American Studies Major Requirements:
Because this is an interdisciplinary major, students must work closely with their faculty advisor as well as with the advising office in the planning of their coursework throughout their pursuit of the degree.

1. CORE COURSE: ONE semester of the American Studies Core Course, AS 101. Ideally to be completed during the sophomore year. (Non-sophomores can be admitted by permission of faculty advisor or the course instructor.)

2. SURVEY REQUIREMENT: TWO discipline-based survey or introductory American Studies-related courses, not necessarily from the same department. Examples: English 71 and 72 (American Literature); History 3 and 4 (American Civilization); Sociology 63 (Gender Roles in the United States) and Sociology 69 (Race and Ethnicity in the United States); Philosophy 37 (American Philosophy); Geography 43 (Geography of the United States and Canada); Art History 75 (American Art); Religious Philosophy 8 (American Religious Imagination).

3. CONCENTRATION AREA: With a faculty advisor, each student must design a concentration area within the major, personally tailored to suit his or her interests. Each student must take a minimum of FIVE cross-listed or otherwise appropriate courses approved by your American Studies faculty advisor within this concentration.

This plan of study would be worked out with this advisor by the end of the student’s sophomore year. No more than two of these five courses can come from within a single department.

See below for some Examples of Possible Concentration Areas.

4. AMERICAN STUDIES ELECTIVES: THREE free electives chosen from any American Studies courses (cross-listed or otherwise). These courses should be distinct from the student’s concentration area.

5. CAPSTONE COURSE: ONE semester American Studies Capstone Course, AS 102. A senior seminar theme to be determined by the individual instructor. Twenty-page term paper required.

6. GLOBAL/COMPARATIVE REQUIREMENT: At least one course taken must either deal with the United States in a global or transnational context, or provide a comparative look at (some aspect of) the United States and at least one other nation.

7. CLUSTER REQUIREMENT: Of the courses described in items 2 through 4, at least ONE must be in the ARTS CLUSTER (i.e. Music, Film, Theater, Dance, and Media Arts). At least TWO must be in the SOCIAL SCIENCES CLUSTER (i.e. History, Political Science, Psychology, Economics, Sociology and Anthropology, Geography). At least TWO must be in the HUMANITIES CLUSTER (i.e. English, Foreign Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies).

1. CORE COURSE: ONE semester of the American Studies Core Course, AS 101. Ideally to be completed during the sophomore year. (Non-sophomores can be admitted by permission of faculty advisor or the course instructor.)

2. SURVEY REQUIREMENT: Two discipline-based survey or introductory American Studies-related courses. Examples: English 71 and 72 (American Literature); History 3 and 4 (American Civilization); Sociology 63 (Gender Roles in the United States) and Sociology 69 (Race and Ethnicity in the United States); Philosophy 37 (American Philosophy); Geography 43 (Geography of the United States and Canada); Art History 75 (American Art); Religious Philosophy 8 (American Religious Imagination).

3. AMERICAN STUDIES ELECTIVES: THREE free electives chosen from any American Studies courses (cross-listed or otherwise).

Examples of Possible Concentration Areas
Here are some examples of ways American Study majors could build a concentration area. Each concentration area consists of five courses, with no more than two originating from any single department.

ETHNICITY AND RACE IN AMERICA
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

ANT 21	North American Indian Cultures
ART 77	Primitive/Pre-Columbian Art
ENG 44	Non-Canonical Writers [Native American Literature (Scheckter)]
ENG 73	African-American Literature
ENG 100	Seminar in English [Irish-American Literature (Hallissy)]
HEB 40	Jewish Culture in America
HIS 120	African-American History
HIS 121	The Peopling of America
HIS 122	American Urban History
MUS 28	History of Jazz
MUS 34	Music of Latin America and the Caribbean
POL 5	Ethnicity, Race, and Politics
SOC 26	Sociology of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
SOC 29	Sociology of Latino/a Culture and Identity
SOC 66	The African-American Experience
SOC 68	Sociology of Asian Americans
SOC 69	Race and Ethnicity
SOC 70	Sociology of Poverty

 GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN AMERICAN CULTURE
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

ANT 63	Gender Roles
ENG 44	Non-Canonical Writers (Depending on Topic)
ENG 100	Seminar in English (Depending on Topic)
HIS 123	Gender in American History
PHI 34	Philosophies of Love and Sex
POL 18	Women and Contemporary Politics
POL 40	Women and the Anglo-American Legal Experience
PSY 40	Psychology of Gender
SOC 17	Women: A Cross-Cultural and Literary Perspective
SOC 28	Men, Women, and Power
SOC 60	Sociology of Gender
SOC 61	Feminism and Social Change
SOC 62	Sociology of Human Sexuality
SOC 63	Gender Roles

BODIES IN AMERICAN CULTURE
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

ART 101	Interpreting Art in the 21st Century
DNC 1	Beginning Movement
DNC 9	Current Dance in New York City
ENG 100	Seminar in English [Freak Shows in American Culture (Fahy)]
ENG 350	Bodies on Display in the U.S., 1820-Present (Fahy – AY 2007/8)
HIS 123	Gender in American History
HIS 136	Disease and History
THE 6	Acting for Non-Majors
THE 304	Theatre and Society [DesRochers-Spring 2008]
PSY 68	Psychosomatics: Bodily Protest
SOC 21	Sociology of Health and Illness

AMERICAN YOUTH
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

EDI 15A	Psychological Foundations: Teaching and Learning (Walker)
ENG 44	Non-Canonical Writers [Graphic Novel (Cates)]
MUS 24	History of Rock Music
PHI 15	Philosophy of Education
PSY 25	Developmental Psychology: Childhood
PSY 26	Developmental Psychology: Adolescence
SOC 24	Sociology of Adolescence and Youth
SOC 25	Sociology of Education
SOC 43	Juvenile Delinquency
SOC 67	Gangs and American Society

AMERICA AND THE GLOBAL STAGE
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

HIS 119	History of International Relations Since 1815
HIS 138	History of American Militarism
MUS 28	History of Jazz
PHI 22	War and Peace
POL 45	U.S. National Security
POL 46	American Foreign Policy I
POL 47	American Foreign Policy II
SOC 17	Women: A Cross-Cultural and Literary Perspective
SOC 35	Global Culture: The Integration of the World Community

AGING IN AMERICA
(Five courses from the following or, as appropriate, from other offered courses—faculty advisor permission required.)

ANT 32	Anthropology of Aging
ECO 47	Economics and Aging
SOC 20	Sociology of Aging
PHI 10	Life and Death
POL 42	Law and Aging in America
PSY 70	Developmental Psychology: Adulthood & Aging