American Studies Minor
Coordinator: Assistant Professor Pearson
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.
Minor Requirements:
Required course: 4 sh
| AMS 2100 | CONCEPTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES | 4 sh |
Select sixteen hours of American Studies-related courses: 16 sh
| ANT 1123 | Exploring Virtual Space | 4 sh |
| COM 1000 | Communications in a Global Age | 4 sh |
| GBL 1060 | PREPARATORY SEMINAR FOR HAWAII: NATION OR STATE? | 1 sh |
| HST 1210 | UNRULY ORIGINS: US TO 1865 | 4 sh |
| HST 1220 | CONTESTED DEMOCRACY: US FROM 1865 | 4 sh |
| MSP 1500 | Museum Studies & Public History | 4 sh |
| POL 1110 | American Politics | 4 sh |
| REL 1120 | RELIGION AND POWER | 4 sh |
| REL 1280 | RELIGION, RACE, AND RESISTANCE | 4 sh |
| REL 1860 | IRRELIGIOUS AND SECULAR TRADITIONS | 4 sh |
| AMS 2110 | American Gangsters | 4sh |
| AMS 2200 | Playing in the USA | 4 |
| ENG 2230 | American Literature Before 1865 | 4 sh |
| ENG 2240 | American Literature After 1865 | 4 sh |
| ENG 2250 | African-American Literature Before 1945 | 4 sh |
| ENG 2260 | African-American Literature Since 1945 | 4 sh |
| ENG 2350 | Asian-American Literature | 4 sh |
| GBL 2060 | HAWAII: NATION OR STATE? IN SEARCH OF HAWAIIAN IDENTITY | 4 sh |
| IDS 2140 | THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | 4 sh |
| IDS 2220 | THE BLACK MAN IN AMERICA | 4 sh |
| POL 2220 | STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | 4 sh |
| SOC 2210 | RETHINKING RACE: INEQUALITY, COLORBLINDNESS, AND THE "POST-RACIAL" ERA | 2 sh |
| ANT 3235 | Anthropology of the Internet | 4 sh |
| ARH 3000 | Issues in L.A. Art & Architecture | 4 sh |
| ARH 3200 | Issues in Contemporary Art | 4 sh |
| ARH 3210 | Issues in American Art | 4 sh |
| CTA 3060 | Development and Influence of Cinema | 4 sh |
| COM 3330 | Religion and Media | 4 sh |
| COM 3340 | Politics and Media | 4 sh |
| COM 3350 | Sports and Media | 4 sh |
| COR 3000 | Race, Memory, and the "Lost Cause" | 4 sh |
| COR 3580 | American Crime Fiction through a Legal Lens | 4 sh |
| ECO 3120 | Money and Banking | 4 sh |
| ENG 3340 | Native American Literature | 4 sh |
| ENG 3351 | Narratives of Slavery Before and After Emancipation | 4 sh |
| ENG 3590 | African-American Novels | 4 sh |
| GEO 3600 | GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA | 4 sh |
| HST 3520 | CANADA/U.S. RELATIONS SINCE 1865 | 4 sh |
| HST 3570 | AMERICA'S CIVIL WAR | 4 sh |
| HST 3630 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, 1850-PRESENT | 4 sh |
| HST 3640 | HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE U.S. | 4 sh |
| HST 3930 | LGBTQ HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES | 4 sh |
| MUS 3420 | HISTORY OF JAZZ | 4 sh |
| MUS 3403 | HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC | 4 sh |
| MUS 3404 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS | 4 sh |
| PHL 3630 | RAP, RACE, GENDER, AND PHILOSOPHY | 4 sh |
| POL 3010 | American Political Thought | 4 sh |
| POL 3130 | American Politics and Film | 4 sh |
| POL 3160 | Race to the White House | 4 sh |
| POL 3240 | CIVIL LIBERTIES | 4 sh |
| POL 3250 | The Presidency | 4 sh |
| POL 3260 | CONGRESS | 4 sh |
| POL 3280 | Race and Ethnicity in American Politics | 4 sh |
| PUB 3420 | U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | 4 sh |
| REL 3300 | RELIGION AND AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE | 4 sh |
| REL 3360 | RELIGION AND WAR IN AMERICA | 4 sh |
| SOC 3110 | SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES | 4 sh |
| SOC 3410 | Racism and Race in the United States | 4 sh |
| SOC 3440 | PROTEST: LEGACY OF THE 1960'S | 4 sh |
| SOC 3510 | SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURE | 4 sh |
| SOC 3550 | CRIMINOLOGY | 4 sh |
| COR 4600 | Film, Race, and Politics | 4 sh |
| COR 4050 | Prison Nation: Deconstructing the Prison Industrial Complex | 4 sh |
- At least 8 semester hours must be at the 3000-4000 level
- No more than 8 semester hours can have the same prefix, unless it is AMS
- 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: 20