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 and 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.
Objective 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.
Objective 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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 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 201 | U.S. History to 1877 | 3 |
| HIS 202 | U.S. History since 1865 | 3 |
| HIS 360 | Colonial America | 3 |
| HIS 361 | America in Age of Revolutions | 3 |
| HIS 362 | The American Civil War | 3 |
| HIS 363 | American Medicine Since 1865 | 3 |
| HIS 366 | Reform and Reaction in the US | 3 |
| HIS 379 | Black History Since Civil War | 3 |
| HIS 381 | US in the World since WWI | 3 |
| HIS 382 | American Foreign Policy | 3 |
| HIS 383 | Food in American History | 3 |
| HIS 385 | Women in America | 3 |
| HIS 386 | American Environmental History | 3 |
| HIS 387 | Popular Culture in the US | 3 |
| HIS 388 | Reacting to the Past | 3 |
| HIS 391 | American Military History | 3 |
| HIS 392 | Museums, Monuments, and Media | 3 |
| HIS 471 | Seminar in American History | 3 |
| HIS 483 | Readings in American Hist | 3 |
| English | ||
| ENG 201 | Major American Writers | 3 |
| ENG 208 | Special Topics in Literature | 3 |
| ENG 210 | The Roaring Twenties | 3 |
| ENG 211 | Black Popular Culture | 3 |
| ENG 215 | Passing Narratives - Black Lit | 3 |
| ENG 216 | Re-Reading the Sixties | 3 |
| ENG 217 | Music & American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 321 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 322 | Amer Romantic & Trancend Lit | 3 |
| ENG 323 | American Literature 1865-1915 | 3 |
| ENG 324 | Twentieth Century American Lit | 3 |
| ENG 325 | Contemporary American Lit | 3 |
| ENG 327 | Southern Literature | 3 |
| ENG 328 | African American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 329 | Black Women Writers | 3 |
| ENG 416 | Rebellious Women Writers | 3 |
| or HON 310 | Womens Writing as Emancipation | |
| ENG 417 | Post-Soul Black Literature | 3 |
| ENG 420 | American Authors | 3 |
| ENG 421 | American Novel, 19th 20th Cent | 3 |
| ENG 423 | Amer.Poetry, 19th & 20th Cent. | 3 |
| ENG 424 | Contemporary American Poetry | 3 |
| ENG 425 | American Drama | 3 |
| ENG 426 | Nature & Environmental Writing | 3 |
| ENG 427 | The Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ENG 428 | The Beat Rebellion | 3 |
| ENG 429 | The Civil Rights Movement | 3 |
| ENG 482 | Literature & Culture | 3 |
| Economics | ||
| ECN 480 | Econ of Poverty & Income Dist | 3 |
| ECN 485 | Economics of Food | 3 |
| ECN 452 | Econ of Presidential Elections | 3 |
| General Group | ||
| LIN 200 | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 |
| LIN 250 | Social Media Discourse | 3 |
| LIN 260 | Language and the Law | 3 |
| LIN 340 | Communication in Soc Contexts | 3 |
| MTF 142 | History of Rock and Pop | 3 |
| MTF 257 | American Music | 3 |
| MTF 291 | American Film | 3 |
| PHL 450 | American Philosophy | 3 |
| POL 111 | Intro to American Politics | 3 |
| POL 150 | First Year Seminar | 3 |
| POL 303 | Political Ideology in America | 3 |
| POL 303 | Political Ideology in America | 3 |
| POL 309 | Advising and Advocacy | 3 |
| POL 311 | Const Law:Rights & Civil Lib | 3 |
| POL 313 | Public Policy | 3 |
| POL 316 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| POL 318 | Pennsylvania Politics | 3 |
| POL 319 | Public Opinion & Media | 3 |
| POL 320 | Injustice & the Law | 3 |
| POL 322 | Campaigns & Elections | 3 |
| POL 323 | Women and American Politics | 3 |
| POL 324 | Race & Ethnic Politics in U.S. | 3 |
| POL 325 | Intersectionality | 3 |
| POL 326 | Protesting Inequality | 3 |
| POL 354 | Superpower ColdWar Foreign Pol | 3 |
| POL 356 | American Foreign Policy | 3 |
| POL 402 | Capstone: Contenious Pol in US | 3 |
| REL 327 | Religion & Race in Phila | 3 |
| SOC 102 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOC 208 | Sociology of Gender | 3 |
| SOC 217 | Mental Health & Society | 3 |
| SOC 225 | Intro to American CJ | 3 |
| SOC 330 | Urban Sociology | 3 |
| SOC 349 | Poverty Ethics & Social Policy | 3 |
| SOC 378 | Urban and Public Policy | 3 |
| THE 353 | American Catholicism | 3 |
| THE 355 | American Religious Thought | 3 |
| THE 360 | Rel Vision in Film & Fiction | 3 |