American Studies
American
Studies courses
American Studies program home page
Director of undergraduate studies: Michael Denning, 233 HGS, 432-1190, michael.denning@yale.edu
FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF AMERICAN STUDIES
Professors
Jean-Christophe Agnew (History), Elizabeth Alexander (African American Studies, English), David Blight (History, History of Medicine, African American Studies), Jon Butler (History, Religious Studies), Hazel Carby (African American Studies), George Chauncey (History), Edward Cooke, Jr. (History of Art), John Demos (History), Michael Denning (English), Wai Chee Dimock (English), Kathryn Dudley (Anthropology), John Mack Faragher (History), Glenda Gilmore (History), Langdon Hammer (English), Dolores Hayden (Architecture), Jonathan Holloway (African American Studies, History), Matthew Jacobson (Chair) (African American Studies, History), Daniel Kevles (History), Lisa Lowe (American Studies), Joanne Meyerowitz (History), Charles Musser (Film Studies), Alexander Nemerov (History of Art), Patricia Pessar (Adjunct) (Anthropology), Stephen Pitti (History), Sally Promey (Divinity School), Joseph Roach (English, Theater Studies), Michael Roemer (Adjunct) (Art), Stephen Skowronek (Political Science), Robert Stepto (English, African American Studies), Harry Stout (Religious Studies, History), John Szwed (Anthropology, African American Studies), John Warner (History of Medicine), Michael Warner (English), Laura Wexler (Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies)
Associate Professors
Alicia Schmidt Camacho (American Studies), Wes Davis (English), Amy Hungerford (English), Susan Lederer (History of Medicine), Mary Lui (History), Michael Veal (Music, African American Studies)
Assistant Professors
Seth Fein (History), Sanda Lwin (English), Alyssa Mt. Pleasant (History), Alondra Nelson (African American Studies), Naomi Pabst (African American Studies), Diana Paulin (English), Rachel Sherman (Sociology), Caleb Smith (English), Kariann Yokota
Senior Lecturer
Ron Gregg (Film Studies)
Lecturers
Zareena Grewal (Ethnicity, Race, & Migration), Michael Kerbel (Film Studies), Denise Khor (Ethnicity, Race, & Migration), David Musto (History), Rebecca Tannenbaum (History), Deborah Thomas (African American Studies), Alexandra Vázquez (Ethnicity, Race, & Migration, Theater Studies)
The American Studies program encourages the interdisciplinary study of the cultures and politics of the United States, the changing representations of national identity, and the construction of borderland and diasporic cultures over time. Each student in the major combines foundation lecture courses, core seminars, other American Studies courses, and classes from other relevant disciplines (literature, history, the arts, and the social sciences) to explore these broad topics from local, national, and global perspectives. Through the selection of an area of concentration, each student develops a focus for course work in the major. The program encourages scholarly work in nontraditional combinations of disciplines; at the same time, however, it assumes and requires a substantial foundation of knowledge in the history and literature of the United States. Students interested in the major are encouraged to consult with the director of undergraduate studies or the sophomore adviser as early as possible.
Requirements of the major. All students majoring in American Studies must take fourteen term courses approved by the program's faculty. Although a good deal of freedom in course selection is permitted, it is expected that all students will acquaint themselves with the materials, skills, and perspectives of cultural studies. Accordingly, the major requires completion—preferably by the end of the sophomore year, but no later than the end of the junior year—of at least two foundation courses in cultural history (AMST 188a, 189a, 190a, or 191b), one broad survey course in American literature, and one course preparatory for work in the student's area of concentration, to be selected in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies. One of these four courses must address material produced before the Civil War. Because AMST 191b will not be offered in spring 2008, majors may substitute AMST 230b for one of the foundation courses in cultural history. An additional five concentration courses from diverse disciplines must be taken for a letter grade, one of which must incorporate a comparable topic from a non–U.S. perspective. Two electives chosen from the American Studies course offerings are also required.
Students must take two upper-level seminars (AMST 400–490, excluding 471a and 472b) during their junior year. At least one of the seminars must fall within the student's area of concentration, described below. Students are expected to produce a significant paper of twenty to twenty-five pages in each of the seminars. Students may elect to take AMST 390b, an interdisciplinary methods course, in place of one of the required upper-level seminars. Sophomores contemplating a junior term abroad are urged to take either AMST 390b or an upper-level seminar in the spring term of their sophomore year.
Area of concentration. Each American Studies major selects an area of concentration, normally in the fall of the junior year, from five possible choices: (1) national formations, (2) the international United States, (3) material cultures and built environments, (4) politics and American communities, and (5) visual, audio, literary, and performance cultures. A concentration in national formations explores historic migrations, settlements, and encounters among peoples who have formed the American nation, with an emphasis on Native American history and the construction of America's frontiers and borderlands. The international United States concentration focuses on historic and contemporary diasporas, the role of the United States outside its national borders, and the flows of American peoples, ideas, and goods throughout the globe. Students in the material cultures and built environments concentration examine the formation of the American landscape from the natural to the man-made, including the development of American architecture, and the visual and decorative arts. The concentration in politics and American communities investigates the emergence of social groups and their political struggles at the local and national levels, emphasizing the themes of power, inequality, and social justice. Majors with a concentration in visual, audio, literary, and performance cultures study American consumer culture, popular culture, representations, and media in relation to U.S. literatures. The American Studies undergraduate Web page lists American Studies courses appropriate to each area of concentration. Students may also petition the director of undergraduate studies to develop an independent concentration.
Senior requirement. During the senior year, each student in the major completes work in the area of concentration in one of three ways. First, the student may enroll in an upper-level seminar within the area of concentration (AMST 400–490, excluding 471a and 472b). Students should apply interdisciplinary methods and undertake original research to produce a final paper of twenty to twenty-five pages. Students must complete all course requirements to fulfill the senior requirement.
Second, the student may complete a one-term senior project or essay (AMST 491a or b). The product should be a thirty-page essay or its equivalent in another medium. All students writing a one-term senior essay participate in a proseminar on theory and method. To apply for admission to AMST 491a or b, a student should submit a prospectus, signed by the faculty adviser, to the director of undergraduate studies.
Third, the student may enroll in the intensive major (AMST 493) and work independently for two terms. The intensive major offers an opportunity for significant original research leading to a substantial senior project. AMST 493 carries two terms of credit; its final product should be a sixty-page essay or its equivalent in another medium. All students in the intensive major participate in a yearlong proseminar on theory and method. One term of the two-term project may count as a course in the area of concentration. To apply for admission to AMST 493, a student should submit a prospectus, signed by the faculty adviser, to the director of undergraduate studies.
As a multidisciplinary program, American Studies draws on the resources of other departments and programs in the University. Students are encouraged to examine the offerings of other departments in both the humanities and the social sciences, as well as residential college seminars, for additional relevant courses. The stated area of concentration of each student determines the relevance and acceptability of other courses.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
Prerequisites: None
Number of courses: 14 term courses (incl senior req)
Distribution of courses: 2 courses from AMST 188a, 189a, 190a, 191b; 1 course in American lit; 1 course preparatory for work in area of concentration; 5 addtl courses in area of concentration for letter grades, one in a closely related non-American subject (may be one term of two-term senior project); 2 upper-level junior sems; 2 electives
Substitution permitted: AMST 390b for 1 junior sem; AMST 230b for 1 foundation course in cultural hist; other substitutions with DUS permission
Senior requirement: 1 upper-level sem or 1 term of independent research (AMST 491a or b) related to area of concentration leading to submission of essay or equivalent
Intensive major: Same, except two-term senior project (AMST 493) replaces AMST 491a or b
