 226, Economic History of the United States; 245, History of American Enterprise; 251, Wages, Employment, and Labor Markets; 266, Problems in United States Economic History; 267, Economics of Poverty and Discrimination; 286, Economics of Human Resources.

ENGLISH: 211, Representative American Writers; 212, Southern Literature; 232a–232b, Twentieth-Century American Novel; 260, Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers; 263, African American Literature; 265, Film and Modernism; 266, Nineteenth-Century American Literature; 267, Desire in America; 268a, America on Film: Art and Ideology; 268b, America on Film: Performance and Culture; 269, Special Topics in Film; 270, Reading Film; 272, Movements in Literature (when an American topic is offered); 273, Problems in Literature (when an American topic is offered); 275, Latino-American Literature; 277, Asian American Literature; 279, Ethnic American Literature; 286a–286b, Twentieth-Century Drama; 287, Special Topics in Investigative Writing in America; 288, Special Topics in English and American Literature (when an American topic is offered)

FILM STUDIES:  125, Introduction to Film Studies; 288, Special Topics in Film (when an American topic is offered); 290, Senior Seminar (when an American topic is offered)

HISTORY: 139, America to 1776: Discovery to Revolution; 140, U.S. 1776–1877: Revolution to Civil War and Reconstruction; 141, U.S. 1877–1945: Reconstruction through World War II; 142, U.S. Post-1945: Cold War to the Present; 143, African American History to 1877; 144, African American History since 1877; 166, American Enterprise; 173, The U.S. and the Cold War; 174, The U.S. and the Vietnam War; 181, Twentieth Century African American Religious History; 185, Women and Gender in the U.S. to 1865; 186, Women and Gender in the U.S. since 1865; 243, The English Atlantic World, 1500–1688; 250, Gender and Women in Colonial America; 258, American Indian History before 1850; 259, American Indian History since 1850; 260, North American Colonial History; 262, The Old South; 263, The New South; 264, Appalachia; 265, The U.S. in the Era of the Civil War; 269, The Civil Rights Movement; 270, The U.S. and the World; 271, The U.S. as a World Power; 280, Modern Medicine; 281, Women, Health and Sexuality; 294, Selected Topics in History (when an American topic is offered); 295, Undergraduate Seminar in History (when an American topic is offered).

HISTORY OF ART: 240, American Art to 1865; 241, American Art 1865 to 1945; 242, Art Since 1945; 245, Art of Pre-Columbian America; 255, Native North American Art.

JEWISH STUDIES:  155, American Jewish Life; 194, Selected Themes (when an American topic is offered)

LATIN AMERICAN AND IBERIAN STUDIES:  260, Latin America, Latinos, and the United States

MEDICINE, HEALTH, AND SOCIETY:  201, Fundamental Issues in Medicine, Health and Society; 290, Special Topics (when an American Topic is offered)

MUSIC: 103, Musical Theatre in America: A Cultural History; 147, American Music; 148, Survey of Jazz; 149, American Popular Music; 151, The Blues; 152, Country Music; 153, History of Rock Music; 255, Charles Ives; 261, Music, Identity, and Diversity; 262, Music of the South; 263, American Music and Society: The 1960s; 264, Exploring the Film Soundtrack.

PHILOSOPHY: 222, American Philosophy; 234, Philosophy of Education.

POLITICAL SCIENCE: 150, U.S. Elections; 204, American Political Thought; 222, American Foreign Policy; 240, Political Parties; 241, American Public Opinion and Voting Behavior; 242, Political Communication; 243, Political Campaigns and the Electoral Process; 244, The Legislative Process; 245, The American Presidency; 247, American Political Culture; 253, Ethics and Public Policy; 255, Public Policy Problems; 260, Introduction to American Law; 261a, Constitutional Law:  Powers and Structures of Government; 261b, Constitutional Law:  Civil Liberties and Rights; 262, The Judicial Process; 263, Religion and Politics; 283, Seminars in Selected Topics of American Government; 287–288, Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered).

RELIGIOUS STUDIES: 107, Introduction to African American Religious Traditions; 110W, Introduction to Southern Religion and Culture; 114, Introduction to African American Philosophies of Religion; 145, Interfaith Dialogue and African American Culture; 204, Protestant Conservatism and the Culture Wars; 205, The Black Church in America; 217, The History of Religion in the United States; 219, Martin Luther King and the Social Roles of Religion

SOCIOLOGY: 104, Men and Women in American Society; 204, Self, Society, and Social Change; 222, Policing in Society; 224, Women and the Law; 230, The Family; 231, Criminology; 232, Delinquency and Juvenile Justice; 233, Deviant Behavior and Social Control; 234, Prison Life; 235, Contemporary American Society; 237, Society and Medicine; 240, Law and Society; 241, Art in Society; 242, The Urban Community; 244, Politics, State, and Society; 245, Music in Society; 246, Sociology of Religion; 248, Popular Culture Dynamics; 249, American Social Movements; 250, Gender in American Society; 251, Women and Public Policy in America; 254, Schools and Society; 255, Racial and Ethnic Minorities; 257, Gender, Sexuality, and the Body; 258, The South in American Culture; 264, Social Dynamics of Mental Health; 267, Seminar on Gender and Violence; 269, Ethnic American University Journeys; 294, Seminar in Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered).

SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE:  243, Latino Immigration Experience; 244, Afro-Hispanic Literature

THEATRE: 204, Development of the American Theatre; 205, American Musical Theatre; 271, American Film Forms

WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES:  212 , Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies;  240, Women's Health;  243, Sociologies of Men and Masculinity; 244, Feminist Approaches to Clinical Practice; 259, Reading and Writing lives; 265, Cultural Politics of Reproduction; 268, Gender, Race, Justice, and the Environment; 269, Feminist Science and Technology Studies; 271, Feminist Legal Theory; 295, Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered).