American Studies
134.
Creating a Sustainable Future: Introduction to Environmental, Social, and Economic Health.
(3)
(Also offered as ANTH, SUST 134)
An introduction to creating a sustainable future that supports environmental health and restoration, social equity, and economic vitality. Examines challenges and examples of integrated, creative strategies on local, regional, national, and global levels. (EST)
180.
Introduction to American Studies.
(3)
Introduces 19th and 20th century American culture. Demonstrates interdisciplinary approaches to American culture studies. Content varies by semester and topics include popular culture, comparative studies of race and ethnicity, nationalism and citizenship, critical regionalism. (G)
182.
Introduction to Environment, Science and Technology.
(3)
An introduction to the socially and politically constructed values directing Americans’ attitudes toward nature, science and technology and to the impacts of those attitudes on built and natural environments regionally, nationally and globally. (EST)
183.
Introduction to Gender Studies.
(3)
This course focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the construction of gender as a category. Readings will span cross-cultural and historical materials, including literary, artistic and popular representations of masculinity and femininity in America. (GS)
184.
Introduction to American Popular Culture.
(3)
Survey of basic concepts of popular culture and methods for its study. Source materials are drawn from diverse areas–television, film, comics, music and sports. (PC)
185.
Introduction to Race, Class and Ethnicity.
(3)
An interdisciplinary introduction to the issues of race, class and ethnicity in American life and society. (RCE)
{Fall, Spring}
186.
Introduction to Southwest Studies.
(3)
Provides both an introduction to the complex history and culture of the Southwestern United States and a demonstration of the possibilities of the interdisciplinary study of regional American culture. It is multicultural in its content as it is multidisciplinary in its methodology. (SS)
200.
Topics in American Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
The content of this course varies by semester. Topics include: America in the 50s; America in the 60s–70s; the American family; power and culture; schooling in America. (G)
250.
African-American Culture.
(3)
(Also offered as AFST 280)
An analysis of the political, economic, religious and familial organization of African-American communities in the United States. (RCE)
251.
The Chicano Experience in the United States.
(3)
Investigation of the historical and social conditions that have shaped the development of Chicano life. (RCE)
252.
The Native American Experience.
(3)
(Also offered as NATV 252)
Introductory survey of Native American History, culture and contemporary issues. Students read literature by and about Native Americans covering a variety of topics including tribal sovereignty, federal policy, activism, economic development, education and community life. (RCE)
285.
American Life and Thought.
(3)
Examination of the development of American cultural values and attitudes from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. Demonstrates the use of interdisciplinary modes of inquiry. (G)
303.
Law in the Political Community.
(3)
(Also offered as POLS 303)
Introduction to the role of law and legal institutions in politics and society. (C)
309 / 509.
Topics in Social Movements.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
An interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of social movements, focusing on cultural and social formations of these movements. Topics include: folklore of social movements; labor struggles; peace movements; land conflicts. (C)
310 / 510.
Topics in Cultural Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Varying topics undergraduate course. An in-depth study of one subject in the field of interdisciplinary culture studies. Topics may include material culture, folklore, consumerism, public culture, critical theory, cultural identity and language and representation. (C)
311 / 511.
Material Culture in America.
(3)
(Also offered as MSST 311/511)
This course covers the theory and practice of material culture study as it has been used to define American culture. Course content includes architecture, technology, religious art and artifacts, literary, folk and “fine” arts. (C)
313.
American Folklore and Folklife.
(3)
An introduction to the informal, vernacular facets of American culture with a focus on the artistic and symbolic dimensions of daily life as expressed in oral traditions, folkloric events and material culture. (C)
{Fall}
315 / 515.
Race, Class & Gender in the Culture Industry.
(3)
This course will focus on 20th century U.S. cultural history and cultural studies. Proceeding chronologically, the course integrates a range of cultural mediums to investigate the construction of social identity. (C)
317 / 517.
Visual Culture.
(3)
This course will investigate the role of visual experience in everyday life. The assigned works represent a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to American visual culture, including photography, film, television, material culture, and public art. (C)
320.
Topics in Environment, Science and Technology.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
The content of this course varies by semester. Topics include: environmental justice, ecology in America, gender and nature, ethics and genetics, automobiles in American culture. (EST)
323 / 523.
Environmental Justice.
(3)
This course is designed as a multicultural/interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental justice. Topics include: environmental racism, internal/nuclear colonialism, harmful technologies, industrial pollution and other toxins in communities of color. (EST)
324.
Environmental Conflicts in the U.S. West.
(3)
This course covers environmental conflicts in the U.S. West from World War II to the present. Topics include: natural resource debates, impacts of such technologies as dams and nuclear reactors, agricultural conflicts and environmental justice. (EST)
330 / 530.
Topics in Gender Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Varying subjects deriving from the contemporary cultural studies focus on matters of gender. Topics include: feminist theory; gender and nature; the factor of gender in disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies. (GS)
332.
Sexuality and Culture.
(3)
An introduction to a range of interdisciplinary readings in cultural studies of sexuality. The focus of the course is to inquire into the construction of sexualities and to assess their impact in shaping scholarship and cultural theory. (GS)
332L.
Sexuality and Culture Recitation.
(1)
A discussion section focused on readings in the theory and methods of sexuality and cultural studies. This recitation section is taken concurrently with 332. (GS)
Corequisite: 332
333 / 533.
Gender and Tradition.
(3)
A study of the connections between gender, the traditions associated with women and men, and the intricate linkages of gender and tradition with systems of power and oppression in various cultures and time periods. (GS)
340.
Topics in Popular Culture.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Content varies by semester. Topics include: popular music, popular culture of the 1960s; sex and gender in popular culture; chicano/a vernacular culture; black popular culture; popular environmentalism. (PC)
341 / 541.
Topics in Film.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Varying subjects, based in theoretical and/or historical approaches. Topics include: sex and gender in popular film; films of the nuclear age; African-American film; ethnicity in American cinema; film theory. (PC)
342.
Television in American Culture.
(3)
This course is an introduction to the history of television as a medium from its origins through the present moment. In the course we will focus on the structure of the television’s role within American society, and television as a site of cultural representation. (PC)
350 / 550.
Topics in Race, Class, Ethnicity.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers specialized topics on an alternating basis dealing with race, class and ethnicity in the formation of American life and society. Subject areas include immigration, class formation, conquest, colonization, public policy and civil rights. (RCE)
351.
Blacks in the U.S. West.
(3)
(Also offered as AFST 307)
A survey of the lives of Blacks in the American West (1528–1918). (RCE)
352 / 552.
Native American Cultural Production.
(3)
This course examines contemporary Native American cultural production including literature, art and film with an emphasis on historical, political and cultural contexts. Topics may include: definitions of cultural production, sovereignty, colonialism, cultural survival and identity. (RCE)
353 / 553.
Race Relations in America.
(3)
An interdisciplinary investigation of the development of race as a set of power relations, lived identities and ideas. Pays particular attention to the relationship of race to work, immigration, gender, culture and intellectual life. (RCE)
354 / 554.
Social Class and Inequality.
(3)
This course is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of class formations in society. Topics include: culture, ideology, politics, history, Marxism, Weberian sociology, (post-) structuralism, colonialism, textuality, praxis and desconstructionism. (RCE)
356 / 556.
Topics in Native American Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Topical survey of theoretical approaches, research methodologies and subject areas within the interdisciplinary field of Native American Studies. (RCE)
357 / 557.
Topics in African-American Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers topics addressing African-American social, cultural, political and intellectual life. Topics include: black social movements, African-American intellectual history, black cultural studies, slavery in the Americas. (RCE)
358 / 558.
Topics in Latino/a Studies.
(3)
This interdisciplinary topics course examines the fastest growing population in the U.S. and includes Latino intellectual history, political and economic relations, recovery projects, music, film and media representations and environment, community and post-colonial studies. (RCE)
359 / 559.
Interracialism in America.
(3)
This course introduces students to historical and contemporary debates about the meaning of interracial romance, marriage and sexuality–and its relationship to definitions of American citizenship and democracy. Through engaged study of primary and secondary, social and cultural forms, students will develop an interdisciplinary understanding of race, gender and sexuality. (RCE)
360 / 560.
Topics in Southwest Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers topics dealing with the social, cultural and technological developments among the people of the Southwest. Topics include folk art and material culture; rural, urban and border communities; traditional healing; travel and tourism; Hispano/Chicanos after 1848. (SS)
361.
Native American Folklore of the Southwest.
(3)
An in-depth study of the expressive behavior of Native American peoples of the Southwest with special emphasis on the traditional material culture, music, dance, oral tradition and festivals of Puebloans, Navajos and Apaches. (SS)
362 / 562.
Native American Representation and Resistance.
(3)
This course will examine popular representations of Native Americans from American literature, film, policy, science and popular culture. Topics include critical and cultural theories of representation and identity and Native resistance and cultural production. (RCE)
363 / 563.
Chicano/Latino Film.
(3)
Covers the Chicano/Latino experience through its depiction on film and from the perspective of Latino filmmaking. The course analyzes film as communication, film narration, symbolism and subjectivity. (SS)
385.
Theories and Methods of American Studies.
(3)
Introduces students to interdisciplinary approaches in the study of American culture, focusing on “Race, Ethnicity, Gender and National Identity,” “Media, Popular Culture, and Cultural Studies,” “Critical Regionalism,” and “Environment, Science and Technology.” (G)
422 / 522.
The Atomic Bomb: Los Alamos to Hiroshima.
(3)
Considers three interrelated sections: the political and scientific history of the Manhattan Project; strategic alternatives to the use of the atomic bomb; and the literature of the hibakusha survivors of the destruction of Hiroshima. (EST)
434.
Synthesis of Sustainability Perspectives and Innovations.
(3)
(Also offered as ANTH 434, ARCH 449, SUST 434)
Presents frameworks for complex and creative analysis, including systems thinking and synergistic integration of the three pillars of sustainability: environment, equity, economy. Examines innovative local and international case studies in environment, business, policy, and community development. (EST)
Prerequisite: SUST 134 and (ECON 106 or ECON 203)
485.
Senior Seminar in the Culture of the United States.
(3)
An analysis of the value of synthesis in liberal scholarship. Focus will be on cooperative interdisciplinary research. (G)
{Spring only}
486.
Senior Seminar in Southwest Studies.
(3)
Capstone course for majors/minors in the Southwest Studies that synthesizes current scholarship on critical regionalism: borderlands studies, trans-nationalism, indigeneity, immigration and other topics. Students develop research, analysis and writing to produce an original research paper. (SS)
497.
Individual Study.
(1-3 to a maximum of 9 Δ)
*498.
Internship.
(1-6)
Involves internships in off-campus learning experiences related to the study of American and regional culture and character, such as work in local communities and with relevant institutions. (G)
499.
Honors Thesis.
(3)
Development and writing of senior honors thesis under supervision of faculty advisor. (G)
Prerequisite: 285
Restriction: permission of undergraduate director
{Spring}
500.
American Culture Study Seminar.
(3)
Examines the basic texts and methods in the field of American studies through discussion and critical/analytical writing assignments. Required for all American Studies graduate students; restricted to graduate students in the department. (G)
{Fall}
508 / 308.
Cultural Autobiography.
(3)
This course is concerned with meaning, identity and subject formation in the autobiographical text. Readings will focus on contemporary critical theory about autobiography and post-colonial studies. Students will draw on a broad range of personal accounts that result from the construction of race, gender, class and ethnicity in the United States past and present. (C)
509 / 309.
Topics in Social Movements.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
An interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of social movements, focusing on cultural and social formations of these movements. Topics include: folklore of social movements; labor struggles; peace movements; land conflicts. (C)
510 / 310.
Topics in Cultural Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
An in-depth study of one subject in the field of interdisciplinary culture studies. Topics may include material culture, folklore, consumerism, public culture, critical theory, cultural identity and postcolonial studies. (C)
511 / 311.
Material Culture in America.
(3)
(Also offered as MSST 311/511)
This course covers the theory and practice of material culture study as it has been used to define American culture. Course content includes architecture, technology, religious art and artifacts, literary, folk and “fine” arts. (C)
513.
Theories and Methods of Folklore Study.
(3)
This course examines key methods and theoretical approaches to the study of folklore, focusing on the artistic and symbolic dimensions of daily life as expressed in oral traditions, folkloric events and material culture. (C)
515 / 315.
Race, Class & Gender in the Culture Industry.
(3)
This course will focus on 20th century U.S. cultural history and cultural studies. Proceeding chronologically, the course integrates a range of cultural mediums to investigate the construction of social identity. (C)
516.
Language and Cultural Representation.
(3)
An intensive study of various contemporary theories about the intersection of language and culture. Readings focus on the interdisciplinary study of language, drawing especially on postmodern theory. (C)
517 / 317.
Visual Culture.
(3)
This course will investigate the role of visual experience in everyday life. The assigned works represent a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to American visual culture, including photography, film, television, material culture, and public art. (C)
518.
Post-Colonial Theory.
(3)
This is a graduate-level introduction to the interdisciplinary field of post-colonialism. The readings will cover areas in post-structuralism, post-modernism, semiotics, discourse analysis, textuality, Western Marxism, cultural nationalism, colonialism(s) and imperialism. (C)
519.
Topics in Cultural History.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Graduate seminars; content varies. Topics include: democracy, culture and history; American landscapes; history and narrative. (C)
520.
Topics in Environment, Science and Technology.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Graduate study of subjects in Environment, Science and Technology. Content varies by semester and topics include: science/technology studies, environmental justice, the environment and political and social development, ecology in America, gender and nature. (EST)
522 / 422.
The Atomic Bomb: Los Alamos to Hiroshima.
(3)
Considers three interrelated sections: the political and scientific history of the Manhattan Project; strategic alternatives to the use of the atomic bomb; and the literature of the hibakusha survivors of the destruction of Hiroshima. (EST)
523 / 323.
Environmental Justice.
(3)
This course is designed as a multicultural/interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental justice. Topics include: environmental racism, internal/nuclear colonialism, harmful technologies, industrial pollution and other toxins in communities of color. (EST)
525.
Environmental Theory and Practice.
(3)
This course surveys key methods and model case studies in ecological history, in impacts of technology on the environment and in the role of cultural values and ethics in natural resource policy decisions. (EST)
530 / 330.
Topics in Gender Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Varying subjects deriving from the contemporary cultural studies focus on matters of gender. Topics include: feminist theory; gender and nature; the factor of gender in disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies. (GS)
533 / 333.
Gender and Tradition.
(3)
A study of the connections between gender, the traditions associated with women and men, and the intricate linkages of gender and tradition with systems of power and oppression in various cultures and time periods. (GS)
536.
Masculinities.
(3)
(may be repeated for credit with permission from AMST graduate advisor)
Introduction to changing meanings of masculinity in America from WW II through the present. Focus on cultural construction of masculinity and men’s experiences in spheres of work, family, leisure, war and sexuality. (GS)
540.
Topics in Popular Culture.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Content varies by semester. Topics include: popular music, popular culture of the 1960s; sex and gender in popular culture; chicano/a vernacular culture; black popular culture; popular environmentalism. (PC)
541 / 341.
Topics in Film.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Varying subjects, based in theoretical and/or historical approaches. Topics include: sex and gender in popular film; films of the nuclear age; African-American film; ethnicity in American cinema; film theory. (PC)
545.
Theories & Methods of Popular Culture.
(3)
Graduate seminar surveying approaches to the study of popular culture and major theoretical debates in the field. Students also work with popular culture texts, including film, television, toys, fashion, music and advertising. (PC)
550 / 350.
Topics in Race, Class, Ethnicity.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers specialized topics on an alternating basis dealing with race, class and ethnicity in the formation of American life and society. Subject areas include immigration, class formation, conquest, colonization, public policy and civil rights. (RCE)
552 / 352.
Native American Cultural Production.
(3)
This course examines contemporary Native American cultural production including literature, art and film with an emphasis on historical, political and cultural contexts. Topics may include: definitions of cultural production, sovereignty, colonialism, cultural survival and identity. (RCE)
553 / 353.
Race Relations in America.
(3)
An interdisciplinary investigation of the development of race as a set of power relations, lived identities and ideas. Pays particular attention to the relationship of race to work, immigration, gender, culture and intellectual life. (RCE)
554 / 354.
Social Class and Inequality.
(3)
This course is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of class formations in society. Topics include: culture, ideology, politics, history, Marxism, Weberian sociology, (post-) structuralism, colonialism, textuality, praxis and desconstructionism. (RCE)
555.
Theories and Methods of Race, Class, Ethnicity.
(3)
This course will survey the theoretical and methodological convergence/divergence of race, class and ethnicity. This class is designed as a graduate-multidisciplinary approach to racial, class and ethnic formations, relations, structures, institutions and movements. (RCE)
556 / 356.
Topics in Native American Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Seminar offering topical survey of theoretical approaches, research methodologies and subject areas within the interdisciplinary field of Native American Studies. (RCE)
557 / 357.
Topics in African-American Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers topics addressing African-American social, cultural, political and intellectual life. Topics include: black social movements, African-American intellectual history, black cultural studies, slavery in the Americas. (RCE)
558 / 358.
Topics in Latino/a Studies.
(3)
This interdisciplinary topics course examines the fastest growing population in the U.S. and includes Latino intellectual history, political and economic relations, recovery projects, music, film and media representations and environment, community and post-colonial studies. (RCE)
559 / 359.
Interracialism in America.
(3)
This course introduces students to historical and contemporary debates about the meaning of interracial romance, marriage and sexuality–and its relationship to definitions of American citizenship and democracy. Through engaged study of primary and secondary, social and cultural forms, students will develop an interdisciplinary understanding of race, gender and sexuality.
560 / 360.
Topics in Southwest Studies.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Offers topics dealing with the social, cultural and technological developments among the people of the Southwest. Topics include folk art and material culture; rural, urban and border communities; traditional healing; travel and tourism; Hispano/Chicanos after 1848. (SS)
562 / 362.
Native American Representation and Resistance.
(3)
This course will examine popular representations of Native Americans from American literature, film, policy, science and popular culture. Topics include critical and cultural theories of representation and identity and Native resistance and cultural production. (RCE)
563 / 363.
Chicano/Latino Film.
(3)
Covers the Chicano/Latino experience through its depiction on film and from the perspective of Latino filmmaking. The course analyzes film as communication, film narration, symbolism and subjectivity. (SS)
565.
Politics of Cultural Identity in the Southwest.
(3)
This seminar examines cultural and ethnic representations in the tri-cultural Southwest. The course includes consideration of works by native and Hispano/Chicano authors who examine and contest the cultural ideation of the Southwest. (SS)
597.
Individual Study-Master’s Degree.
(1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)
(G)
599.
Master’s Thesis.
(1-6, no limit Δ)
(G)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.
600.
Research Methods.
(3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
This seminar reviews: 1) archival and library research; 2) data collection and fieldwork (plus subsequent analysis and presentation of data); 3) processes of hypotheses and theory building; and 4) development of a research proposal. (G)
Prerequisite: 500
{Spring}
697.
Individual Study.
(1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
(G)
For Ph.D. candidates only.
699.
Dissertation.
(3-12, no limit Δ)
(G)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.
