American Studies Minor
The American Studies minor explores the values of the peoples of the United States and the Americas through cultural expressions—their history, art, folklore, politics, social mores, and literatures.
In American Studies, we emphasize an interdisciplinary perspective: drawing on traditions of thought and action from the humanities and social sciences and exploring diverse peoples, theories, methods, materials, texts, and resources.
The minor probes assumptions about “nationalism,” investigates what it means to be “American,” and considers how national identities are expressed.
The interdisciplinary curriculum prepares students to be creative problem-solvers by incorporating many perspectives and using multiple tools for analysis- profoundly useful skills for thinking about the contemporary world.
The variety of courses develops skills in critical thinking, research, writing across the disciplines, and the handling of diverse forms of evidence—skills vital for effective communication and decision-making in many professional contexts, including business, psychology, education, social services, science, law, medicine, research, and communications.
American Studies offers students opportunities to explore a wealth of careers as educators, historians, lawyers, doctors, politicians, business leaders, policy analysts, government and arts administrators, advocates, writers, editors, and information managers, to name but a few.
The minor includes specially designed introductory and upper-level courses taught by faculty committed to the use of wide-ranging and interdisciplinary sources in examining the American experience—the drama and diversity of America’s past and present, as well as its values, habits, character, and forms of artistic expression. The training in cultural sensitivity and awareness informs human relations in many fields and careers.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR IN AMERICAN STUDIES Credits
AST 109 - Introduction to American Studies OR
AST 205 - History of Art and Protest 3
AST 336 - Engaged Ethnography 3
Four electives from categories below (with at least
three credits at 300-level or above) chosen from at least
three of the four categories (see list of courses below) 12
Total credits for minor 18
Special Requirements
A QPA of 2.33 (C+) is required in courses for the minor.
ELECTIVES
American Institutions
• AST 378 – Sports and American Society
• ENG 216 - Folklife Studies
• ENG 335 - Images of Women in Literature and Media
• H-HIS/PHI 309 - Honors History/Philosophy: Baseball and the American Tradition
• H-HIS 315/HIS 315 – The Civil War
• HIS 409 - American Colonial History
• HIS 410 - Twentieth Century United States History
• HIS 419 - The History of Women’s and Gender Studies
• HIS/POL 240- United States Military and Diplomatic Studies
• REL 214 - The Catholic Church in America
• REL 223 - Church and State: A U.S. Perspective
• SOC 215 - Introduction to Sociology: Race, Class, & Gender
• SOC 302 - Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOC 311 - Marriage and the Family
• SOW 301 - History of Social Policy and Services
• SOW 402 - Social Welfare Development, Policy, and Services
Cultures of the Americas
• AST/HIS 250 - Capoeira and the Arts of Resistance and Empowerment
• AST 317 - Modern American Popular Culture
• BLK/HIS 211 - African-American History from 1619 to 1877
• BLK/HIS 212 - African-American History from 1877 to the Present
• ENG 229 - Immigrant Authors: The Literature of Transition
• ENG 290 - Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• ENG 351 - Nineteenth Century American Literature
• ENG 358 - Harlem Renaissance
• ENG 365 - The Beat Movement: Writing and the New Revolution
• HIS 124 - Introduction to Black Studies
• HIS 251 - Latin American History from Colonization to 1800
• HIS 252 - Latin American History from 1800 to the Present
• H-LAN/ SPA 301 - Honors Language/Spanish: Don Quixote & the Art of Imagination (Class is taught in English.)
• PHI 220 – American Political Philosophy
• REL 306 - African-American Religions
• REL 312 - Sects and Cults in American Religion
• SOW/PSY - 250 Multiculturalism in the Helping Profession
• SPA 303 - History of Spanish Civilization (Class is taught in Spanish.)
• SPA 304 - History of Spanish American Civilization (Class is taught in Spanish.)
• SPA 307 - Survey of Spanish American Literature I (Class is taught in Spanish.)
• SPA 308 - Survey of Spanish American Literature II (Class is taught in Spanish.)
American Stories, Beliefs, and Thoughts
• AST 206 - Conflict and Cooperation
• AST 217 - Dreams in Popular Culture
• BLK 396 - Black Folklore and Folklife
• ENG 330 / H-ENG 330 - Theorizing Beauty in Literature and Culture
• ENG 351 - Nineteenth Century American Literature
• ENG 358 - Harlem Renaissance
• FNA 206 - American Music
• FNA 305 - American Art History
• H-PHI 310 - Honors Philosophy: American Philosophy
• POL 213 - Constitution of the United States
• POL 316 - The American Presidency
• POL 317 - American Political Parties
• POL 318 - The Federal Judiciary
• REL 111 - Faith and Justice
• REL 215 - Religion and the Civil Rights Movement
• REL 221 - Religion in America I
• REL 225 - Catholic Social Thought and Practice
• REL 305 - Contemporary Issues in American Catholicism
• REL 318 - Thomas Merton: Man, Mystic. Prophet
• REL 319 - Spirituality of Mother Cabrini
• SOC/REL 330 - Sociology of Religion
• SOW 240 - Child Welfare
Everyday Arts and Labor
• AST 324 - Martial Arts Experience
• BLK 335 - Spike Lee’s America
• ENG 219 - Contemporary African-American Literature
• ENG 254 - African-American Literature
• ENG 336 - African-American Women Writers
• ENG 339 - Toni Morrison
• ENG 350 - Early American Literature
• ENG 352 - Modern American Literature
• ENG 353 - Contemporary American Literature
• FNA 208 - Jazz and Its Heritage
• FNA 209 - Art of Philadelphia
• H-REL 220 - Honors Religious Studies: Religious Folklife
• SOW 210 - Introduction to Social Work
LEARNING OUTCOMES
American Studies minors will:
• display an understanding of the importance of the plurality of cultural expression in the shaping of American cultures
• articulate, orally and in writing, an understanding of the theories of interdisciplinarity and interdisciplinary research
• display a working knowledge of the values and limitations of both primary and secondary sources in conducting historical research and be able to apply critical-thinking skills to discern between “legitimate” and “superfluous” sources
• demonstrate an understanding of how heritage affects the daily lives of Americans
• demonstrate an ability to discern among the major “schools of thought” used by American Studies scholars and to use a variety of schools of thought to analyze and interpret cultural data and information