This interdisciplinary program helps you explore the conceptual framework of America, as well as the role of the United States in the world. Courses focus on the issues that most profoundly impact the American way of life, including colonization, art and language, politics and government, and race, gender, and sexuality. Courses offered as part of the American Studies Certificate encourage you to gain a deeper and broader perspective on the diverse people and cultures that call the United States home.
The certificate in American Studies offers students the opportunity to more deeply understand the United States through the study of its history, politics, art, literature, and culture.
This program is designed to be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree or as a stand-alone program for personal and/or professional enrichment only. Students pursuing this as a stand-alone certificate will not qualify for Title IV federal financial aid.
Code | Course | Credits |
---|---|---|
HIS 1215 |
Survey of Early U.S. HistoryThe European colonization of the Americas and the subsequent emergence of the United States held tremendous consequences for the peoples of the modern world. Colonial regimes set in motion a chain of events that destroyed unique Native American cultures, and the demands of merchants and planters in the Americas fueled the African slave trade, one of the largest forced migrations in human history. At the same time, political elites and ordinary people participated in a transatlantic Age of Revolutions that introduced to the world new ways of organizing government and thinking about human rights. Students in this introductory survey course will study these foundations of national life in the United States. The topics to be considered include Native American cultures and colonialism; slavery and its destruction; the role of race and gender relations in American life; and the emergence of liberalism and nationalism in the modern world. This course fulfills a Humanistic Perspective general education requirement. Every semester |
3 |
HIS 1225 |
Survey of Modern U.S. HistoryThe emergence of the United States as a global power represents one of the most significant developments in recent world history. This introductory survey course will trace America's growing engagement with the world over the course of the long twentieth century. At the same time, the course will consider the development domestically of a modern centralized state that has increasingly concerned itself with the rights and well-being of individual citizens. Topics will include industrialization and its critics, imperialism, the two World Wars, the development of a social safety net, movements for civil rights and social justice for women and minorities, and the origins of America's engagement with the Middle East. This course fulfills a Humanistic Perspective general education requirement. Every semester |
3 |
Code | Course | Credits |
---|---|---|
POS 1020 |
American Politics and GovernmentVarious approaches to the study of politics and some of its fundamental issues, such as the authority and function of the state, the rights of the individual and the pursuit of justice, equality, life, liberty, and happiness. Emphasis on American politics and government. This course fulfills a Social Science general education requirement. Every semester |
3 |
POS 2320 |
U.S. Campaigns and ElectionsThis course concentrates on this year's presidential election process. We consider the institutions and processes of the electoral systems in the United States at the national, state and local levels. We analyze the effect of the structure of the electoral system itself, as well as the impact of political parties, interest groups, the media, campaign financing, political culture and ideology. And we examine how well the U.S. electoral system supports the principles and goals of democracy. Fall (U.S. Presidential election years) |
3 |
Code | Course | Credits |
---|---|---|
ENG 2311 |
American Literature: Colonial to Civil WarThis course examines the formal and philosophical features of American literature through the Civil War, particularly those features that resulted from the exhilarating yet complex, even contradictory, new American character. Reading includes fiction, poetry, and essays that characterize and illustrate colonial, Romantic, and Civil War era literary endeavor. Course is offered every third semester, consult Department Chair for offering cycle. Prerequisite: ENG 1061 , highly recommended: ENG 1310 Every third semester |
3 |
ENG 2312 |
American Literature: Civil War to PresentThis course examines the formal and philosophical features of American literature from the Civil War to the present, particularly those features wrought by the Civil War, by urbanization, by advances in science and psychology, and by the two world wars. Reading includes fiction, poetry, and drama that characterize and illustrate literary regionalism, realism, naturalism, and modernism-and that begin to characterize contemporary American literature by, and against, those traditions. Course offered every third semester, consult Department Chair for cycle offering. Prerequisite: ENG 1061 , highly recommended ENG 1310 Every third semester |
3 |
ENG 3520 |
American PoetrySo that students understand the distinctive attributes and achievements of American poetry, this course studies the abiding and evolving characteristics of poetry in general; the English and European influences on American poetry; but especially the development of American poetry itself by way of form and function, in particular the influences on, and of, modern American poetry. Reading includes poetry that represents such development from the nineteenth century to the present. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310, ENG 2311, and ENG 2312. Every fourth year, see Department Chair for offering cycle. |
3 |
ENG 3530 |
American NovelSo that students understand the distinctive attributes and achievements of the American novel, this course studies the abiding and evolving characteristics of the novel in general; the profound differences between the nineteenth century American and English novel; but especially the development of the American novel itself, with significant investigation of Romantic and modern forms and purposes. Reading includes novels that represent such development from the nineteenth century to the present. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310 Spring, odd years |
3 |
ENG 3550 |
American Short FictionWith the American short story and novella as its subject, this course studies short fiction by way of the literary conventions that define, sustain, and transform it; by way of the distinctions to be drawn between short fiction and the novel; but predominantly by way of the formal and philosophical development of American short fiction itself, with particular attention paid its modern and contemporary significance. Reading includes short fiction that represents such development from the nineteenth century to the present. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310 Fall, odd years |
3 |
ENG 3560 |
American DramaThis course studies drama by way of the literary conventions that define, sustain, and transform it; by way of the English and European influences on American drama; but predominantly by way of the formal and philosophical development of American drama itself, with particular attention paid its modern and contemporary significance. Reading includes drama that represents such development from the nineteenth century to the present. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310 Fall, even years |
3 |
ENG 3580 |
African American LiteratureStudents survey prominent African American literature from the eighteenth century to the present. The relationship between vernacular literature-the blues, gospel, jazz, the sermon-and the formal African American literary tradition is examined. Students also consider the relationship between African American literature and the more general category of American literature. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310 Course offered every fourth year, see Department Chair for offering cycle. |
3 |
ENG 3600 |
Studies in American LiteratureThis course examines significant figures, movements, or themes in American literature. It could involve the study of the literary career of one or more significant American writers, or a significant literary movement such as transcendentalism, naturalism, imagism, or the Harlem Renaissance, or a broader theme such as American exceptionalism or American imperialism. Students investigate the critical reception of literary works or figures over time. Students may investigate the cultural forces behind and contributing to literary productions. Students may not repeat the course on the same topic. This course counts towards the Aesthetic Understanding Frame of Reference. Prerequisite: Highly recommended: ENG 1310 Spring, even years |
3 |
Code | Course | Credits |
---|---|---|
ARH 3050 |
American ArtHistory of American art from the Colonial period to 1913. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetic general education requirement. Fall, even years |
3 |
COM 1050 |
Introduction to Popular CultureThis inter-disciplinary theory course explores the ways in which media and the entertainment industries have made consumerism the focal point of American culture and society. Focusing primarily on the marketing and consumption of clothing, food, toys and religion, we will examine how the commercialization and privatization of popular culture have forced us to revise how we think of ourselves as individuals and as a nation. This course fulfills a Social Science general education requirement. Fall |
3 |
COM 2140 |
Race, Gender and Sexuality in MediaMedia are among our primary sources of images of people, places and things we do not encounter ourselves in our everyday lives. This course examines the images of women and racial and sexual minorities who have been on the fringes of policy development and yet at the center of narratives created by mainstream media. It takes a detailed look at the symbolic and social power of commercial media's role in constructing social and cultural differences around age, gender, race, class and sexuality. This course fulfills an Arts and Aesthetics general education requirement. Prerequisite: COM 1220 or consent of instructor. Fee Fee $20 Spring |
3 |
COM 2260 |
Media and SocietyThis course examines media audiences. In looking at the interaction between media and society, it explores how media create an imagined community, how audiences use the media, and what impact media messages have on audiences. In addition to reading secondary research on media theories, students also gather and analyze primary data. Prerequisite: COM 1220 or permission of instructor. Every semester |
3 |