American Studies- Bachelor of Arts
For more information, contact the Coordinator of American Studies, 120 McMillan Hall, 513-529-5333.
The Program in American Studies offers an interdisciplinary major that explores American culture, in all its complexity, from a variety of perspectives. In learning to make connections between a range of fields and disciplines from history to art, politics to religious studies, mass media to popular culture, among many others, students gain a multifaceted understanding of the United States in global context. The program fosters flexible thinking, creative problem solving skills, synthetic analysis, strong writing and oral presentation, an understanding of and familiarity with multiple kinds of media and texts, a broad understanding of social, cultural, and historical contexts, and intercultural awareness. By working with an advisor, students create their own area of concentration from a list of selected courses with a US-focus, and come away with the intellectual skills and perspective necessary to understand, contextualize, and critically engage the opportunities and challenges of our complex, changing, interdependent world.
Program Requirements
(34 semester hours)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core course | ||
| AMS 205 | Introduction to American Cultures | 3 |
| or AMS 207 | America: Global and Intercultural Perspectives | |
| AMS 206 | Approaches to American Culture | 3 |
| Select three courses from the following: | 9 | |
| American Identities | ||
| Immigrant America | ||
| Consumer Culture | ||
| American Icons | ||
| Special Topics in American Studies | ||
| The third 300-level course can be one of the courses above OR it can be a 300-level course cross-listed with AMS, subject to approval by the CDA. | ||
| Capstone course: | ||
| AMS 401 | Senior Capstone in American Studies | 4 |
| Area of Concentration | ||
| Select an area of concentration | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 34 | |
Area of Concentration (15 hours)
Students must take 15 credit hours with at least 12 hours at the 200 level and above, incorporating at least three different disciplines. Students can develop an individualized area of concentration in American culture from a preselected list of courses that have a US focus. A comprehensive list of courses is available in pamphlet form in the Global and Intercultural Studies Department (American Studies Program). It is strongly recommended that students consult with an advisor when they plan their area of concentration.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AMS/HST 216 | Introduction to Public History | 3 |
| AMS/FST/ITL 222 | Italian American Culture | 3 |
| AMS/REL 241 | Religions of the American Peoples | 3 |
| AMS/ENG 246 | Native American Literature | 3 |
| AMS/AAA/ENG 248 | Asian American Literature | 3 |
| AMS/GER 281 | Americans in Berlin: An Interdisciplinary Study-Abroad Workshop | 6 |
| AMS/MUS 285 | Introduction to African American Music | 3 |
| AMS/HST 304 | History, Memory, Tradition | 3 |
| AMS 312 | The American West | 3 |
| AMS/ENG 348 | Ethnic American Literatures | 3 |
| AMS/GEO 352 | Geographies of Urban Change | 3 |
| AMS/HST 357 | Gilded Age America | 3 |
| AMS/HST 362 | The Era of the American Revolution | 3 |
| AMS/HST 363 | The Early American Republic 1783-1815 | 3 |
| AMS/HST 367 | The United States in the 1960's | 3 |
| AMS/HST 371 | Native American History to 1840 | 3 |
| AMS/HST/WGS 382 | Women in American History | 3 |
| AMS/MUS 386 | The History and Development of Hip Hop Culture in America | 3 |
| AMS/ENG 390 | Studies In Amer Regionalism | 3 |
| AMS/HST/WGS 392 | Sex and Gender in American Culture | 3 |
| AMS/HST 435 | Public History Practicum | 3 |
| APC 438 | Political Communication | 3 |
| ARC 188 | Ideas in Architecture | 3 |
| ARC 225 | Design: Behavior, Perception, Aesthetics | 3 |
| ARC 321 | History of Interiors | 3 |
| ARC 426 | Architecture and Society | 3 |
| ARC 427 | The American City Since 1940 | 3 |
| ART 488 | Art in the Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 | 3 |
| ATH 185 | Cultural Diversity in the U.S. | 3 |
| ATH 212 | Introduction to Archaeological Theory and Methods | 4 |
| ATH 304 | Native North America: Anthropological Perspectives | 3 |
| ATH 364 | Language and Culture in Native North America | 3 |
| CCA 221 | Immersion in the Integrated Arts and Culture | 3 |
| CCA 410 | Advanced Topics in the Creative Arts | 1-4 |
| ECO 131 | Economic Perspectives on Inequality in America | 3 |
| ECO 331 | Public Sector Economics | 3 |
| ECO 332 | Health Economics | 3 |
| ECO 451 | Economic History | 3 |
| EDL 204 | Sociocultural Studies in Education | 3 |
| ENG/WGS 232 | Women Writers | 3 |
| ENG/FST 235 | Classical Hollywood Cinema | 3 |
| ENG/WGS 237 | GLBTQ Literature | 3 |
| ENG/LAS 254 | Caribbean, Latin American and Latinx Literatures | 3 |
| ENG 275 | American Literature to 1900 | 3 |
| ENG 276 | American Literature 1900 to the Present | 3 |
| ENG 293 | Contemporary American Fiction | 3 |
| ENG/CRE 336 | African American Writing, 1746-1877 | 3 |
| ENG/CRE 337 | African American Writing, 1878-1945 | 3 |
| ENG/CRE 338 | African American Writing, 1946-Present | 3 |
| ENG 349 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENG/FST 350 | Topics in Film | 3 |
| ENG 352 | Antebellum American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 353 | American Realism and Naturalism | 3 |
| ENG 354 | American Modernism | 3 |
| ENG 355 | Contemporary American Literature | 3 |
| ENG/CRE/WGS 432 | Feminism and the Diaspora: U.S. Women of Color | 3 |
| ENG 440 | Major English and American Writers | 3 |
| FST 201 | Film History and Analysis | 3 |
| FST/IDS 206 | Diversity and Culture in American Film | 3 |
| FST/ENG 235 | Classical Hollywood Cinema | 3 |
| FST/ENG 236 | Experimental Film | 3 |
| FST/HST 250 | History and Popular Culture | 3 |
| FST/HST 252 | History at the Movies | 3 |
| FST/GER 261 | German Film in Global Context | 3 |
| FSW 201 | Introduction to Social Work and Family Life Education | 3 |
| FSW 206 | Social Welfare Policies & Programs | 4 |
| FSW 261 | Diverse Family Systems Across the Life Cycle | 3 |
| FSW/CRE/SOC 362 | Family Poverty | 3 |
| GEO 201 | Geography of Urban Diversity | 3 |
| GEO 454 | Urban Geography | 3 |
| GEO 455 | Race, Urban Change, and Conflict in America | 3 |
| GER 151 | The German-American Experience | 3 |
| GTY 154 | Aging in American Society | 3 |
| HST 111 | Survey of American History to 1877 | 3 |
| HST 112 | Survey of American History: From 1877 to the Present | 3 |
| HST 212 | United States History since 1945 | 3 |
| HST/CRE 221 | African-American History | 3 |
| HST 222 | U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1898 | 3 |
| HST/IDS 259 | Introduction to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma | 3 |
| HST 215 | Latin America in the United States | 3 |
| HST 290 | Topics in American History | 1-4 |
| HST 350 | Topics in American History | 3 |
| HST 372 | Native American History since 1840 | 3 |
| HST/CRE/LAS 385 | Race, Science, and Disease in the Americas | 3 |
| HST 387 | U.S. Constitutional Development to 1865 | 3 |
| LIN 201 | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 |
| MAC 310 | Topics in Media History | 3 |
| MAC 447 | Senior Seminar in Applied Media Analysis | 3 |
| MUS/AMS 135 | Understanding Jazz, Its History and Context | 3 |
| MUS 385 | The Roots of Black Music: Blues, Gospel and Soul | 3 |
| MUS 415 | You Say You Want a Revolution: Rock and Roll and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s | 3 |
| POL 142 | American Politics and Diversity | 3 |
| POL 241 | American Political System | 3 |
| POL 307 | Public Opinion Laboratory | 0-4 |
| POL 333 | Politics of Western Europe | 3 |
| POL 343 | American Presidency | 3 |
| REL/CRE 343 | African-American Religions | 3 |
| SOC 279/CRE 343 | African Americans in Sport | 3 |
| SOC/CRE 348 | Race and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| WGS 201 | Introduction to Women's Studies | 3 |
| WGS 301 | Women and Difference: Intersections of Race, Class, and Sexuality | 3 |
Note: Students seeking the Bachelor of Arts in American Studies meet the College of Arts and Science writing in the major requirement by completing the following course: AMS 206.
Graduating with Honors
American Studies majors may graduate with Honors if they fulfill the following requirements:
- hold a 3.5 grade point average
- enroll in AMS 480, Independent Reading for Departmental Honors
- present their research project to an AMS faculty committee or at an undergraduate research forum