American Studies Major
Learning Objectives for the American Studies Major
Students majoring in American Studies will:
- Gain competence in the theories and methods of American Studies interdisciplinary work and explore viable models of interdisciplinary learning and critical inquiry in the arts, humanities, and social sciences
- Develop knowledge of the histories and cultures of the United States, understanding the complex interrelationships of culture and society
- Learn to evaluate the influence and impact of America beyond its borders and the transnational, racial, ethnic, and religious interactions that, in turn, define its own identity
- Gain knowledge of the many innovations within disciplines that attend to changes in historical understanding, literary and artistic sensibilities, and social life
- Learn how to conduct in-depth, independent research in American Studies, making connections among disciplines in sharp and critical ways
- Attain skills as critical thinkers, cogent writers, and skillful researchers on a broad range of topics in American life through their course work, individual study, and honors work
Requirements for the American Studies Major
The American Studies major seeks to understand the American experience through a multidisciplinary program of study. The requirements for the major are as follows: Nine units of course work are required for the major, at least six of which should be taken at Wellesley College. These courses include either AMST 101 or AMST 121, which should be completed before the end of the junior year; at least two courses in historical studies (in addition to AMST 101); one course in literature; one course in the arts; and one course from any one of the following three areas: social and behavioral analysis; or epistemology and cognition; or religion, ethics, and moral philosophy. Students are also expected to take at least two 300-level courses, one of which should be AMST 300-399, taken in the junior or senior year. AMST 350, AMST 360, and AMST 370 do not count toward this requirement.
To augment this structure, students will choose a concentration that lends depth and coherence to the major. Chosen in consultation with the major advisor, a concentration consists of three or more courses pertaining to a topic, for example: 1) race, class, and gender 2) comparative ethnic studies 3) American culture and society 4) Asian American Studies 5) Latinx Studies. Students may also construct their own concentration.
Students are encouraged to explore the diversity of American culture and the many ways to interpret it. A list of courses that count toward the major is also included as a separate section in the catalog. Most courses at the College that are primarily U.S.-focused in content may be applied to the American Studies major: if a course isn’t listed and seems eligible for credit, students should consult with the department chair. American Studies majors are encouraged to take as part of, or in addition to, their major courses, surveys of American history, literature, and art (for example, HIST 203, HIST 204, ENG 262, ENG 266, ARTH 231) and a course on the U.S. Constitution and American political thought (for example, POL1 247). In addition, students are urged to take one or more courses outside the major that explore the theory and methods of knowledge creation and production (for example, ECON 103/SOC 190, PHIL 345).
Honors in American Studies
The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral examination. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100 level; the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5. Interested students should apply to the chair in the spring of the junior year.
Courses for Credit Toward the American Studies Major
The following is a list of courses that may be included in an American Studies major. If students have questions about whether a course not listed here can count toward the major, or if they would like permission to focus their concentration on a topic studied in more than one department, they should consult the chair.
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African-American Literary Tradition |
1.0 |
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African American History: From the Slave Trade to the Civil War |
1.0 |
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African American History: From Reconstruction to the Present |
1.0 |
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Black Women Writers |
1.0 |
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Unpacking Blackness |
1.0 |
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Introduction to Black Psychology |
1.0 |
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Black Girlhood |
1.0 |
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New World Afro-Atlantic Religions |
1.0 |
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The Black Church |
1.0 |
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Black Women's History |
1.0 |
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African American Autobiographies |
1.0 |
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History of Slavery Through Film |
1.0 |
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The Harlem Renaissance |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Slavery and Film |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Reading Du Bois |
1.0 |
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Seminar: The Body: The Race and Gender in Modern and Contemporary Art |
1.0 |
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Enslaved Women in the Atlantic World |
1.0 |
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Seminar: No Moral High Ground, A History of Slavery and Racism in the North |
1.0 |
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Film Noir |
1.0 |
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Race and Human Variation |
1.0 |
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Anthropology of Media |
1.0 |
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Ethnomusicology Field Methods |
1.0 |
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American Art, Architecture, and Design |
1.0 |
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Historic Preservation |
1.0 |
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Modern Art Since 1945 |
1.0 |
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History of Photography: From Invention to Media Age |
1.0 |
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Modern Architecture |
1.0 |
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Architecture and Urbanism in North America |
1.0 |
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House and Home: Domestic Architecture, Interiors, and Material Life in North America, 1600-1900 |
1.0 |
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African American Art |
1.0 |
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Art and Environmental Imagination |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Lorraine O’Grady ‘55. Writer, Artist, Archivist |
1.0 |
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Historic Preservation |
1.0 |
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Seminar: New England Arts and Architecture |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Frank Lloyd Wright |
1.0 |
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"Being There": Documentary Film and Media |
1.0 |
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American Jews and the Media |
1.0 |
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Gendering the Bronze Screen: Representations of Chicanas/Latinas in Film |
1.0 |
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Asian American Women in Film |
1.0 |
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Games of Strategy |
1.0 |
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Economics of Education Policy |
1.0 |
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Environmental and Resource Economics |
1.0 |
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Health Economics |
1.0 |
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Economic Organizations in U.S. History |
1.0 |
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Economics of Immigration |
1.0 |
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Economic Analysis of Social Policy |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Advanced Economics of Education |
1.0 |
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Economics of Law, Policy, and Inequality |
1.0 |
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Advanced Health Economics |
1.0 |
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Schools and Society |
1.0 |
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Educational Inequality and Social Transformation in Schools |
1.0 |
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Children’s Literature: Fostering Agency, Equity, and Academic Success |
1.0 |
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Race, Class, and Ethnicity in Education Policy |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Ethnography in Education: Race, Migration, and Borders |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Urban Education and Emancipatory Research |
1.0 |
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Ecopoetics |
1.0 |
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Modern Poetry |
1.0 |
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Contemporary American Poetry: Unrest |
1.0 |
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Contemporary American Poetry |
1.0 |
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American Literature: 1940s to 2000 |
1.0 |
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Jews and Jewishness in American Literature |
1.0 |
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Representation and Appropriation in US Video Game Narratives |
1.0 |
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Minorities in U.S. Comics |
1.0 |
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What Is Racial Difference? |
1.0 |
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Writing AIDS, 1981-Present |
1.0 |
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Ernest Hemingway: Life and Writings |
1.0 |
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The World of Emily Dickinson |
1.0 |
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Sapphic Modernism |
1.0 |
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Race, Justice, and Action |
1.0 |
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U.S. Environmental History |
1.0 |
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U.S. Environmental Politics |
1.0 |
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America Through French Eyes: Perceptions and Realities |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Germany, Europe, and the US |
1.0 |
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First Year Seminar: American Hauntings |
1.0 |
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Out of Many: American History to 1877 |
1.0 |
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The United States History since 1865 |
1.0 |
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U.S. Consumerism |
1.0 |
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The Hand that Feeds: A History of American Food |
1.0 |
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History of the American West: Manifest Destiny to Pacific Imperialism |
1.0 |
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History of American Capitalism from Revolution to Empire |
1.0 |
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Cold War Culture and Politics in the United States |
1.0 |
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Roads to Power: The Transformation of Space in 19th Century North America |
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Civil Rights Reconsidered |
1.0 |
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Native America |
1.0 |
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The United States in the World War II Era |
1.0 |
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Black Lives Matter in Print |
1.0 |
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Colonial America |
1.0 |
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America in the Age of Revolution |
1.0 |
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Civil War and the World |
1.0 |
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Political World of Hamilton |
1.0 |
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Deep in the Heart: The American South in the Nineteenth Century |
1.0 |
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China and America: Evolution of a Troubled Relationship |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Revolution to Civil War |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Understanding Race in the United States, 1776-1918 |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Fashion Politics |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Fear and Violence in Early America |
1.0 |
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Seminar: History of American Food |
1.0 |
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Crime and Punishment in Early America |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Seeing Black: African Americans and United States Visual Culture |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Narrating the “Struggle” |
1.0 |
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LING/SPAN 270 |
Language, Sociopolitics, and Identity: Spanish in the United States |
1.0 |
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A History of Jazz |
1.0 |
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Jazz and Popular Music Theory |
1.0 |
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American Popular Music |
1.0 |
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A History of Jazz |
1.0 |
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Social Inequality |
1.0 |
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U.S. Public Health |
1.0 |
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American Politics |
1.0 |
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Campaigns and Elections |
1.0 |
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Courts, Law, and Politics |
1.0 |
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Constitutional Law |
1.0 |
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Public Policymaking in American Politics |
1.0 |
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The Politics of Crime |
1.0 |
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Health Politics and Policy |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Immigration Politics |
1.0 |
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Political Psychology |
1.0 |
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Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Perspectives on American Politics |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Race in American Politics |
1.0 |
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A Seat at the Table? Race and Representation in American Institutional Life |
1.0 |
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The Vietnam War |
1.0 |
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Health Politics and Policy |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Immigration Politics |
1.0 |
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Political Psychology |
1.0 |
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Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Perspectives on American Politics |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Race in American Politics |
1.0 |
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The Vietnam War |
1.0 |
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Neoliberalism and its Critics |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Grassroots Organizing |
1.0 |
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Beyond Prisons |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Black Liberation from Haiti to Black Lives Matter |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Prejudice and Discrimination |
1.0 |
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South Asian Religions in the USA |
1.0 |
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Modern Families and Social Inequalities: Private Lives and Public Policies |
1.0 |
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Technology: Progress, Power, and Problems |
1.0 |
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Marriage and the Family |
1.0 |
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Women and Work |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Children in Society |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Families, Gender, the State and Social Policies |
1.0 |
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Consumer Culture |
1.0 |
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Spain in the US: Past and Future |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Hispanic Literature of the United States |
1.0 |
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Spain in the US: Past and Future |
1.0 |
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Fashion and Costume History in Film and TV |
1.0 |
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Trailblazing Women of American Comedy |
1.0 |
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Twenty Plays, Twenty Years |
1.0 |
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Reading Elvis Presley |
1.0 |
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Growing Up Gendered |
1.0 |
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American Health Care History in Gender, Race, and Class Perspective |
1.0 |
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Gender, Race, and the Carceral State |
1.0 |
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Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary American Society |
1.0 |
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Feminist Methods |
1.0 |
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The Body Across Medicine, Media, and Politics |
1.0 |
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Romance Films and Feminist Theories |
1.0 |
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Visual History and Memory: Representations of the Japanese American Internment Experience |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Representations of Women, Natives, and Others |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Techno-Orientalism |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Race, Gender, and Science |
1.0 |
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Seminar: Anti-Carceral Feminism |
1.0 |