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Course Offerings in American Studies for Fall, 2005
Here is a list of courses that satisfy requirements for the American Studies major and minor being offered in Fall 2005. In addition, students can also sign up for independent study courses (AMS 377, AMS 477), honors thesis (AMS 480), and internship credits (AMS 340). There are a variety of opportunities for internships, both locally and nationally. In order to register for an internship, independent study, or honors thesis, you will need to fill out an Independent Study Permit Form available in the programs office or from the registrar. Faculty in American Studies would be happy to talk with you about the courses you are considering or possible internships or independent study projects. Please contact the director of American Studies if you have any questions: Marguerite “Peggy” Shaffer, Director of American Studies, 9-7527, shaffems@muohio.edu.
Course Offerings, Fall 2005, in American Studies
MPF AMS 101 Introduction to American Studies (3)
(3) Section A MWF 9:00-9:50 Staff; Section B TR 9:30-10:45 Sheumaker; Section C TR 3:30-4:45 Sheumaker, Section D TR 8:00-9:15 Sheumaker.
This course will introduce students to the study of culture in the United States from an interdisciplinary perspective. Drawing from a variety of source materials ranging from literary and historical texts to visual images and material objects, and relying on a range of interpretive techniques, students examine aspects of thought, expression, and behavior that have shaped and defined the complex modern society of the US.
Click here for Dr. Sheumaker's syllabus for this course.
Click here for Dr. Croucher's HONOR'S section syllabus for this course.
AMS 201 Approaches to American Culture (3): Visual Culture/Public Culture
MWF 11:00-11:50 Brown Click here for the syllabus for this course.
This section of AMS 201 will focus on the role of the visual in shaping ideas of public and private cultures in 20th century America. The interpretation of visual culture is a historically contingent process, shaped by racial and gender difference, class and sexuality, and global flows of both people and capital. In this course we will closely analyze elements of American visual culture, especially photography, television, and film, to ask how images can work both to stabilize and contest dominant notions of American belonging. Students will learn to analyze a variety of cultural artifacts including family snapshots, activist posters, television dramas and documentaries, Hollywood films and commercial images as a means of understanding how visual culture shapes the shifting meanings of both private and collective identities. Required for American Studies majors but also open to non-majors.
AMS 214 History of Miami University (3) T 3:30-6:10 Ellison
How did Miami evolve from a nineteenth century midwestern college for men to a twenty-first century international university where a majority of students are women? This course explores that experience since 1809 from the perspectives of local culture, national social and economic forces, and the history of American higher education.
MPT AMS 241 Religions of American Peoples (4) MW 2:00-3:50 Williams
Click here for the syllabus for this course.
Historical and cultural analysis of religious communities of the U.S. of primarily non-European origin. Includes African American, native American, Latino, and Middle Eastern and Asian traditions, including Islam. Cross-listed with REL 242.
AMS 301 Practice in American Studies: Public Institions (3) TR 2:00-3:15 Williams
Click here for a syllabus for this course.
This class will focus on how American cultural institutions -- e.g., museums, libraries, churches, schools, government agencies -- shape and have been shaped by American society. Students will be asked to select a specific institution and develop a project on how the class themes are illustrated by that institution's history and current practice.
AMS 302 U.S. and the World (3) MWF 1:00-1:50 Stevens
This course is broadly designed to explore issues of American culture, politics, and history in the context of growing global interconnectedness. The focus is on America's membership in a broader international community, and how the United States both shapes and is shaped by patterns and processes of globalization. Not only is globalization shifting borders and weakening states, but it is also reconfiguring political and cultural identities and attachments throughout the world. This interactive research seminar looks at how the dynamics of globalization are affecting contemporary configurations of American national identity. The topics we will explore include: How the US as a global power is perceived by other countries around the world; How American citizenship is being reconfigured by immigration; The role that US ethnic groups play in marketing the 'American creed' abroad; The political and moral implications of American patriotism in a global age; How 9/11 intensified debates over who and what is 'truly American'.
AMS 362 Era of the American Revolution (3) TR 11:00-12:15 Cayton
Topical offerings in American Studies on themes such as popular culture, material culture, ethnicity, or periods in American life such as the 1950s. May be taken for credit more than once with different content and permission of instructor.
AMS 379 U.S. Consumerism, 1890-Present (3) MWF 1:00 -1:50 pm Brown
Click here for syllabus
We are what we buy. Or so it would seem, judging by contemporary commercial culture, as brands flower on clothing, television screens, and hair-styles. While getting and spending has been a key element of American culture since its beginning, the advent of mass production in the last third of the 19th century made the dreamscape of consumption available to greater numbers of Americans. This course examines the history of mass consumerism in the United States from the 1890s to the present, with a special focus on the pre-1970s period. After a brief look at the rise of mass production, we will explore the mechanisms that have made these mass produced goods available to North American (and eventually global) markets. Specific topics include: the shift from mass production to mass consumption; the growth of department stores; the rise of advertising; the relationship of race, class, and gender to consumer capitalism; the development of product brands; and the emergence of global marketing. Cross-listed in History department.
MPC AMS 401 Senior Capstone in American Studies (4) Soundscapes: Cultures of Sound and Listening W 2:00-4:40 Blake. Click here for the syllabus for this course.
This seminar examines the role of sound in shaping perceptions of place, community, and identity - the sounds we make and the sounds we hear. These might include voices, accents, street sounds, broadcasts; sounds heard in public or in private. We will read contemporary and historical soundscape studies; listen to examples of audio projects by leading practitioners from the U.S. and around the world; learn how to design and conduct a "soundwalk"; keep a semester-long sound diary; write, record and edit an audio project based on original research.
F110 Transformation of Public Culture (3) TR 9:30-10:45 Shaffer.
Building on shifting scholarly concepts of the "public," and the "people," "citizenship," and "civic engagement," the seminar explores the actions, sites, media, and expressions that shape and define public culture and civic engagement as they have evolved in the United States over the past century and a half.
H101 Belonging in America (3) TR 4:00-5:15 Croucher
This course examines political and philosophical issues related to US national identity, culture and belonging. Students are introduced to the historical origins and contemporary implications of debates ranging from immigration, to multiculturalism, to the US role in a changing world.
Courses from the following cognate departments and programs:
(these courses are especially useful in fulfilling the American Culture Focus for the major and the minor)
Anthropology
ATH 185F Cultural Diversity of the US MWF 11:00-11:50 Bratton; MWF 2:00-2:50 Bratton
Anthropological introduction to the diversity of contemporary cultural life in the United States.
ATH 304 Contemporary Issues/Native American Life TR 9:30-10:45 Hamill
Indian-white relationships, reservation communities, urban Indians, pan-Indianism, revitalization, and quest for identity. Prerequisite: ATH 303 or permission of instructor.
ATH 441/541 Museum Development, Philosophy, and Social Context (3) MW 7:00-8:15 Spielbauer
Survey of the development of museums to their current status and study of philosophical, theoretical, and ethical basis behind modern museum forms and functions in architecture, acquisitions and collections, documentation, research, preservation, and interpretation.
Architecture
ARC 225 Design and Human Behavior TR 12:30-1:45 Jacks
Study of perception and psychological response to the built environment. Emphasis on cultural differences, design for special populations, ergonomics, and anthropometrics.
ARC 426 Architecture and Society TR 11:00-12:15 Dutton
Examination of the relation between design professions and varying social-economic orders, with special emphasis given to the effect of this order on theory and practice of architecture.
Black World Studies
BWS 151 Introduction to Black World Studies TR 1:00-2:50 Hunter
Introduces the Afrocentric perspective as it has developed in anthropology, history, political science, geography, sociology, religious studies, mass communications, theater, art, etc. Covers theories, research, methodologies, and practice of Africana studies. Students develop historical and contemporary understanding of the African diaspora.
BWS 221 African American History MWF 9:00-9:50 Jackson
Survey of African-American history, concentrating upon the black experience in the United States. Black America from African origins to the 20th century. Cross-listed with BWS 221 .
BWS 337 African American Writing, 1878-1945 TR 2:00-3:15 Johnson
Survey of African American writing from after the Reconstruction era to World War II, with special attention to the emergence and history of the New Negro Renaissance. Among the writers studied are Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles W. Chesnutt, W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Sterling A. Brown, Alain Locke, Margaret Walker, and Richard Wright. Cross-listed with BWS 337 . CAS-B-LIT .
BWS 338 African American Writing 1946- Present TR 12:30-1:45 Dunning
Survey of African American writing since World War II, with special attention to literary and cultural contributions of such writers as James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Paule Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. Cross-listed with BWS 338C.
BWS 348 American Minority Relations TR 2:00-3:15 Eichenberger
Description and analysis of emergence and trends of minority relations in the U.S. Cross-listed with BWS 348 . Offered infrequently.
BWS 365 Civil War and Reconstruction Era (3) MWF 11:00-11:50 Jackson
Origins and growth of sectionalism with emphasis on the period after 1850, secession and Civil War, Federal and Confederate governments, Reconstruction, and foreign issues. Cross-listed with BWS 365 .
BWS 455 Race, Urban Change and Conflict in America R 6:00-8:40 Yeboah
Since the 1960s, changes at both global and local levels have affected the American city. Traditional study of the city has not focused on race and the effect of such changes on race. Conflicts with racial undertones occur on a daily basis in most American cities. More often these are conflicts over production, distribution, and consumption of public and private goods and are manifest in the housing market, job market, and access to education and social services amongst others. This seminar focuses on race in urban America within the context of conflict and change. Cross-listed with BWS 455 / 555
Communication
COM 206 Diversity and Culture in America TR 9:30-10:45 and T 3:30-6:00 Scott; TR 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and T 3:30-6:00 p.m. - Ronald Scott
Analysis of the representation of diversity and culture as portrayed in American motion pictures. Cross-listed with FST 206 and IDS 206 .
COM 215 The History of Electronic Media MWF 9:00-9:50 Blake
No description available
COM 354 Media and Society MWF 11:00-11:50 and M 7:45-8:45 Becker; MWF 1:00-1:50 and T 7:00-8:00 Becker
Survey of the place of electronic media in society. Topics covered include media and culture; media economics, industries, and institutions; politics of media content; media and social representation. Prerequisite: junior standing, major status, or permission of instructor. (Mass communication)
Economics
ECO 131 Economic Perspectives in Inequality in the United States TR 9:30-10:45 Sullivan; TR 11:00-12:15 Sullivan
No description available.
Educational Leadership
EDL 282 Cultural Studies, Power, and Education TR 5:00-6:15 Staff
Introduces the basic concepts used in cultural studies by studying the locations and uses of power in the education of the American public.
EDL 334 Youth Subcultures, Popular Culture, and Non-Formal Education TR 3:30-4:45 Staff
Using contemporary social and educational theory, this course covers recent development in understanding youth cultures including work from England, the United States, and other countries. Focuses on youth subcultures and popular culture in the United States.
English
ENG 141 Life and Thought in American Literature through 1865: MWF 11:00-11:50 Daiker; TR 2:00-3:15 Staff
Introduction to multiplicity of voices in American culture as expressed in literary texts written in and about America: (141) from colonial period through 1865; (MPT 142) 1865 - 1945 (MPT 143) 1945 to present.
ENG 142 Life and Thought in American Literature 1865-1945 TR 11:00-12:15 J.Parks; TR 3:30-4:45 Staff; TR 12:30-1:45 L.Parks See 141 above.
ENG 143 American Literature 1945 to Present TR 8:00-9:15 Staff; TR
5:00-6:15 Staff See 141 above.
ENG 338 African American Writing, 1945 to Present TR 2:00-3:15 Johnson
Survey of African American writing since World War II, with special attention to literary and cultural contributions of such writers as James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Paule Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. Cross-listed with BWS 338 .
ENG 353 American Literature, 1865-1914 (3) TR 2:00-3:15 Rosenberg
Intensive study of issues animating American culture from the Civil War to World War I, as articulated in selected texts from a variety of literary forms. CAS-B-LIT .
ENG 355 American Literature 1945 to Present TR 2:00-3:15 Parks
Intensive study of issues animating American culture from 1945 to the present as articulated in selected texts from a variety of literary forms and traditions.
Film Studies
FST 206 Diversity and Culture in America TR 9:30-10:45, T 3:30-6:00 Scott; TR 12:30-1:45, T 3:30-6:00 Scott
Analysis of the representation of diversity and culture as portrayed in American motion pictures. Cross-listed with COM 206 and IDS 206 .
Geography
GEO 201 Geography of Urban Diversity MWF 12:00-12:50 Rubenstein
Location of economic activities and social groups among and within U.S. urban areas. Geographic perspectives on underlying processes and resulting problems resulting from changing distributions.
Gerontology
GTY 154 Aging in American Society TR 11:00-12:15 McGrew; TR 3:30-4:45 Wellin; TR 3:30-4:45 Staff; MWF 10:00-10:50 Caffrey; TR 2:00-3:15 McGrew. Overview of the processes of aging. Emphasis placed on "typical" aspects of aging from three perspectives: the aging individual, social context of aging, and societal responses to an aging population IIC .
History
HST 111 Survey of American History MW 10:00-10:50 and W 6:00-6:50 Cayton;
MW 10:00-10:50 and W 7:00-7:50 Cayton; MWF 12:00-12:50 Staff; MW 10:00-
10:50 and R 3:30-4:20 Cayton; MWF 2:00-2:50 Staff; MW 10:00-10:50 and
5:00-5:50 Cayton
Survey of the interplay of forces that have brought about evolutionary development of American economic, cultural, and political history from 1492 to the present. A functional and synoptic treatment of America's great historical problems.
HST 112 Survey of American History MWF 8:00-8:50 Staff; MWF 1:00-1:50 Staff
Same as 111 above.
HST 221 African American History MWF 9:00-9:50 Jackson
Survey of African-American history, concentrating upon the black experience in the United States. Black America from African origins to the 20th century. Cross-listed with BWS 221 .
HST 362 The Era of the American Revolution (3) TR 11:00-12:15 Cayton
Origins, events, and legacies of the American Revolution, with particular emphasis on political and social developments.
HST 365 Civil War and Reconstruction Era (3) MWF 11:00-11:50 Jackson
Origins and growth of sectionalism with emphasis on the period after 1850, secession and Civil War, Federal and Confederate governments, Reconstruction, and foreign issues. Cross-listed with BWS 365 .
HST 369 20th Century America, Since 1933 (3) TR 8:00-9:15 Winkler
Social, cultural, economic, and political development of the United States since 1933. The New Deal, World War II, and postwar America to the present.
HST 379 U.S. Consumerism (3) MWF 1:00-1:50 Brown
No description available
HST 387 US Constitutional Development to 1865 MWF 11:00-11:50 Jackson
Development of state rights and nationalism from the framing of the Federal Constitution to 1865.
Interdisciplinary Studies
IDS 153 American and World Cultures T 4:00-4:50 Staff ; R 4:00-4:50 Staff ;
M 4:00-4:50 Staff; R 5:00-5:50 Staff - Students must attend late afternoon and evening presentations. Dates and times announced at first class meeting.
Seminar designed to enable students to enhance knowledge and understanding of the contributions diversity makes in society. Students will learn about and reflect on the intersections of the social identities of gender, age, class, race, sexual orientation, ability, religion, and culture. Course involves attending a series of lectures by eminent scholars, followed by class discussion and critique of the scholarships and presentations of these eminent scholars.
IDS 159 Strength Through Cultural Diversity TR 2:00-3:15 Staff; W 5:00-7:40- Staff ; T 4:00-6:40 Staff; M 4:00-6:40 Staff; TR 2:00-3:15 Staff
Helps students function effectively in an increasingly diverse global society. With culture defined as "the way we do things around here," conflict is viewed as a natural result of interactions among people. Emphasis on applying the concepts of culture to a variety of countries and to subcultures of the U.S. so that students learn how conflict arises and how negotiation skills can be used to manage conflict. IIIB .
Latin American Studies
LAS 260 Latin America in the United States MWF 10:00-10:50 LaBotz
No description available.
Physical Education, Health, and Sports Studies
PHS 378 Sport and Social Status TR 11:00-12:15 Harris
Focuses on allocation and socialization. Emphasis upon power in social structure as evidenced in class, status, gender, and race relations.
PHS 475 Women, Gender Relations, and Sport TR 8:00-9:40 McDonald
Explores the meanings of women's participation in sport and physical activity using sociological, feminist, and cultural studies perspectives. Special consideration given to the ideological significance of sport in U.S. culture and ways in which sporting women accept and challenge contemporary gender relations. Prerequisite: junior or graduate standing.
Political Science
POL 141 American Political System MWR 11:00-12:10 Kay; MWF 2:00-3:10 Brown; TR 12:00-1;50 Kelley; MWF 11:00-12:10 Jacobs; WF 11:00-12:50 McClure. Theories and methods of political analysis applied to the American political system. Political beliefs, behavior, institutions, and public policies in the American case will be examined. IIC , H .
POL 142 American Politics and Diversity TR 10:00-11:50 Jones
Foundations and operations of the American political system, with emphasis on "the people" and how they belong to, challenge, and change the system. How the competing values of unity and diversity influence American politics. Cross-listed with BWS 142 .
POL 344 The US Congress TR 9:30-10:45 Marshall
Sociology and politics of legislative process; legislative recruitment, structure and influence of the committee system, impact of party leadership, and nature of legislative decision-making.
POL 352 Constitutional Law and Politics WF 11:00-12:50 Jones
Supreme Court as a legal and political institution; leading judicial decisions with respect to separation of powers and federalism.
POL 353 Constitutional Rights and Liberties MW 3:00-4:50 Forren
Leading cases and related materials on the Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment.
POL 373 American Foreign Policy TR 2:00-3:15 Haney
Theoretical and case studies in the formulation and conduct of American foreign policy; analysis of the role of personality, intelligence gathering, decision making, and diplomacy in the execution of foreign policy.
POL 459 Capstone Seminar on Constitutional Politics: U.S. W 6:00-8:50 Forren
Examination of broad themes on the American political system through readings, research, writing, presentations, and discussions. Topics vary, within the broad themes denoted below, according to section. Prerequisite: open to seniors who are majors in the department or who have completed a Thematic Sequence in National Political Institutions, Public Law, or Effective Citizenship.
Psychology
PSY 210 Psychology Across Cultures MWF 9:00-9:50 Staff; TR 5:00-6:15 Staff
No description available.
PSY 325 Psychology of Prejudice and Minority Experience TR 2:00-3:15 Claypool
Consideration of psychological factors underlying prejudice toward racial, ethnic, and other minorities. Impact of prejudice and discrimination on members of minority groups. Cross-listed with BWS 328 .
Religion
REL 241 Religions of the American Peoples (4) MW 2:00-3:50 Williams
American religious pluralism and the experience of minority peoples such as Roman Catholics, Jews, Eastern Orthodox, Latinos, African Americans, and American Indians. Emphasis on historical, social, and cultural themes. Readings in fiction and autobiographical writings. Cross-listed with AMS 241 , BWS 241 .
Sociology
SOC 152 Social Relations and US Cultures MTWR 9:00-9:50 Bulanda;
10:00-10:50 Bulanda; TR 8:00-9:50 Lippmann
No description available.
Theater
THE 391 Modern American Theatre (3) TR 9:30-10:45 Staff
Major forces that shaped American theatre from Eugene O'Neill and Provincetown Playhouse through avant-garde of the Off-Off Broadway movement. Emphasis placed on leading dramatists, performers, and designers of the period as well as such organizations as Group Theatre, Federal Theatre Project, and Living Theatre. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing. CAS-B .
THE 393 Culture, Ethnicity, and Gender Issues in Dramatic Literature TR 11:00-12:15 Jackson
May be offered with various focuses (including African, African American, Latin American, Asian American, feminist perspectives, as well as others); explores alternative cultural, ethnic, and gender issues in dramatic literature. Emphasis on developing student appreciation of and critical response to traditional and nontraditional forms of drama.
Women's Studies
WMS 201 Introduction to Women's Studies MW 12:00-1:15 Donahue;
TR 2:00-3:15 Sircar; TR 11:00-12:15 Safier; T 7:00-9:40 Pelle; W 4:00-6:40
Safier. Interdisciplinary introduction to the study of women which focuses on determinants and expressions of women's roles.
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