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 (3 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
                                Asian Studies 240 Current Japan-U.S. Relations
                                Economics 260W Seminar on Globalization
                                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 161 International Business History
                                History 244 Rise of the Iberian Atlantic Empires, 1492–1700
                                History 245 Decline of the Iberian Atlantic Empires, 1700–1820
                                History 246 Colonial Mexico
                                History 247 Modern Mexico
                                History 248 Central America
                                History 251 Reform and Revolution in Latin America
                                History 253a Latin America and the United States
                                History 257 Caribbean History, 1492-1983
                                History 270 The U.S. and the World
                                History 271 The U.S. as a World Power
                                History 294 Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered).
                                Interdisciplinary Studies 270a Global Citizenship and Service
                                Interdisciplinary Studies 270b Global Community Service
                                Interdisciplinary Studies 270c Seminar in Global Citizenship and Service
                                Jewish Studies 158 World Jewish Communities in the New Millennium
                                Latin American Studies 201 Introduction to Latin American
                                Latin American Studies 231 Music of Protest and Social Change in 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 224 Theories of World Politics
                                Political Science 225 International Political Economy
                                Political Science 228 International Politics of Latin America
                                Political Science 236 The Politics of Global Inequality
                                Religious Studies 251 Islamic Mysticism
                                Sociology 277 Contemporary Latin America
                                Sociology 279 Contemporary Mexican Society
                                Sociology 281 Development for a Small Planet
                                Spanish 227 Film and Culture in Latin America
                                Spanish 278 The U.S. in Latin American Literature

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

Note: 115F in all departments receives credit when an American topic is offered. Special topic and independent study courses must be on an American topic, as approved by the director of American Studies.

AFRICAN AMERICAN AND DIASPORA STUDIES
101 Introduction to African American Studies
110 Race Matters
155 African American Migration, 1800–Present
201 African American Family History
202 Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem in Black Detective Fiction
210 Black Masculinity
215 Black Issues in Education
221 History and Myth: Black Women in the United States
265 Twentieth-Century African American Biography
294a–294b Special Topics (when an American topic is offered)

AMERICAN STUDIES
100, 100W Introduction to American Studies
115F First-Year Writing Seminar
202 Global Perspectives on the U.S.
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
205 Race in the Americas
214 North American Indians
229 North American Archaeology

ART
285 Maymester Contemporary Art Blitz (when U.S. city/art)

CLASSICAL STUDIES
222 Classical Tradition in America

COMMUNICATION STUDIES
210 Rhetoric and Civic Life
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
226 Women, Rhetoric, and Social Change
228 Rhetoric and Public Memory
241 Rhetoric of Mass Media
242 Communication, Culture, and Consciousness
244 Politics and Mass Media
294 Special Topics (when an American topic is offered)
295-296 Seminars in Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered)

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
249a–249b Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered)
251 Wages, Employment, and Labor Markets
252 Antitrust Economics
266 Problems in United States Economic History

ENGLISH
211, 211W Representative American Writers
212 Southern Literature
214a–214b Literature and Intellectual History (when an American topic is offered)
218 Words and Music
232a–232b Twentieth-Century American Novel
256 Modern British and American Poetry: Yeats to Auden
258 Poetry Since World War II
260 Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers
263, 263W 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
271 Caribbean Literature
272, 272W Movements in Literature (when an American topic is offered)
273, 273W Problems in Literature (when an American topic is offered)
274, 274W Major Figures in Literature
275 Latino-American Literature
277, 277W Asian American Literature
279, 279W Ethnic American Literature
280 Workshop in English and History: Abolishing Slavery
281 Interdisciplinary Workshop
283 Jewish American Literature
286a–286b Twentieth-Century Drama
287 Special Topics in Investigative Writing in America
288, 288W 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
149 The Modern Human Sciences
166 American Enterprise
169 Sea Power in History
170 Western Military History to 1815
172 World War II
173 The U.S. and the Cold War
174 The U.S. and the Vietnam War
181 Twentieth-Century African American Religious History
184 Sexuality and Gender in the Western Tradition since 1700
185 Women and Gender in the U.S. to 1865
186 Women and Gender in the U.S. since 1865
187 Pornography and Prostitution in History
243 The English Atlantic World, 1500-1688
250 Gender and Women in Colonial America
253a Latin America and the United States
258 American Indian History before 1850
259 American Indian History since 1850
260 North American Colonial History
261 The Founding Generation
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
284b Health and the African American Experience
287b History of New Orleans
287d Immigration, Race, and Nationality: The American Experience
287e The Federalist Papers
291 Workshop in English and History (when an American topic is offered)
292 Civic Activism, Leadership, and Citizenship in Recent American History
294 Special Topics in History (when an American topic is offered)
295 Undergraduate Seminar in History (when an American topic is offered)

HISTORY OF ART
233 History of Photography
240 American Art to 1865
241 American Art 1865 to 1945
242 Art Since 1945
272a–272b Survey of Film History
295 Advanced Seminar (when an American topic is offered)

HONORS 
184 Honors Seminar (when an American topic is offered)

HUMANITIES 
161 Selected Topics

JEWISH STUDIES 
155 American Jewish Life
194 Selected Themes (when an American topic is offered)
252 Social Movements in Modern Jewish Life
257 Topics in Modern Jewish History (when an American topic is offered)
280 Contemporary Jewish Issues
294 Special Topics (when an American topic is offered)

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

MEDICINE HEALTH AND SOCIETY
201 Fundamental Issues in Medicine, Health, and Society
203 U.S. Public Health Ethics and Policy
225 Death and Dying in America
290 Special Topics (when an American topic is offered)
295 Undergraduate Seminar

MUSIC LITERATURE AND HISTORY
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
154 Music and the Fall of Segregation
253 Women and 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
294 Selected Topics in Music History (when an American topic is offered)

PHILOSOPHY
213 Contemporary Philosophy
222 American Philosophy
228 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy
234 Philosophy of Education

POLITICAL SCIENCE
100 Introduction to American Government and Politics   
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
249 American Public Opinion and American Politics
250 Group Conflict and Cooperation in U.S. Politics
255 Public Policy Problems
260 Introduction to American Law
263 Religion and Politices
265 Constitutional Law: Powers and Structures of Government
266 Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties and Rights
262 The Judicial Process
263 Religion and Politics
281 Topics in Contemporary 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
204, 204W Evangelical Protestantism and the Culture Wars
205 The Black Church in America
217 The History of Religion in the United States
219 Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Social Roles of Religion
242 Slave Thought and Culture in the American South

SOCIOLOGY
104, 104W Men and Women in American Society
204 Self, Society, and Social Change
215 Hip Hop and Rap Music
216 Change and Social Movements in the Sixties
218 Tourism, Culture, and Place
222 Policing in Society
224 Women and the Law
228 Cultural Consumption and Audiences
229 Cultural Production and Institutions
230 The Family
231 Criminology
232 Delinquency and Juvenile Justice
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: The Sociology of Education
255 Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States
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
272 Gender Identities, Interactions, and Relationships
294 Seminar in Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered)

SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE 
243 Latino Immigration Experience
244 Afro-Hispanic Literature
278 The U.S. in Latin American Literature

THEATRE
171 Marshals, Mobsters, Monsters, Magnums, and Musicals: American Movie Genres
204 Development of the American Theatre
205 American Musical Theatre
272 James Bond and Popular Culture

WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES
240 Introduction to Women's Health
243 Sociologies of Men and Masculinity
244 Feminist Approaches to Clinical Practice
246W Women’s Rights, Women’s Wrongs
248 Fannie Flagg: Feminist and Humorist
249 Women and Humor in the Age of Television
250, 250W Contemporary Women’s Movements
259, 259W 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
294a Special Topics: Topics in Gender, Culture, and Representation
295 Selected Topics (when an American topic is offered)