American studies minor
Minor
The American Studies minor offers students the opportunity to explore the rich culture, history, and global context of the United States and the broader American Continent. The minor encourages students to think critically and analyze complex issues from multiple angles as they examine how historical events shape contemporary issues and how contemporary culture impacts our understanding of history. The minor in American Studies examines the intersections of race, class, gender, and ethnicity to provide a holistic view of American life as they learn to evaluate evidence, challenge assumptions, construct well-reasoned arguments, and foster an appreciation for diversity and interconnectedness in a global world.
This course surveys representative periods, authors, or genres in American literature from beginnings in Native American oral literatures through contemporary works. Individual sections organize study of classic and contemporary texts around particular themes, such as Queering American Literatures, American Migrations, Hemispheric American Literature, or Americans on the Edge: 'Frontiers' in the American Imagination. Individual sections also trace twentieth- or twenty-first-century movements to their roots in or resistance to earlier movements or forms.
This course examines the chief political, social, and cultural features of American society as they have developed through the period of Reconstruction. Emphasis is on Colonial America, the War of Independence, the Constitution, and the emergence of the Republic through the Civil War.