Learning Goals in the American Studies Major

American Studies is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of society and culture in the United States. Coursework examines three themes in depth: comparative race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and the role of the United States in the world. Its themes and skills are introduced in its gateway class, AMS 201 and refined in its required senior seminar, AMS 465: Globalization and American Culture since 1945. Coursework, advising, and associated faculty come from Anthropology, Art History, Dance, Economics, English, Film Studies Hispanic Studies, History, Government, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Theater. The American Studies program is also affiliated with the Center for the Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity and the LBGTQ center. Majors often also gain certificates from PICA, CISLA, or the Museum Studies program.

By the time they graduate, students should be able to:

• Understand the meaning of interdisciplinarity--how various disciplines for example construct the category of evidence.
• Use interdisciplinary methodology to analyze American culture in writing, research, and discussion.
• Define major tropes or themes in American life from colonial to the present and identify ways they have changed over time and space.
• Engage in a critical analysis of the United States' changing role in the world.
• Develop an awareness of issues of race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality and other forms of identity that contribute to and shape the American experience.