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Institute for American Thought

Institute for American Thought

American Studies

Minor in American Studies | Courses in American Studies | American Studies Overseas | Affiliated Faculty 

[Photo]: American StudiesThe field of American studies extends across a broad spectrum of disciplines to offer integrating perspectives on American experience, thought, and expression. In this respect, American studies is decidedly interdisciplinary in its approaches, but at the same time it is very much a field to itself, generating its own lines of inquiry concerning the American cultural mosaic.

Flyer for American Studies 2008

Course Offerings in American Studies:

Fall 2013
Spring 2013
Fall 2012
Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Spring 2011
Fall 2010
Spring 2010
Fall 2009
Spring 2009
Fall 2008
Spring 2008
Fall 2007
Spring 2007

Courses Crosslisted with American Studies for the current academic year 

Minor in American Studies

The minor in American studies offers its students the opportunity to understand the American experience in a broader context than is usually possible through the study of a single discipline. More specifically, it provides students with courses that focus on matters that have been traditionally at issue in the study of American civilization and culture. Required are two general courses (A301 and A302) that examine the broad questions of American identity and American community. These will provide underpinnings for the remaining 9 credit hours of course work. A special feature of this program is the senior tutorial, which gives students the opportunity to engage in in-depth research under the guidance of an American studies faculty member.

Students enrolled in the American studies minor program will be required to complete 15 credit hours of upper-level course work, including the senior tutorial, which attempts to synthesize the other courses and the student's particular interests in the field of American studies. As a prerequisite, students must complete History H105 and H106 or provide evidence of knowledge of a general outline of the history of the United States; however, these courses do not count toward minor credit. A student's minor program will be developed in consultation with American studies faculty members and the student's American studies advisor. The student will be required to complete the following program:

1. A301 The Question of American Identity (3 cr.)

2. A302 The Question of American Community (3 cr.)

3. Two additional courses at the 300 or 400 level offered under the American studies rubric or cross listed in American Studies (6 cr.)

4. A499 Senior Tutorial (3 cr.)

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Courses in American Studies

A103 Topics in American Studies (1-3 cr.) Interdisciplinary consideration of various American studies topics sometimes coordinated with symposia and/or conferences sponsored by the IUPUI Center for American Studies. A103 cannot be counted as credit toward an American studies minor.

A301 The Question of American Identity (3 cr.) Is American culture unified or does it consist of a potpourri of more or less distinct cultures? Beginning with the 1600s but emphasizing the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this course explores classic texts in American culture, seeking to locate the terms of American unity in the midst of obvious diversity.

A302 The Question of American Community (3 cr.) What are the varieties and forms of American social life? This course will explore the manner in which Americans, from Puritan times through the later decades of the twentieth century, have structured and experienced social life in rural, urban, and suburban settings.

A303 Topics in American Studies (1-3 cr.) Interdisciplinary consideration of various American studies topics.

  • Art and American Culture
  • Beat Generation
  • Civil War Literature and Culture
  • Elective
  • Gender and Family in American History
  • Islam in America
  • Law and American Culture
  • The Literature of Rock 'n' Roll
  • Overseas Studies
  • Music and Decorative Arts in American Studies

A304 The Transformation of America 1960-1980 (3 cr.) America in the years from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. An examination of such topics as the myth of Camelot, the civil rights movement and the subsequent black uprising, Vietnam and its aftermath, the rise of counterculture, campus unrest and the student movement, the road to Watergate and the retreat into narcissism, the pervasive influence of television, and the rise of neo-conservatism. Also, consideration of the literature: modernism and fabulism in fiction, social and cultural criticism, and the new journalism in nonfiction.

A499 Senior Tutorial in American Studies (3 cr.) This course provides students with the opportunity to pursue particular interests in American studies on topics of their choosing and to work in a tutorial relationship with an American studies faculty member. In this course of directed study, students will be required to produce research projects for filing in the library.

Amst-G753 Independent Study

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American Studies Overseas

England, Exchange Program with the University of Derby

This is a fall semester long program at the University of Derby. Students from any IUPUI school are eligible to participate and can take a wide range of courses that are offered at the University. Since this is an exchange program, students will pay normal IUPUI tuition costs. The program began Fall of 2004.

 

Faculty Contact: Martin Coleman

For information about the University of Derby, please click on the link: http://www.derby.ac.uk/

For information about the Derby and the surrounding area, please click on the link: http://www.derbyshireuk.net/

To apply to this program, please click here.

Visit the Study Abroad website for more information.

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Affiliated Faculty

Director and Advisor

Professors:

Lecturer:

Visiting Assistant Professor:

Emeritus Faculty:

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