Degree: B.A., General Liberal Arts and Studies
Department of History and American Studies
American Studies is an interdisciplinary major that enables students to explore the complex interactions of peoples, cultures, social structures, and political institutions that have shaped the experiences of peoples living in the United States. In addition to four core courses, students demonstrate the ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries by completing five (5) thematically-assembled courses from affiliated disciplines approved by an American Studies advisor and the Program Director. Example concentrations include, although are not limited to, the following: gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, cultural expression, human rights, politics and society, and space and place.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will demonstrate a broad, diverse knowledge of American culture and society.
2. Students will incorporate aspects of race/ethnicity and gender/sexuality in the explication of American life.
3. Students will understand the relationship between the present and future with the past.
4. Students will read and assess primary and secondary sources from a variety of genres and mediums.
5. Students will integrate knowledge from several disciplinary perspectives.
6. Students will synthesize independent research findings in a written format.
7. Students will utilize technological resources in research, data analysis, and presentation.
8. Students will communicate evidence and analysis orally.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| Select one 200-level AMST course from: | 3 | |
| Sophomore Special Topics Seminar | ||
| American Protest | ||
| American Foodways | ||
| Select one 300-level AMST course from: | 3 | |
| Junior Special Topics Seminar | ||
| American Gender and Sexuality | ||
| Museums in the US | ||
| Virginia Issues and Controversies | ||
| Civil Rights and American Memory | ||
| AMST 485 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| Select 24 credits (eight courses) in related disciplines selected from a pre-approved list of American Studies electives as well as other courses with relevant content approved by the Program Director. 1 | 24 | |
| Total Credits | 36 | |
- 1
Five of the eight elective courses must be assembled thematically; that is, they must be organized around a unifying line of inquiry, which must be approved by an American Studies advisor and the Program Director. Internships are encouraged, but only 3 credits can count toward the major.
The major also has a number of requirements for the eight electives. They are as follows:
- one must deal with the United States prior to 1900.
- another must deal with race and/or gender.
- The race/gender and pre-1900 requirements may be met by a single class.
- Six of the eight electives must be at the 300-level or beyond.
- To ensure breadth, no more than three of the eight elective courses may be from one of the affiliated disciplines.
Major Electives for American Studies
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 350 | Topics in American Studies | 3 |
| AMST 491 | Individual Study | 3 |
| AMST 499 | Internship | 1-12 |
| ANTH 211 | Race in Global Perspective | 3 |
| ANTH 212 | Anthropology of Gender | 3 |
| ANTH 341 | Practices of Memory | 3 |
| ARTH 352A | American Art | 3 |
| ARTH 354A | Pop Art to the Present | 3 |
| ARTH 355 | Modern Architecture | 3 |
| ECON 341A | Public Finance | 3 |
| ECON 351C | Poverty, Affluence, and Equality | 3 |
| ECON 375 | American Economic History | 3 |
| ENGL 328 | New World Writing in the Colonial Period | 3 |
| ENGL 329 | Literature and Nation-Building in the Americas | 3 |
| ENGL 330 | Hemispheric Fiction of the Global Age | 3 |
| ENGL 352 | African American Literature Pre-1900 | 3 |
| ENGL 353 | Asian-American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 354 | African American Literature Post-1900 | 3 |
| ENGL 355 | American Romanticism | 3 |
| ENGL 356 | American Realism | 3 |
| ENGL 357 | Southern Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 358 | Modern American Fiction | 3 |
| ENGL 371 | Contemporary Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 385 | Contemporary American Fiction | 3 |
| ENGL 386 | The Graphic Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 455 | Studies in American Literature to 1900 | 3 |
| ENGL 457 | Studies in American Literature, 1900–Present | 3 |
| ENGL 458 | Seminar in American Long Poems | 3 |
| GEOG 221A | Environment & Culture in Eastern North America | 3 |
| GEOG 222A | Environment & Culture in Western North America | 3 |
| GEOG 331 | Race and Place in America | 3 |
| GEOG 337 | The Nature of Cities | 3 |
| HISP 100 | Introduction to Historic Preservation | 3 |
| HISP 105 | The American Built Environment | 3 |
| HISP 206 | Introduction to American Folklore | 3 |
| HISP 207 | American Archaeology | 3 |
| HISP 305A | Historic Building Technologies | 3 |
| HISP 320 | Material Culture | 3 |
| HISP 323 | Cultural Heritage Tourism | 3 |
| HISP 325 | Vernacular Architecture in America | 3 |
| HISP 326 | Graves & Burial Grounds | 3 |
| HIST 131 | American History to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 132 | American History Since 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 303A | The American South | 3 |
| HIST 304 | The Civil War | 3 |
| HIST 305 | The American West | 3 |
| HIST 307 | Native American History | 3 |
| HIST 308 | US Labor History | 3 |
| HIST 310 | US Urban History | 3 |
| HIST 313 | African American History through 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 314 | African American History since Slavery | 3 |
| HIST 315 | U.S. Immigration History | 3 |
| HIST 318 | The American Revolution | 3 |
| HIST 319 | The Early American Republic | 3 |
| HIST 322 | US Environmental History | 3 |
| HIST 323 | Colonial America | 3 |
| HIST 325 | History of American Technology and Culture | 3 |
| HIST 326 | History of Manhood in the US | 3 |
| HIST 329 | U.S. History and Film | 3 |
| HIST 330 | Introduction to Public History | 3 |
| HIST 380 | United States Since 1945 | 3 |
| HIST 390A | The United States and Vietnam | 3 |
| HIST 416 | American Legal History | 3 |
| HIST 444 | American Slavery | 3 |
| LING 302 | Introduction to Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics | 3 |
| LING 307 | Language and Gender | 3 |
| MUHL 156 | American Music | 3 |
| MUHL 268 | History of Jazz | 3 |
| PSCI 201 | American Government | 3 |
| PSCI 202A | American Public Policy | 3 |
| PSCI 306 | US Constitutional Reform | 3 |
| PSCI 311A | Congress and the Political Process | 3 |
| PSCI 312A | The American Presidency | 3 |
| PSCI 313 | U.S. Federal Judiciary | 3 |
| PSCI 324 | U.S. - Latin American Relations | 3 |
| PSCI 334A | Political Parties and Elections in America | 3 |
| PSCI 356 | American Foreign Policy | 3 |
| PSCI 363 | Mass Media Politics | 3 |
| PSCI 370 | Gender and Politics | 3 |
| PSCI 422 | American Civil Liberties | 3 |
| PSCI 450 | US Political Film | 3 |
| RELG 250 | African American Religions | 3 |
| RELG 251 | Native American Religions | 3 |
| RELG 277 | Religion in America Before the Civil War | 3 |
| RELG 278 | Religion in America After the Civil War | 3 |
| RELG 305 | Religion and Politics in the United States | 3 |
| SOCG 304 | Social Stratification | 3 |
| SOCG 313 | Urban Sociology | 3 |
| SOCG 315A | Gender and Society | 3 |
| SOCG 320 | Food Justice | 3 |
| SOCG 331 | The Family | 3 |
| SOCG 332 | Introduction to Social Welfare | 3 |
| SOCG 336 | Community Power | 3 |
| SOCG 341 | American Society | 3 |
| SOCG 411 | Popular Culture | 3 |
| SOCG 421B | Racial and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| SOCG 440 | Sociology of Education | 3 |
| WGST 101 | Introduction to Women's Studies | 3 |
| WGST 102 | Perspectives in Sexuality | 3 |
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degrees apply to all students who are seeking to earn an undergraduate B.A., B.S. or B.S.Ed. degree.
Students seeking a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree have a separate set of BLS general education requirements.
Electives
Elective courses are those that are not needed to fulfill a general education requirement or major program requirement but are chosen by the student to complete the 120 credits required for graduation with a B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. degree or the BLS degree. These courses may be taken graded or pass/fail (or S/U in the case of physical education and 100-level dance). No student in a regular B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. program may count more than 60 credits in a single discipline toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
Total Credits Required for the Degree: 120 credits
Plan of Study
This suggested plan of study should serve as a guide to assist students when planning their course selections. It is not a substitute for a student's Degree Evaluation or the Program Requirements listed for this major in the catalog. Academic planning is the student's responsibility, and course selections should be finalized only after speaking with an advisor. Students should familiarize themselves with the catalog in effect at the time they matriculated at the University of Mary Washington. Students should also familiarize themselves with general education requirements which can be fulfilled through general electives as well as major/minor course requirements. Course requirements and sequencing may vary with AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge or previous coursework, transfer courses, or other conditions. To be considered full-time, an undergraduate student must be enrolled in 12 or more credits for the semester.
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| FSEM 100 | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| General Education Courses | 12 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| General Education Courses | 12 | |
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| Fall | ||
| AMST 201 | Introduction to American Studies | 3 |
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Courses | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| AMST 202 |
Sophomore Special Topics Seminar or American Protest or American Foodways |
3 |
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Courses or Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Junior | ||
| Fall | ||
| AMST Pre-1900 Elective | 3 | |
| AMST Race/Gender Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Courses or Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| AMST 303 |
Junior Special Topics Seminar or American Gender and Sexuality or Museums in the US or Virginia Issues and Controversies or Civil Rights and American Memory |
3 |
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Courses or Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Senior | ||
| Fall | ||
| AMST 485 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| AMST Elective | 3 | |
| General Electives | 12 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
NOTE: AMST 201, an AMST 200-level Core Course, an AMST 300-level Core Course, and AMST 485 Senior Thesis are normally offered in both the fall and spring semester. When selecting electives for the American Studies major, 6 of the 8 courses must be at the 300-level or higher, and 5 of the 8 should be connected to a thematic area of focus identified in consultation with the student’s major advisor. No more than 3 of the 8 major elective courses may be from one of the affiliated disciplines.
American Studies Program
Erin K. Devlin, Program Coordinator and Career Advisor
Krystyn R. Moon, Career Advisor
Affiliated Faculty
Antonio Barrenechea, English and Linguistics
Erin K. Devlin, History and American Studies
Joseph G. Dreiss, Art History
Stephen J. Farnsworth, Political Science and International Affairs
Bradley A. Hansen, Economics
Christine R. Henry, Historic Preservation
Janie Lee, English and Linguistics
Mary Beth Mathews, Religious Studies
Jeffrey W. McClurken, History and American Studies
Will B. Mackintosh, History and American Studies
Krystyn R. Moon, History and American Studies
Melina A. Patterson, Geography
Gary N. Richards, English and Linguistics
Mara N. Scanlon, English and Linguistics
Jason R. Sellers, History and American Studies
Gregg Stull, Theatre and Dance
Clarence W. Tweedy, III, English and Linguistics