American Studies Minor

Coordinator: Associate Professor Pardini

American Studies is the interdisciplinary study of American culture. The minor provides an opportunity for students to meld interests in the culture and history of the United States in a way that they cannot in single, traditional disciplines. Students will combine knowledge and methods from anthropology, art history, communications, history, law, literature, political science, sociology and other disciplines to interrogate multiple perspectives, recognizing how various individuals, peoples and groups help create American society as well as challenge its institutions, both within and outside the United States.

“America” is here understood to comprise not only the geographically and historically delineated space of the United States, but also the symbolic construction of “America” and “American.” As a result, students will understand “America” through a variety of methodological lenses, ranging from “myth and symbol,” the earliest methodology of American Studies that interrogated recurring themes in texts that reflected American culture, to contemporary combinations of multidisciplinary approaches. American Studies also provides a place for investigating American culture in the rest of the world and throughout history, ranging from its significance during the age of exploration to its current influence in the global experience.

The American Studies minor complements many majors and provides an opportunity for students to explore their intellectual interests beyond single disciplines. Students will find that the program provides an experience that supplements training for graduate and professional programs as well as various professions.

The minor requires a minimum of 24 semester hours.

Minor Requirements:

Required course: 4 sh

AMS 210CONCEPTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES

4 sh

Select one course from the following: 4 sh

COM 100COMMUNICATIONS IN A GLOBAL AGE

4 sh

HST 121UNRULY ORIGINS: US TO 1865

4 sh

HST 122CONTESTED DEMOCRACY: US FROM 1865

4 sh

POL 111AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

4 sh

Select an additional 200-level course related to American culture: 4 sh

ENG 223AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1865

4 sh

ENG 224AMERICAN LITERATURE AFTER 1865

4 sh

ENG 238AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE BEFORE 1945

4 sh

ENG 239AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1945

4 sh

ENG 266LITERATURE OF TERROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL

4 sh

IDS 212WOMEN, MEN AND SOCIETY

4 sh

IDS 214THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

4 sh

POL 222STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

4 sh

REL 236RELIGION AND RACING

4 sh

REL 237RELIGION AND ROCK'N'ROLL

4 sh

SOC 220SOCIAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

4 sh

Students wishing to include a course not on this list or which does not clearly indicate American content in its title may submit the syllabus of a proposed course to the coordinator for approval.

Select three 300- or 400-level American Studies-related courses: 12 sh

ANT 310CULTURES OF THE SOUTH

4 sh

ANT 314NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT

4 sh

ARH 321ISSUES IN AMERICAN ART

4 sh

COM 302MEDIA HISTORY, MEDIA TODAY

4 sh

COM 306DEVELOPMENT AND INFLUENCE OF CINEMA

4 sh

COM 333RELIGION AND MEDIA

4 sh

COM 334POLITICS AND MEDIA

4 sh

COM 335SPORTS AND MEDIA

4 sh

COR 303THE CULTURE OF ROCK

4 sh

COR 338AMERICAN ADOLESCENCE

4 sh

ECO 302MONEY AND BANKING

4 sh

ENG 305AMERICAN ENGLISH

4 sh

ENG 330APPALACHIAN LITERATURE

4 sh

ENG 332LITERATURE OF THE SOUTH

4 sh

ENG 334NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

4 sh

ENG 339AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL WRITERS

4 sh

ENG 359AFRICAN-AMERICAN NOVELS

4 sh

GEO 360GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA

4 sh

HST 352CANADA/U.S. RELATIONS SINCE 1865

4 sh

HST 355ORAL HISTORY: NORTH CAROLINA WOMEN

4 sh

HST 356EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD, 1787-1840: FORCES THAT SHAPED THE NATION

4 sh

HST 357AMERICA'S CIVIL WAR

4 sh

HST 358THE U.S., 1877-1940: THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNIZATION

4 sh

HST 359THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1940: RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 360MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY IN FILM

4 sh

HST 361NORTH CAROLINA IN THE NATION

4 sh

HST 362THE SOUTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 363AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, 1850-PRESENT

4 sh

HST 364HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE U.S.

4 sh

HST 369TOPICS IN AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY

4 sh

HST 391AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE 20th CENTURY

4 sh

HST 392NORTH AMERICAN SLAVERY

4 sh

MUS 318HISTORY OF JAZZ

4 sh

MUS 319HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC

4 sh

MUS 343AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS

4 sh

PHL 361CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY

4 sh

PHL 362AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY

4 sh

POL 313AMERICAN POLITICS THROUGH FILM

4 sh

POL 324CIVIL LIBERTIES

4 sh

POL 325THE PRESIDENCY

4 sh

POL 326THE CONGRESS

4 sh

POL 342U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

4 sh

SOC 311SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES

4 sh

SOC 341ETHNIC AND RACE RELATIONS

4 sh

SOC 351SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURE

4 sh

Students wishing to include a course not on this list or which does not clearly indicate American content in its title may submit the syllabus of a proposed course to the coordinator for approval.

Total Credit Hours: 24

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