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 210 | CONCEPTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES | 4 sh |
Select one course from the following: 4 sh
| COM 100 | COMMUNICATIONS IN A GLOBAL AGE | 4 sh |
| HST 121 | UNRULY ORIGINS: US TO 1865 | 4 sh |
| HST 122 | CONTESTED DEMOCRACY: US FROM 1865 | 4 sh |
| POL 111 | AMERICAN GOVERNMENT | 4 sh |
Select an additional 200-level course related to American culture: 4 sh
| ENG 223 | AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1865 | 4 sh |
| ENG 224 | AMERICAN LITERATURE AFTER 1865 | 4 sh |
| ENG 238 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1945 | 4 sh |
| ENG 239 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1945 | 4 sh |
| ENG 266 | LITERATURE OF TERROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL | 4 sh |
| IDS 212 | WOMEN, MEN AND SOCIETY | 4 sh |
| IDS 214 | THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | 4 sh |
| POL 222 | STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | 4 sh |
| REL 236 | RELIGION AND RACING | 4 sh |
| REL 237 | RELIGION AND ROCK'N'ROLL | 4 sh |
| SOC 220 | SOCIAL 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 300- or 400-level American Studies-related courses: 12 sh
| ANT 310 | CULTURES OF THE SOUTH | 4 sh |
| ANT 314 | NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT | 4 sh |
| ARH 321 | ISSUES IN AMERICAN ART | 4 sh |
| COM 302 | MEDIA HISTORY, MEDIA TODAY | 4 sh |
| COM 306 | DEVELOPMENT AND INFLUENCE OF CINEMA | 4 sh |
| COM 333 | RELIGION AND MEDIA | 4 sh |
| COM 334 | POLITICS AND MEDIA | 4 sh |
| COM 335 | SPORTS AND MEDIA | 4 sh |
| COR 303 | THE CULTURE OF ROCK | 4 sh |
| COR 338 | AMERICAN ADOLESCENCE | 4 sh |
| ECO 302 | MONEY AND BANKING | 4 sh |
| ENG 305 | AMERICAN ENGLISH | 4 sh |
| ENG 330 | APPALACHIAN LITERATURE | 4 sh |
| ENG 332 | LITERATURE OF THE SOUTH | 4 sh |
| ENG 334 | NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE | 4 sh |
| ENG 339 | AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL WRITERS | 4 sh |
| ENG 359 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN NOVELS | 4 sh |
| GEO 360 | GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA | 4 sh |
| HST 352 | CANADA/U.S. RELATIONS SINCE 1865 | 4 sh |
| HST 355 | ORAL HISTORY: NORTH CAROLINA WOMEN | 4 sh |
| HST 356 | EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD, 1787-1840: FORCES THAT SHAPED THE NATION | 4 sh |
| HST 357 | AMERICA'S CIVIL WAR | 4 sh |
| HST 358 | THE U.S., 1877-1940: THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNIZATION | 4 sh |
| HST 359 | THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1940: RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY | 4 sh |
| HST 360 | MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY IN FILM | 4 sh |
| HST 361 | NORTH CAROLINA IN THE NATION | 4 sh |
| HST 362 | THE SOUTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY | 4 sh |
| HST 363 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, 1850-PRESENT | 4 sh |
| HST 364 | HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE U.S. | 4 sh |
| HST 369 | TOPICS IN AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY | 4 sh |
| HST 391 | AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE 20th CENTURY | 4 sh |
| HST 392 | NORTH AMERICAN SLAVERY | 4 sh |
| MUS 318 | HISTORY OF JAZZ | 4 sh |
| MUS 319 | HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC | 4 sh |
| MUS 343 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS | 4 sh |
| PHL 361 | CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY | 4 sh |
| PHL 362 | AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY | 4 sh |
| POL 313 | AMERICAN POLITICS THROUGH FILM | 4 sh |
| POL 324 | CIVIL LIBERTIES | 4 sh |
| POL 325 | THE PRESIDENCY | 4 sh |
| POL 326 | THE CONGRESS | 4 sh |
| POL 342 | U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | 4 sh |
| SOC 311 | SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES | 4 sh |
| SOC 341 | ETHNIC AND RACE RELATIONS | 4 sh |
| SOC 351 | SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURE | 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