Home Page  
Undergraduate
    Courses
Graduate Courses  
Faculty  

Other Resources:

American Studies
    Crossroads
Center for the Study
of Southern Culture
American Studies Web
American Studies
     Association

Program of Concentration in American and Southern Studies

The interdisciplinary major consists of 36 hours of course work, to be distributed among various disciplines as indicated below. Emphasis is on political, cultural, economic, and related trends or events that contribute to the making of American culture and character in all its diversity. After completing the core requirements, students must concentrate on a theme, such as those named above, chosen in consultation with the director of the program. Students should expect to study the problems, developments, and crises of social history, technology, visual studies, gender, race, ethnicity, media, and political and literary culture. Each student will work with an advisor to design a program that meets his or her intellectual needs and interests.

Students should note that no more than 6 hours at the 100 level can count toward the interdisciplinary major and that often prerequisites exist for the courses that may be used in the major. Independent study, research courses, and selected topics courses should have topics appropriate to the student's course of study. Students seeking a second major may count a maximum of 6 hours of course work to meet requirements in both majors.

Requirements for the interdisciplinary major in American Studies include completion of the following:

  1. American Studies100.
  2. American Studies 295 or American Studies 250.
  3. Core requirements (15 hours) to provide a background and foundation for the interdisciplinary study of American culture and character, to be selected from the fields and courses listed below.

 

AMERICAN STUDIES (3 hours): 210, Perspectives on the American Experience: Art and Literature, 240, Topics in American Studies; 247, American Political Culture; 258, The South in American Culture.

ENGLISH (3 hours): 160, American Literature from the Beginnings to 1900; 212, Southern Literature; 272, Movements in Literature (when an American topic is listed); 273, Problems in Literature (when an American topic is listed).

HISTORY (3 hours): 271a-271b, Early American History to 1783; 272a-272b, The United States, 1783-1850; 273, The United States, 1850-1877; 274a-274b, The United States, 1877-1945; 275, Recent America: The United States Since 1945.

SOCIAL SCIENCE (3 hours): Political Science 204, American Political Thought; Political Science 245, The American Presidency; Sociology 249, American Social Movements; Sociology 250, Gender in American Society (also listed as Women's Studies 250); Sociology 255, Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States.

An additional 3 hours of either American Studies or Social Science selected from the above core courses.

4. Concentrated program (15 hours) on a theme or topic to be developed and studied through an approved selection of courses from at least three departments, to be taken primarily from the following suggested courses.

AMERICAN STUDIES: 210, Perspectives on the American Experience: Art and Literature; 218, Religion and Ethnic Nationalism in the United States; 240, Topics in American Studies; 247, American Political Culture; 267, Desire in America; 268, America on Film; 289a-289b, Independent Readings and Research.

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

ECONOMICS: 226, Economic History of the United States.

ENGLISH: 160, American Literature from the Beginnings to 1900; 212, Southern Literature; 232, The Modern American Novel; 259, Nineteenth-Century American Poetry; 263, African American Literature; 265, Film and Modernism; 266, The Nineteenth-Century American Novel; 267, Desire in America; 268, America on Film; 271, Caribbean Literature; 272, Movements in Literature (when an American topic is listed); 273, Problems in Literature (when an American topic is listed); 286, Twentieth-Century American Drama.

FINE ARTS: 240, American Art and Architecture; 241, Twentieth-Century American Art.

HISTORY: 270, The Frontier in Early America; 271a-271b, Early American History to 1783; 272a-272b, The United States, 1783-1850; 273, The United States, 1850-1877; 274a-274b, The United States, 1877-1945; 275, Recent America: The United States Since 1945; 276, The Old South; 277, The New South; 278, History of Appalachia; 279a-279b, History of Black Americans; 280a-280b, History of American Foreign Policy; 282a-282b, Economic History of the United States; 284a-284b, American Social History; 285a-285b, History of American Thought; 286-287, Women's Experience in America: Colonial Times to the Present (also listed as Women's Studies 286-287).

MUSIC: MUSL 147, American Music; MUSL 294, Blackface Minstrelsy.

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

POLITICAL SCIENCE: 204, American Political Thought; 245, The American Presidency; 261, Constitutional Interpretation.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES: 204, The Evangelical Movement in America; 217, The History of Religion in the United States; 218, Religion and Ethnic Nationalism in the United States; 219, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Social Roles of Religion; 233a-b, The History of African American Religion.

SOCIOLOGY: 231, Criminology; 249, American Social Movements; 250, Gender in American Society (also listed as Women's Studies 250); 251, Women and Public Policy in America (also listed as Women's Studies 251); 255, Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States; 258, The South in American Culture; 261, Work and Family in American Life.

American Studies 115, 115W. Freshman Seminar [3].

American Studies 201. Introduction to American Studies. An interdisciplinary approach to American culture, character, and life. FALL, SPRING. [3] Griffin (Sociology), Tichi (English).

American Studies 204. Self, Society, and Social Change. (Also listed as Sociology 204) Problems and prospects for individual participation in social change; volunteering, community service, and philanthropy; role of individuals and voluntary associations in social change. SPRING. [3] Cornfield (Sociology).

American Studies 205. Development of the American Theatre. (Also listed as Theatre 204) A study of theatrical activity in the United States from the colonial period to the present. The course will include the reading of selected plays. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. SPRING. [3] J. Hallquist (Theatre). (Offered alternate years; offered 1997/98)

American Studies 210. Perspectives on the American Experience: Art and Literature. An interdisciplinary study of American cultural expression from the early national period to 1900, focusing on the interplay between art and literature. [3] Fryd (Fine Arts), Kreyling (English). (Not currently offered)

American Studies 218. Religion and Ethnic Nationalism in the United States. (Also listed as Religious Studies 218) Mythic and ritual character of ethnic nationalism, emphasizing the African American and American Jewish communities. Religious vs. racial identity, the Hometenance of group boundaries vs. assimilation, and this world vs. the Promised Land. [3] (Not currently offered)

American Studies 220. Rhetoric of Mass Media. (Also listed as Communication Studies 220) A study of the nature, effects, and reasons for the effects, ethics, regulation, and criticism of contemporary mass media communication. Political causes, news reporting, commercial advertising, and similar sources of rhetoric are included. FALL. [3] Sloop (Communication Studies).

American Studies 224. Rhetoric of Social Movements. (Also listed as Communication Studies 224) The role of communication in the creation, development, and function of social movements. The analysis of specific rhetorical acts. The study of the arguments, patterns of persuasion, and communication strategies of selected social movements. FALL. [3] Sloop (Communication Studies).

American Studies 240. Topics in American Studies. Topics of special interest on American culture or society, as announced in the Schedule of Courses. May be taken three times for credit when topics vary. FALL. [3] Kreyling (English).

American Studies 247. American Political Culture. (Also listed as Political Science 247) Content, historical development, and political consequences of the American public's deeply rooted values concerning how the political system ought to work and the ends it ought to serve. Attention to regional variation. SPRING. [3] Pride (Political Science).

American Studies 250. Senior Tutorial. Supervised readings, joint discussions, and independent research on a topic related to the American experience, to be selected in consultation with the director of American Studies. Open only to juniors and seniors. SPRING. [3] Staff.

American Studies 258. The South in American Culture. (Also listed as Sociology 258) The changing relationship between the South and the rest of the country and its effects on understandings and definitions of the South and changes in southern social structures and patterns, race relations, and economic and political institutions. [3] Griffin. (Not currently offered)

American Studies 267. Desire in America: Literature, Cinema, and History. (Also listed as English 267) The influence of desire and repression in shaping American culture and character from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. FALL. [3] Girgus (English).

American Studies 268. America on Film. (Also listed as English 268) American culture and character through film, film theory, and literature. SPRING. [3] Girgus (English).

American Studies 270. The Frontier in Early America: War and Cultural Interaction. (Also listed as History 270) Frontiers in North America, 1500-1763. War, trade, and cultural exchange among the native, British, French, and Spanish residents of North America. The meaning of cultural frontiers and cycles of peace and war in borderlands. [3] (Not currently offered)

American Studies 278. History of Appalachia. (Also listed as History 278) The region from first European intrusions to the present. Frontier era white-indigenous contact, antebellum society and economy, relations with the slave South, the Civil War and postwar politics, increasing social strainings, industrialization and labor conflict, poverty, and outmigration. Examination of mountain culture, tourism, and the construction of the "hillbilly" image. SPRING. [3] Carlton (History).

American Studies 289a-289b. Independent Readings and Research. Independent readings and/or research on approved topics relating to American society and culture. [Variable credit: 1-3 each semester, not to exceed a total of 6 in 289a-289b combined] Staff.

American Studies 295. Undergraduate Seminar in American Studies. Advanced reading, research, and writing in a particular area of American Studies. May be taken no more than two times, and not twice from the same professor. Limited to juniors and seniors with preference given to American Studies majors. FALL, SPRING. [3] Kirschke (Fine Arts).

American Studies 310. Topics in American Culture and Character. Topics as announced in the Schedule of Courses. May be repeated twice for credit when topics vary. FALL. [3] Walker (English).

American Studies 311. Introduction to Southern Studies. [3] (Offered 1998/99)

American Studies 312. Research Seminar in Southern Studies. [3] (Not currently offered)


These pages were designed by Chris Flack and are maintained by Lydia Hickman.
© 1997-1998, Vanderbilt University.


Return to the American Studies Home Page

Last updated on 26 June 1998