American Studies Minor

The minor in American Studies provides a framework within which students can focus their elective and related courses on the study of American history, literature, art, politics, ideas, and institutions. Students majoring in economics, English, history, fine arts, political science, sociology, and theology are especially encouraged to consider a minor in American Studies. By examining the United States from a variety of intellectual perspectives, American Studies minors will develop both a more nuanced understanding of the development and dynamics of American culture and a more sophisticated, interdisciplinary approach to academic study.

Director

  • Brian Yates

Advisory Board

  • Katherine Sibley
  • Jeffrey Hyson
  • Martha Easton
  • Emily Hage
  • Chris Kelly
  • Owen Gilman

Goal 1:  Students minoring in American Studies will gain a stronger knowledge in the disciplines that make up this minor and thus articulate key aspects of United States history, politics, economics, culture (including art, religions, and literatures) and society.

Outcome 1.1: Students will be trained to identify, define, or analyze key aspects of U.S. history, politics, economics, culture (including art, religions, and literatures) and society, using a variety of tools, methods, and perspectives, in order to gain knowledge and articulate their understanding in the disciplines that make up this minor.

Goal 2: Students will produce clear and persuasive analyses of relevant research questions generated by the interdisciplinary approaches offered in the minor of American studies.

Outcome 2.1: Students will be able to practice a range of methodological perspectives and practices used to investigate and interpret topics in American Studies, and to present their findings effectively.

Participants must choose a minimum of six courses from those listed below, with at least one from each group (and at least one in each group must be above 100 level):
History Group
HIS 201U.S. History to 18773
HIS 202U.S. History since 18653
HIS 360Colonial America3
HIS 361America in Age of Revolutions3
HIS 362The American Civil War3
HIS 363American Medicine Since 18653
HIS 366Reform and Reaction in the US3
HIS 379Black History Since Civil War3
HIS 381US in the World since WWI3
HIS 382American Foreign Policy3
HIS 383Food in American History3
HIS 385Women in America3
HIS 386American Environmental History3
HIS 387Popular Culture in the US3
HIS 388Reacting to the Past3
HIS 391American Military History3
HIS 392Museums, Monuments, and Media3
HIS 471Seminar in American History3
HIS 483Readings in American Hist3
English
ENG 201Major American Writers3
ENG 208Special Topics in Literature3
ENG 210The Roaring Twenties3
ENG 211Black Popular Culture3
ENG 215Passing Narratives - Black Lit3
ENG 216Re-Reading the Sixties3
ENG 217Music & American Literature3
ENG 321Early American Literature3
ENG 322Amer Romantic & Trancend Lit3
ENG 323American Literature 1865-19153
ENG 324Twentieth Century American Lit3
ENG 325Contemporary American Lit3
ENG 327Southern Literature3
ENG 328African American Literature3
ENG 329Black Women Writers3
ENG 416Rebellious Women Writers3
or HON 310 Womens Writing as Emancipation
ENG 417Post-Soul Black Literature3
ENG 420American Authors3
ENG 421American Novel, 19th 20th Cent3
ENG 423Amer.Poetry, 19th & 20th Cent.3
ENG 424Contemporary American Poetry3
ENG 425American Drama3
ENG 426Nature & Environmental Writing3
ENG 427The Harlem Renaissance3
ENG 428The Beat Rebellion3
ENG 429The Civil Rights Movement3
ENG 482Literature & Culture3
Economics
ECN 480 Econ of Poverty & Income Dist3
ECN 485Food and the U.S. Economy3
ECN 452Econ of Presidential Elections3
General Group
LIN 101Language and Communication3
LIN 250Social Media Discourse3
LIN 260Language and the Law3
LIN 340Communication in Soc Contexts3
MTF 142History of Rock and Pop3
MTF 257American Music3
MTF 291American Film3
PHL 450American Philosophy3
POL 111Intro to American Politics3
POL 150First Year Seminar3
POL 303Political Ideology in America3
POL 303Political Ideology in America3
POL 309Advising and Advocacy3
POL 311Const Law:Rights & Civil Lib3
POL 313Public Policy3
POL 316State and Local Government3
POL 318Pennsylvania Politics3
POL 319Public Opinion & Media3
POL 320Injustice & the Law3
POL 322Campaigns & Elections3
POL 323Women and American Politics3
POL 324Race & Ethnic Politics in U.S.3
POL 325Intersectionality3
POL 326Protesting Inequality3
POL 354Superpower ColdWar Foreign Pol3
POL 356American Foreign Policy3
POL 402Capstone: Contentious Pol inUS3
REL 327Religion & Race in Phila3
SOC 102Social Problems3
SOC 208Sociology of Gender3
SOC 217Mental Health & Society3
SOC 225Intro to American CJ3
SOC 330Urban Sociology3
SOC 349Poverty Ethics & Social Policy3
SOC 378Urban and Public Policy3
THE 353American Catholicism3
THE 355American Religious Thought3
THE 360Rel Vision in Film & Fiction3