Introduction to American Studies

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to American Studies, a field of knowledge about the ongoing formation of the United States and its borderlands that seeks interdisciplinary answers to the problems framing our nation. An interdisciplinary approach to U.S. cultures allows us to integrate the ideas, information, and collective feelings (or affects) that are usually studied separately in art, critical race/ethnicity studies, economics, film and TV studies, gender/sexuality studies, history, law, literature, media studies, modern languages, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology/anthropology. Using many analytical frameworks, we will explore case studies of real-world events and learn to interpret cultural texts, and by the end of the semester, you will have completed your own case study.