American Studies

Department Website: http://www.sewanee.edu/amstudies/amst1.html

Professor Register, Chair

Program Committee:
Professor J. Grammer, English
Associate Professor McKeen, Political Science
Associate Professor Brennecke, Art History
Associate Professor Roberson, History

Contributing Faculty:
Professor O'Connor, Anthropology
Professor Willis, History
Professor Ray, Anthropology
Associate Professor Berebitsky, History & Women's Studies
Visiting Assistant Professor E. Grammer, English

Major in American studies: American studies is an interdisciplinary major that fosters an understanding of past and contemporary American culture. Students select from pertinent courses in the humanities and social sciences and combine them into an integrated course of study that reflects their intellectual and scholarly interests. While requiring a substantial foundation in American literature and history, the program also encourages students to explore nontraditional methods and subjects. The major is usually assembled from the fields of history, literature, anthropology, political science, religion, and art. The junior seminar for majors, jointly taught by two instructors in relevant disciplines, introduces students to important methodological and theoretical problems in the study of American culture. During the first semester of the senior year, students undertake an independent research project that combines at least two disciplines as approved by the program director. The comprehensive examination in the second semester of the senior year covers the particular program of electives the student has chosen.

To be admitted to the major, the student must have a GPA of at least 2.00 in courses that qualify for the American studies major.

The requirements of the program are as follows:

1. Majors must take a minimum of eleven courses in at least four different disciplines.

2. The following courses are required of all majors:

    a. History 201, 202: History of the U.S. I and II
    b. English 377, 378: American Literature I and II
    c. American Studies 333: Junior Seminar
    d. American Studies 420: Senior Research Seminar

3. Students must take five additional courses approved for the major.

4. All majors must take a written comprehensive examination.

It is recommended, although not required, that students take History 201 and 202 and English 377 and 378 in the sophomore year.

Students with an average of B or above in courses that qualify for the major may be considered for honors; departmental honors are granted to those who achieve a B+ or better on the senior research project and on the comprehensive examination.



American Studies:
American Studies 332: Twentieth-Century American Culture
American Studies 333: Junior Seminar for Majors
American Studies 420: Senior Research Seminar
American Studies 444: Independent Study

Anthropology:
Anthropology 301: American Culture
Anthropology 302: Southern Cultures
Anthropology 306: Archaeology of Southeastern United States
Anthropology 411: Research Seminar: Campus Life and Academic Culture

Art History:
Art History 212: American Animation, 1910-1960 
Art History 340: American Art

Asian Studies:
Asian Studies 110: Asian American Experience

English:
English 212: Studies in Literature
English 377, 378: American Literature I and II
English 379: The American Novel
English 380. Whitman and Dickinson
English 391: Modern American Poetry
English 392: Modern American Fiction
English 393: Faulkner
English 394: Literature of the American South
English 395: African-American Literature
English 397: Contemporary American Fiction
English 398: Contemporary American Poetry

History:
History 201, 202: History of the U.S.
History 203:  Manifest Destiny and American Expansionism in the 19th Century
History 226: Politics and Society in Contemporary America
History 227, 228: Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States
History 229: The Many Faces of Sewanee
History 231: African-American History to 1865
History 232: African-American History Since 1865
History 233. Race and Sexuality in U.S. History since 1800
History 237: Women in U.S. History, 1600-1870
History 238: Women in U.S. History, 1870 to the Present
History 279: History of American Education
History 322: Southern Lives
History 323: The Depression-Era South
History 325: Revolutionary America
History 327: The Old South
History 329: The New South
History 332: Twentieth-Century American Culture
History 333: Topics in American History: African-American Gender in U.S. History since 1619
History 334: Mass Culture and Popular Amusements in the United States, 1870 to 1945
History 339: The Making of Modern America, 1877 to 1920
History 347: The American Civil Rights Movement
History 393: America's Civil War
History 394: Reconstructing the South

Music:
Music 223: American Music

Philosophy:
Philosophy 311: American Philosophy

Political Science:
Political Science 203: The Presidency
Political Science 204: Legislative Process
Political Science 205: The Judicial Process
Political Science 304: American Political Thought
Political Science 308: Public Policy
Political Science 322: U.S. Foreign Policy
Political Science 331: Introduction to Constitutional Law
Political Science 332: Contemporary Constitutional Law
Political Science 344: Myth America
Political Science 390: The United Nations

Religion:
Religion 343: Popular Culture and Religion in America
Religion 391: Southern Religion
Religion 393: Rural Religion

Spanish:
Spanish 308: U.S. Latino and Latina Literature and Culture