Introduction to
American Studies
AMST 2000 Spring 2010
CRN 20128
Location and Time TBA
Introduction to American Studies is a course that can benefit students by providing an opportunity to cross academic disciplines and expand their exposure to an array of backgrounds regarding American culture.
The text used in this course is Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing wherein six dominant “myths” of American society are discussed. The units in the class will parallel the myths/themes of the text: American family, education, the American Dream, gender roles, the melting pot, and the frontier. Our readings and class discussions will first familiarize students with the cultural concepts or myths perpetuated in these themes of American society. Afterwards, utilizing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, we will explore and question many of these assumptions.
A major component of exploring the myths of American society includes an examination of visual images such as film, art, comic strips, and advertisements and how these have influenced popular thinking and cultural concepts. For example, in the unit on gender we will discuss ways in which various forms of media have influenced our cultural perspective about what is considered “feminine” and “masculine.” We will analyze advertisements such as “Rosie the Riveter” used during World War II to encourage female support of the war effort, as well as the advertisements that were later used to encourage these same women to leave the factories and return home. We will then consider what influences our thinking about gender identity in the 21st century. In addition to class discussions and readings in our text, students will be required to write responses to questions in short essay form, participate in oral presentations, and write a final paper.
We will end our semester with a discussion regarding the current trend in American Studies to examine American culture from a more global perspective. We will re-cap the most current topics in the field as presented at the 2009 National American Studies Association Conference where scholars discussed the rights, responsibilities, pleasures, and terrors of life in and around the United States. On completion, students in this course can expect to have a greater understanding of American diversity and influence; a broader appreciation for the ways in which discussion of American culture spills over into many fields of study.