AMST 407(S) Studying American Studies: The Evolution of Discipline (Senior Seminar)
This course will focus on the development of the field of American Studies from
its inception in the 1950s to the present by reading the works of some of the major figures in the history of the field: the "symbol and myth" approach of Henry
Nash Smith, the cultural history of Warren Susman, and the race and ethnicity
approaches of Ronald Takaki and David Hollinger, to some of the more recent
practitioners of American Studies including George Lipsitz, Robert Lee, Melani
McAlister, and Marita Sturken.
Format: seminar. Requirements: weekly response papers, two short papers (5-7
pages) and one longer paper (10-15 pages.)
No prerequisites, but preference given to American Studies majors. Enrollment
limit: 19.