Chair, Associate Professor: MARK T. REINHARDT
Faculty 2000-2001: Professor: K. LEE. Associate Professors: KUNZEL*, REINHARDT, WONG. Assistant Professors: BACON, BEAN, CARTER-SANBORN, L. JOHNSON, KENT*, M. LEWIS*, VERTER. Visiting Assistant Professor: SANBORN. Lecturer: CLEGHORN. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow: SEE.
GENERAL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The American Studies Program uses interdisciplinary approaches to develop students' understanding of the complexity of the culture(s) usually labeled "American." Examining history, literature, and other forms of expression, we explore the processes of cultural definition as contested by diverse individuals and groups. We ask new questions about aspects of American life long taken for granted; we also use American culture as a laboratory for testing classic and contemporary theories about how cultures work.
NON-MAJORS, FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS, AND SOPHOMORES
American Studies 201 is open to non-majors including first-year students with Advanced Placement credit in American History. All elective courses are open to students who meet the requirements of the departments that sponsor those courses. American Studies 302 and 403 are open to non-majors with permission of the instructor.
RATIONALE FOR COURSE NUMBERING
The introductory course is offered at the 200 level to suggest the desirability of some preliminary training in college-level history, literature, sociology, or political science. The intermediate course, 302, is offered primarily for juniors, although it is open to sophomores who have had 201 and will be away from campus during the spring of their junior year. 300-level independent study courses are offered to upperclass students. 403 is designed for senior majors; it, like 302, is open to students who can demonstrate adequate preparation to the instructor.
THE MAJOR
Required major courses:
American Studies 201
American Studies 302
American Studies 403
Elective courses:
Eight courses: five should be chosen from one of the specialization fields listed below, the other three chosen from among any of the electives listed. Students are expected to take courses from at least two disciplines when choosing the courses that make up their specializations. Students are also required to take at least one course from a list of pre-1900 courses. Advanced Placement credit in appropriate areas, or departmental courses not listed here, may be substituted for electives in the major, with permission of the program chair.
THE DEGREE WITH HONORS IN AMERICAN STUDIES
Candidates for honors in American Studies will undertake a substantial, year-long independent project during their Senior year. All students who wish to write an honors thesis should consult with a prospective faculty advisor in the spring of their junior year. Applicants should have a solid record of work of high caliber, normally defined as maintaining at least a B+ average in courses taken for the major. Students writing honors theses will register for AMST 491, W030, and AMST 492. The awarding of honors will be determined by the American Studies Program Committee, based on the recommendation of the student's advisor and two other faculty readers.
ADVISING
All majors will be assigned a faculty advisor. Majors must meet with their advisor during the first week of classes during the fall semester and at the time of the spring semester registration period in order to have their courses and plans for the American Studies major approved. Both majors and non-majors are encouraged to talk at any time with the program chair or other affiliated faculty about the major.
AMERICAN STUDIES AND OTHER PROGRAMS
Students majoring in American Studies are encouraged to consider pursuing concentrations in African-American, Environmental, and Women's and Gender Studies. Many of the courses counted for those concentrations may also earn credit toward the American Studies major.
STUDY AWAY FROM WILLIAMS
We encourage students to pursue cross-cultural comparative studies. A major in American Studies can be combined with study away from Williams for a semester or a year if plans are made carefully. Many courses that will be approved for College credit may also count toward the American Studies major if their subject matter is American culture.
Students planning to be away in the junior year should have taken American Studies 201 before they leave; those away for junior-year spring term should take American Studies 302 in their sophomore year. Students should consult as early as possible with the chair or their advisor about their plans for fulfilling the requirements of the major.
SPECIALIZATION FIELDS
To provide focus for work in the major, each student will choose one of the Specialization Fields listed below and record this choice when registering for the major. (This commitment can be revised, in consultation with the chair.) At least five electives will be taken from among those designated to support a specialization field. In extraordinary cases, students who wish to do so may be permitted to design their own specialization field. Fulfillment of concentrations in African-American Studies, Environmental Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies may be used as the basis for individually designed specialization fields. All such arrangements must be approved by the American Studies Committee.
CULTURAL PRACTICES
Elective courses:
Cultural practices are the complex means by which peoples of the Americas express themselves, adopting, altering, and inventing artifacts, and social forms and practices.
ANSO 311 Modern and Postmodern Culture
ANSO 387 Propaganda
ANSO 341 Culture and Violence
Anthropology 207 North-American Indians
ArtH/Environmental Studies 201 American Landscape History
ArtH/Environmental Studies 252 Campuses
ArtH/American Studies 259 History of American Photography
ArtH 264 American Art and Architecture, 1600 to Present
ArtH 304/Environmental Studies 324 American Transport History (Deleted 2000-2001)
ArtH/Environmental Studies 305 North-American Suburbs
ArtH 306/Environmental Studies 326 North-American Dwellings
ArtH 307/Environmental Studies 327 The North-American Park Idea
ArtH 352 Topics in American Art: The Crisis of Victorian Painting
ArtH 403 The American House
English 111 Thinking and Writing About Television (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 117 American Cinema in the 70s: The Other American Renaissance (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 123 Contemporary American Short Fiction
English/American Studies 127 The Harlem Renaissance (Deleted 2000-2001)
English/American Studies 133 The Frontier in American Literature and Film
English/American Studies 209 American Literature: Origins to 1865
English/American Studies 210 American Literature: 1865-Present
English/American Studies 218 Introduction to U.S. Latina and Latino Writing
English/Women's and Gender Studies 219 Introduction to Literature by Women
English/American Studies 220 Introduction to African-American Writing
English/AMS 231T Literature of the Sea
English/American Studies 338 Literature of the American Renaissance
English 341 American Genders, American Sexualities
English 342 Postcolonial Literature
English 347 Henry James
English 349 American Modernism of the 1920s
English 352 American Realism (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 354 Contemporary American Poetry
English/Literary Studies 355/American Studies 403 Theorizing Whiteness (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 357 Contemporary American Fiction
English 364 Classical Hollywood Comedy
English 371 Feminist Theory and the Representation of Women in Film
English 376/ArtS 384 Documentary Technologies
English 377 Suicides and Survivors
English 385 Indian Fictions (Deleted 2000-2001)
English/ArtS 387 American Gothic Video (Deleted 2000-2001)
French 215 The Fashioning of Fashion: Theory and Practice
History 148 (formerly 102) The Mexican Revolution: 1910 to NAFTA
History 157 (formerly 115) The Great Depression: Culture, Society, and Politics in the 1930s
History 175 (formerly 114) Families and Social Change: An Introduction to the Study of Private Life
History 301B Autobiography as History: An American Character?
History 353 (formerly 319 Politics and Culture in Colonial British America
History 358 (formerly 242) The "Good War": World War II and American Culture and Society
History 368 (formerly 246)/American Studies 246 Cultural Encounters in the American West
History 376 (formerly 320) /American Studies 320 Adolescence in America
History 378 (formerly 344) /Women's and Gender Studies 344 The History of Sexuality in America
History 379 (formerly 324) /Women's and Gender Studies 324 Women in the United States Since 1870
History 382 (formerly 318) The Black Radical Tradition in America
History 385T Inventing Gender: America 1600-1850 (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 386 (formerly 317) Intellectual Traditions of Chicano Nationalism
History 389 (formerly 327) Major Themes in the History of Native Americans
History 453 (formerly 361) Salem Witchcraft
History 466 (formerly 364)/American Studies 364 Imagining Urban America, Three Case Studies: Boston, Chicago, and L.A.
History 471 (formerly 369) Methods in Latino Studies: Community, Family, and Identity Formation
History of Science 240 Technology and Science in American Culture
Literary Studies 111 Introduction to Cultural Studies: Traveling Fictions-Encountering the Other Through Tourism, Time Travel, Exile
Literary Studies 215/Spanish 205 The Latin-American Novel in Translation
Music 111 Popular Music: Revolutions in the History of Rock
Music 114 American Music
Music 122 African-American Music
Music 130 History of Jazz
Music 140 Introduction to the Music of Duke Ellington
Music 141 Introduction to the Music of John Coltrane
Music 212 Jazz Theory and Improvisation I
Political Science 212 Mass Media in American Politics
Political Science 239 Political Thinking About Race: Resurrecting the Political in Contemporary Texts on the Black Experience
Political Science/American Studies 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics
Religion 283 Introduction to the Semiotics of Culture (Deleted 2000-2001)
Sociology 215 Crime in the Streets
Sociology 368 Technology and Modern Society
Theatre 210 Multicultural Performance
Theatre/American Studies 211 Topics in African-American Performance: Theatre, Film, and Dance of the Harlem Renaissance
Theatre 213T Paul Robeson: Visible Man
POWER, POLITICS, AND BELIEF
Any political or social movement is ultimately based on a set of beliefs about what the world is, or ought to be. This specialization examines American society in terms of its underlying belief system and ideologies, how these are translated into political, institutional, and cultural life, and how they shape the nature and distribution of power in society.
ANSO 387 Propaganda
Economics 208 Modern Corporate Industry
Economics 209 Labor Economics
Economics 220 American Economic History
Economics 237 The Economics of Inequality and Poverty
Economics 355 Feminist Economics
Economics 386 The Economics of Inequality
English/American Studies 218 Introduction to U.S. Latina and Latino Writing
English/American Studies 220 Introduction to African-American Writing
English 341 American Genders, American Sexualities
English 342 Postcolonial Literature
English/American Studies/Women's and Gender Studies 346 Women of Color in the U.S.: Public and Private Culture
English/Literary Studies 355/American Studies 403 Theorizing Whiteness (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 148 (formerly 102) The Mexican Revolution: 1910 to NAFTA
History 157 (formerly 115) The Great Depression: Culture, Society, and Politics in the 1930s
History 164 (formerly 104) Slavery in the American South
History 243 (formerly 288) Modern Latin America, 1822 to the Present
History 252 (formerly 243) America from San Gabriel to Gettysburg, 1492-1865
History 253 (formerly 244) The United States From Appomattox to AOL, 1865 to Present
History 281 (formerly 261) African-American History Through Emancipation
History 282 (formerly 262) African-American History From Reconstruction to the Present
History 326 Rise and Fall of the Mexican Revolution (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 343 (formerly 328) Gender and History in Latin America
History 344 (formerly 305) Latin-American Revolutions and the United States
History 346 (formerly 314) History of Modern Brazil, 1822 to the Present
History 353 (formerly 319) Politics and Culture in Colonial British America
History 354 (formerly 321) Gender and Community in Early America
History 354T The Anglo-American World in the Eighteenth Century: War, Society, and Politics, 1700-1775 (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 358 (formerly 242) The "Good War": World War II and American Culture and Society
History 364 (formerly 311) History of the Old South
History 365 (formerly 312) History of the New South
History 368 (formerly 246)/American Studies 246 Cultural Encounters in the American West
History 370 (formerly 308) Studies in American Social Change
History 372 (formerly 313) The Rise of American Business
History 379 (formerly 324)/Women's and Gender Studies 324 Women in the United States Since 1870
History 380 (formerly 227) Comparative American Immigration History
History 382 (formerly 318) The Black Radical Tradition in America
History 386 (formerly 317) Intellectual Traditions of Chicano Nationalism
History 389 (formerly 327) Major Themes in the History of Native Americans
History 453 (formerly 361) Salem Witchcraft
History 454 (formerly 386) The American Revolution
History 456 (formerly 360) Civil War and Reconstruction
History 488T (formerly 368T)/American Studies 368T The Politics and Rhetoric of Exclusion: Immigration and Its Discontents
History of Science 240 Technology and Science in American Culture
Political Science/American Studies 100S Politics and Freedom
Political Science 101 (section 02) Moral and Political Reasoning
Political Science 201 (formerly 110) Power, Politics, and Democracy in America
Political Science 207 Political Elections
Political Science 208 The Politics of Family Policy
Political Science 209 Poverty in America
Political Science 211 Public Opinion and Political Behavior
Political Science 212 Mass Media in American Politics
Political Science 214 (formerly 313) Congressional Politics Today
Political Science 216 Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights
Political Science 218 Presidential Politics
Political Science 219 Constitutional Law I: Structures of Power
Political Science 230 American Political Thought
Political Science 239 Political Thinking about Race: Resurrecting the Political in Contemporary Texts on the Black Experience
Political Science 311 The Personal and the Political in Practice: Gender, Sexuality, and Political Power in America (Deleted 2000-2001)
Political Science 312 Southern Politics (Deleted 2000-2001)
Political Science 315 American Political Parties
Political Science 316 Public Policymaking in the U.S.
Political Science 318 The Voting Rights Act and the Voting Rights Movement
Political Science 319 The First Amendment
Political Science/American Studies 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics
Political Science/Women's and Gender Studies 336 Sex, Gender, and Political Theory
Political Science 338 American Legal Philosophy
Political Science 410 Senior Seminar in American Politics
Religion 221/History 373 (formerly 221) American Religious History
Religion 224/History 374 (formerly 224) North-American Catholic History
Religion/Sociology 225 Religion and Popular Culture in America
Religion 226/History 381 African-American Religious History
Religion/Environmental Studies 276 Grounding the Sacred: Religion and Ecology in the United States
Religion 277 Apocalypses: Varieties of Millennial Discourse
Sociology 203 Social Inequality
Sociology 206 Religion and the Social Order
Sociology 210 The Construction of Social Problems
Sociology 215 Crime in the Streets
Sociology 218 Law and Modern Society
Sociology 265 Drugs and Society
SPACE AND PLACE
This route focuses on the human landscape and the built environment. Courses listed below variously undertake the reading of geographical regions, patterns of habitation, imagined spaces, property relations and/or artifacts.
ANSO 311 Modern and Postmodern Culture
Anthropology 103 Pyramids, Bones, and Sherds: What is Archaeology?
Anthropology 207 North-American Indians
Anthropology 215 Secrets of Ancient Peru: Archaeology of South America
Anthropology 217 Mesoamerican Civilizations
Anthropology/EXPR/Religion 273 Sacred Geographies
ArtH/Environmental Studies 252 Campuses
ArtH 264 American Art and Architecture, 1600 to Present
ArtH 304/Environmental Studies 324 American Transport History (Deleted 2000-2001)
ArtH/Environmental Studies 305 North-American Suburbs
ArtH 306/Environmental Studies 326 North-American Dwellings
ArtH 307/Environmental Studies 327 The North-American Park Idea
ArtH 403 The American House
Economics/Environmental Studies 238 The Regions of America
English 115 The Space of Literature (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 342 Postcolonial Literature
Environmental Studies 101 Humans in the Landscape
EXPR 242/ArtH 268/ArtS 212 Cyberscapes
EXPR 252 Service, Community, and Self
Geosciences 105 Geology Outdoors
Geosciences 201/Environmental Studies 205 Geomorphology
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 208 Water and the Environment
History 364 (formerly 311) History of the Old South
History 365 (formerly 312) History of the New South
History 380 (formerly 227) Comparative American Immigration History
History/Environmental Studies 393 (formerly 306) Urban Theory
History 466 (formerly 364)/American Studies 364 Imagining Urban America, Three Case Studies: Boston, Chicago, and L.A.
History 478 (formerly 381) The Ghetto from Venice to Harlem
Literary Studies 111 Introduction to Cultural Studies: Traveling Fictions-Encountering the Other Through Tourism, Time Travel, Exile
Political Science 312 Southern Politics (Deleted 2000-2001)
Political Science 317/Environmental Studies 307 Environmental Law
Political Science 335 The Public Sphere
Political Science 349T Cuba and the United States
Religion/Environmental Studies 287 Inhabiting Nature: Religious, Philosophical, and Sociological Perspectives (Deleted 2000-2001)
Sociology 215 Crime in the Streets
RACE AND ETHNICITY
This specialization takes up the question of American identities as those are determined and sometimes confounded by racial and ethnic difference. How has difference within the American "community" been defined, and by whom? What have been the real historical, cultural, economic, and social effects of these discursive definitions?
Anthropology 207 North-American Indians
Anthropology 216 Native-Peoples of Latin America
Economics 237 The Economics of Inequality and Poverty
English/American Studies 127 The Harlem Renaissance (Deleted 2000-2001)
English/American Studies 218 Introduction to U.S. Latina and Latino Writing
English/American Studies 220 Introduction to African-American Writing
English 341 American Genders, American Sexualities
English 342 Postcolonial Literature
English/Literary Studies 355/American Studies 403 Theorizing Whiteness (Deleted 2000-2001)
English 385 Indian Fictions (Deleted 2000-2001)
History/American Studies 111 Topics in Asian-American History (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 148 (formerly 102) The Mexican Revolution: 1910 to NAFTA
History 164 (formerly 104) Slavery in the American South
History 243 (formerly 288) Modern Latin America, 1822 to the Present
History 249 (formerly 225) The Caribbean from Slavery to Independence: A Comparison of Empires
History 281 (formerly 261) African-American History Through Emancipation
History 282 (formerly 262) African-American History From Reconstruction to the Present
History 286 (formerly 250)/American Studies 250 Introduction to U.S. Latino Studies
History 326 Rise and Fall of the Mexican Revolution (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 364 (formerly 311) History of the Old South
History 365 (formerly 312) History of the New South
History 368 (formerly 246)/American Studies 246 Cultural Encounters in the American West
History 370 (formerly 308) Studies in American Social Change
History 380 (formerly 227) Comparative American Immigration History
History 382 (formerly 318) The Black Radical Tradition in America
History 384 (formerly 331) Comparative Asian-American History, 1850-1965
History 385 (formerly 332) Contemporary Issues in Recent Asian-American History, 1965-Present
History 386 (formerly 317) Intellectual Traditions of Chicano Nationalism
History 387 (formerly 211) Puerto Ricans in the United States
History 389 (formerly 327) Major Themes in the History of Native Americans
History 390 (formerly 343) An Intellectual History of Southwestern Indians
History 443 (formerly 355) Slavery, Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
History 456 (formerly 360) Civil War and Reconstruction
History 470 (formerly 358) The Chinese-American Experience
History 471 (formerly 369 Methods in Latino Studies: Community, Family, and Identity Formation
History 472 (formerly 351) Slavery, Capitalism, and Revolution: The Impact of the New World on Europe, 1700-1900
History 478 (formerly 381 The Ghetto from Venice to Harlem
History/American Studies 488T (formerly 368T) The Politics and Rhetoric of Exclusion: Immigration and Its Discontents
Literary Studies 111 Introduction to Cultural Studies: Traveling Fictions-Encountering the Other Through Tourism, Time Travel, Exile
Music 122 African-American Music
Music 130 History of Jazz
Political Science 101 (Section 02) Moral and Political Reasoning
Political Science 213 Theory and Practice of Civil Rights Protest
Political Science 233/AAS 200 Beyond Double Consciousness: Gunnar Myrdal and the Construction of Race as Dilemma
Political Science 246 Contemporary Mexican Politics (Deleted 2000-2001)
Political Science 249 Latin-American Politics
Political Science 312 Southern Politics (Deleted 2000-2001)
Political Science 318 The Voting Rights Act and the Voting Rights Movement
Political Science/American Studies 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics
Political Science 344 Rebels and Revolution in Latin America
Political Science 349T Cuba and the United States
Psychology 341 Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Religion 226/History 381 African-American Religious History
Sociology 103 Behind the Rhetoric of Race: Race, Ethnicity, and Public Policy
Sociology 203 Social Inequality
Sociology 220 Ethnicity (Deleted 2000-2001)
Theatre 210 Multicultural Performance
Theatre/American Studies 211 Topics in African-American Performance: Theatre, Film, and Dance of the Harlem Renaissance
Theatre 213T Paul Robeson: Visible Man
PRE-1900 COURSES
ArtH 264 American Art and Architecture, 1600 to Present
Economics 220 American Economic History
English/American Studies 209 American Literature: Origins to 1865
English/American Studies 338 Literature of the American Renaissance
History 164 (formerly 104) Slavery in the American South
History 242 (formerly 287) Latin America from Conquest to Independence
History 252 (formerly 243) America from San Gabriel to Gettysburg: 1492-1865
History 281 (formerly 261) African-American History Through Emancipation
History 353 (formerly 319) Politics and Culture in Colonial British America
History 354T The Anglo-American World in the Eighteenth Century: War, Society, and Politics, 1700-1775 (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 364 (formerly 311) History of the Old South
History 368 (formerly 246)/American Studies 246 Cultural Encounters in the American West
History 380 (formerly 227) Comparative American Immigration History
History 385T Inventing Gender: America 1600-1850 (Deleted 2000-2001)
History 453 (formerly 361) Salem Witchcraft
History 454 (formerly 386) The American Revolution
History 472 (formerly 351) Slavery, Capitalism, and Revolution: the Impact of the New World on Europe, 1700-1900
History of Science 240 Technology and Science in American Culture
Political Science 230 American Political Thought
Political Science/American Studies 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics