American Studies Minor

Coordinator: Associate Professor Pardini

American Studies is the interdisciplinary study of American culture. The minor provides an opportunity for students to meld interests in the culture and history of the United States in a way that they cannot in single, traditional disciplines. Students will combine knowledge and methods from anthropology, art history, communications, history, law, literature, political science, sociology and other disciplines to interrogate multiple perspectives, recognizing how various individuals, peoples and groups help create American society as well as challenge its institutions, both within and outside the United States.

“America” is here understood to comprise not only the geographically and historically delineated space of the United States, but also the symbolic construction of “America” and “American.” As a result, students will understand “America” through a variety of methodological lenses, ranging from “myth and symbol,” the earliest methodology of American Studies that interrogated recurring themes in texts that reflected American culture, to contemporary combinations of multidisciplinary approaches. American Studies also provides a place for investigating American culture in the rest of the world and throughout history, ranging from its significance during the age of exploration to its current influence in the global experience.

The American Studies minor complements many majors and provides an opportunity for students to explore their intellectual interests beyond single disciplines. Students will find that the program provides an experience that supplements training for graduate and professional programs as well as various professions.

The minor requires a minimum of 24 semester hours.

Minor Requirements:

Required course: 4 sh

AMS 2100CONCEPTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES

4 sh

Select one course from the following: 4 sh

COM 1000COMMUNICATIONS IN A GLOBAL AGE

4 sh

HST 1210UNRULY ORIGINS: US TO 1865

4 sh

HST 1220CONTESTED DEMOCRACY: US FROM 1865

4 sh

POL 1110AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

4 sh

Select an additional 2000-level course related to American culture: 4 sh

ENG 2230AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1865

4 sh

ENG 2240AMERICAN LITERATURE AFTER 1865

4 sh

ENG 2250AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1945

4 sh

ENG 2260AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1945

4 sh

IDS 2120WOMEN, MEN AND SOCIETY

4 sh

IDS 214THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

4 sh

POL 2220STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

4 sh

REL 1210RELIGION AND ROCK & ROLL

4 sh

SOC 2200SOCIAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

4 sh

Students wishing to include a course not on this list or which does not clearly indicate American content in its title may submit the syllabus of a proposed course to the coordinator for approval.

Select three 3000- or 4000-level American Studies-related courses: 12 sh

ANT 3100CULTURES OF THE SOUTH

4 sh

ANT 3140NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT

4 sh

ARH 3210ISSUES IN AMERICAN ART

4 sh

CTA 3060DEVELOPMENT AND INFLUENCE OF CINEMA

4 sh

COM 3020MEDIA HISTORY, MEDIA TODAY

4 sh

COM 3330RELIGION AND MEDIA

4 sh

COM 3340POLITICS AND MEDIA

4 sh

COM 3350SPORTS AND MEDIA

4 sh

COR 3030THE CULTURE OF ROCK

4 sh

COR 3380AMERICAN ADOLESCENCE

4 sh

ECO 3120MONEY AND BANKING

4 sh

ENG 3050AMERICAN ENGLISH

4 sh

ENG 3310APPALACHIAN LITERATURE

4 sh

ENG 3320LITERATURE OF THE SOUTH

4 sh

ENG 3330AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL WRITERS

4 sh

ENG 3340NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

4 sh

ENG 3590AFRICAN-AMERICAN NOVELS

4 sh

GEO 3600GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA

4 sh

HST 3520CANADA/U.S. RELATIONS SINCE 1865

4 sh

HST 3550ORAL HISTORY: NORTH CAROLINA WOMEN

4 sh

HST 3560EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD, 1787-1840: FORCES THAT SHAPED THE NATION

4 sh

HST 3570AMERICA'S CIVIL WAR

4 sh

HST 3580THE U.S., 1877-1940: THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNIZATION

4 sh

HST 3590THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1940: RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 3600MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY IN FILM

4 sh

HST 3610NORTH CAROLINA IN THE NATION

4 sh

HST 3620THE SOUTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 3630AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, 1850-PRESENT

4 sh

HST 3640HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE U.S.

4 sh

HST 3690TOPICS IN AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 3910AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE 20th CENTURY

4 sh

HST 3920NORTH AMERICAN SLAVERY

4 sh

HST 3930LGBTQ HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES

4 sh

MUS 3420HISTORY OF JAZZ

4 sh

MUS 3403HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC

4 sh

MUS 3404AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS

4 sh

PHL 3610CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY

4 sh

PHL 3620AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY

4 sh

POL 3130AMERICAN POLITICS THROUGH FILM

4 sh

POL 3240CIVIL LIBERTIES

4 sh

POL 3250THE PRESIDENCY

4 sh

POL 3260CONGRESS

4 sh

PST 3420U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

4 sh

SOC 3110SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES

4 sh

SOC 3410ETHNIC AND RACE RELATIONS

4 sh

SOC 3440PROTEST: LEGACY OF THE 1960'S

4 sh

SOC 3510SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURE

4 sh

SOC 3550CRIMINOLOGY

4 sh

Students wishing to include a course not on this list or which does not clearly indicate American content in its title may submit the syllabus of a proposed course to the coordinator for approval.

Total Credit Hours: 24

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