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Fall
2001 Courses
*Discussion sections on Thursday; students MUST register for one. This course will examine how American culture has evolved since the first contact between Europeans and Indians. We will examine the inter-relationship between intellectual and economic change as well as the impact of ideas about race and gender on American social life. We will also consider the extent to which we should speak of a unified American culture or different American cultures. This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to study these issues, drawing on art, artifacts, literary texts, and historical documents. Requirements are attendance at all sessions, two papers, a mid-term and final, and participation in class discussion. AMST 071.11
Introduction to American Studies * This course does NOT have a discussion section on Thursday. This course will examine how American culture has evolved since the first contact between Europeans and Indians. We will examine the inter-relationship between intellectual and economic change as well as the impact of ideas about race and gender on American social life. We will also consider the extent to which we should speak of a unified American culture or different American cultures. This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to study these issues, drawing on art, artifacts, literary texts, and historical documents. AMST 071.12
Introduction to American Studies * This course does NOT have a discussion section on Thursday. This course will examine how American culture has evolved since the first contact between Europeans and Indians. We will examine the inter-relationship between intellectual and economic change as well as the impact of ideas about race and gender on American social life. We will also consider the extent to which we should speak of a unified American culture or different American cultures. This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to study these issues, drawing on art, artifacts, literary texts, and historical documents. AMST 145.80
Folk Arts in America This undergraduate course will present an overview of American folk art traditions. Lectures will be organized by artistic media. Several examples within each medium will be discussed to illustrate significant aspects of historical development, cultural variation, technical expertise, and/or creative innovation. Lectures will be illustrated with slides (some films may be shown) and we may also have some visiting specialists give presentations. Same as AH 145. AMST 167.10 Course Cancelled AMST 167.11 In order to explore issues of nationhood, identity, and representation, we will study both public presentations of history and the debates they inspired from the 1890s to the 1990s. We will examine the relationship of public history to ideologies of nation, identity and community. When recognized as productions of the state, the representations at the core of public history presentations are revealed as inextricable from concepts of nation building. The course will alternate between discussions of historical developments and historical crises in the evolution of public history and discussions of theoretical themes which resonate across this history. We will examine constructs of "the public" and its relationship to "the nation" in the specific setting of public history. We will explore the problematic history of representation and ask how this history might affect contemporary efforts to expose a variety of identities-those based in gender, race or ethnicity-as ideological in origin. We will also interrogate theories about national identity which emerge out of public history practices. AMST 167.80 Discussion Section (Choose One): AMST
167.81 AMST
167.82 This course will investigate media and culture in the US from 1900 to the present. Looking at film, literature, television, and new media together, the class will address the major developments in US cultural history: modernity and postmodernity; the impact of new technologies on culture; the importance of visual images in the 20th century; and debates about "high" and "low" culture. In the first half of the semester (1900-1945), topics range from amusement parks and silent film to the Harlem Renaissance and the Federal Theatre Project. In the second half (1945-2000), we will look at the rise of television, the Black Arts movement in the 1960s, postmodern literature, the emergence of the internet, and the global impact of American Culture. Overall, questions to be considered will include: what is "culture"? Who owns and defines the term? How does culture get produced, disseminated, and consumed? How do we analyze the political impact of cultural products? Same as HIST 167. Students who took this course as AMST 198.11 in the Spring of 2000 are not eligible for 167.80. However, students may take more than one AMST 167 course for credit, provided the subject matter differs. AMST 167.83 Discussion Section (Choose One): AMST
167.84 AMST
167.85 This course introduces students to the histories of U.S. sexual identities and subcultures. Course readings and films will be used to analyze the changing social organization and cultural meaning of sexual practices and desires in the United States, beginning with those that existed before European settlers landed on the continent. We will examine the establishment of sexual norms in colonial America; the relationship between sex and slavery; the contested boundaries drawn between same-sex sociability, friendship and eroticism during the nineteenth century; early twentieth-century cultural conflicts centered around prostitution, cross-racial sex, and racial and sexual violence; as well as the relatively recent emergence of heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality as the predominant categories of sexual experience and identity. Class time will be split between a weekly lecture and a smaller section meeting where students will discuss the week's assigned readings and films.. AMST 168.10 This seminar introduces students to major methods for understanding and interpreting cultural materials. We will explore how and why culture, particularly mass culture like film, music and television, is such a significant aspect of our lives. Different units in the course will examine 1) the institutions (corporations and individuals) that produce culture, 2) the ideological messages that circulate in cultural products, and 3) how different audiences interpret the culture they consume. This course is writing-intensive and discussion oriented. American Studies majors by permission of instructor. AMST 171.80 Discussion Sections (Choose One): AMST
171.81 AMST
171.82 History 171 is a survey class in American Social History. It will study the lives of common working people in their struggle for survival and achievement from the earliest "pre-discovery" and "settlement" of North America to the Civil War. In this process we will draw upon the latest historical research and theories. We will investigate some of the most recent and promising research techniques and methods. Students will be encouraged to think like historians. This means much more than memorizing lists of dates and names. It means developing the ability to think in historical and comparative perspective. We will be especially interested in the role of the family, work, class, race, ethnicity, and gender as they helped to shape American society during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Our central purpose is to investigate the development of our contemporary ideas, problems, fears and dreams. In short, we hope to examine our collective ancestry and the historical roots of the things Americans now often think of as "common sense." Most of all, students will be exposed to some of the excitement and dynamics of today's American historical profession. Learning is not a passive process, therefore this class will require the active participation of every student. In addition to the required readings there will be a few field trips that will take students to the variety of research facilities which enrich the Washington, DC, area and make it one of the best locations in the world in which to study American social history. Same as HIST 171. AMST 175.80 Examination of selected aspects of the built environment in the United States from the first period of European settlement to the eve of the Civil War. Stylistic properties, form type characteristics, technological developments, and urban patterns are introduced as vehicles for interpreting the historical significance of this legacy. Buildings are analyzed both as artifacts and as signifiers of broader social, cultural, and economic tendencies. Other topics introduced include the role of the designer, the influence of region, and architecture as an aspect of landscape. Same as ART 176. AMST 179.10 This course is designed for senior majors in American Studies. It will cover the required three-credit internship experience and a weekly or biweekly meeting, to talk about the internship experiences, analyze how the internship organizations create and manipulate cultural messages to create American culture and be effective within the US political context. Students will also plan possible research topics for the major's final semester research requirement. Some readings will be assigned, but as we are a reasonably small group, we will wait until the semester begins to see where students are interning and to decide on pertinent readings. The course will be graded according to the reports of the intern supervisors and participation in the practicum meetings. AMST 185.80 Course Cancelled. AMST 195.10 For undergraduate students only. AMST 198.10 The course will chart the development of rock and roll music from its roots in the late 1940s into the present. It will introduce students to the varied styles and trends that exist during this exceptionally rich, complex, and rapidly changing fifty-year period. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which this music is related to changes in American culture and history, which have been central to the lives and millions of people for nearly half a century. Although rock and roll is usually thought of as a distinctly American art form, this course will also examine European, especially British, contributions as well as underscoring the importance of African American musical culture in shaping rock. AMST 198.11 This class introduces you to the breadth of African American music and draws equally from the field of history, cultural studies, and musicology. We will begin in Western Africa and discuss black musics of the Caribbean, but our primary focus is upon the diaspora in the United States. You will be required to listen to and watch musical performances, as well as read about such diverse genres and styles as ju ju, fife and drum bands, gospel quartets, blues, and hip-hop. We shall pay special attention to black musical expressions, such as gogo and "shout bands," that are concentrated in the District of Columbia. This course has no prerequisites and does not require a formal background in music theory or history. AMST 199.10 Directed research projects. Open only to honors candidates in American Studies. AMST 220.80 This class is a survey of historical theories significant to feminist thought, such as liberalism, socialism, evolution, psychoanalysis, and gendered spheres of social action. How these theories were revived and revised by the Second Wave of feminism since the 1960s. Brief examination of postmodernist and Third Wave feminist theorizing. AMST 231.10 This course examines the history of American Studies and the development of theories and methods for the study of American culture since the 1930s. Readings will focus on major components of the field: literary history, ethnography, cultural history, material culture, popular culture, art & architectural history, cultural studies, and the internationalization of American Studies. Required of all MA candidates and first year PhD students without a Master's degree in American Studies. A bibliographical essay of about 25 pages and an essay of about 15 pages on an idea or theme are required. AMST 250.10 The purpose of this course is to use material culture in historical research. Material culture is a synthesis of theories and methods from art & architectural history, anthropology & archaeology, the history of technology, decorative arts, geography, and environmental history and cultural history. Students are required to write three short (7-10 page) research papers, read widely, and participate in class discussion. AMST 251.10 Internships and independent study at the Smithsonian. AMST 252.10 Concepts of visual recognition and evaluation of surviving domestic artifacts from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, including those made of wood, clay, glass, metal, and cloth. Research paper linking objects to written sources and to interpretive ideas. Class discussion, oral reports, and frequent field trips to area museums and historic houses. AMST 257.80 This course will present the materials of American folk culture concentrating particularly on folk architecture, folk crafts, and folk art. The major organizing themes for the course are regionalism and the use of objects as indicators of cultural intention. During the first half of the course we will assess the entire nation in terms of architectural expression. This will be followed by a topical consideration of insights to be gained by the analysis of objects in their social contexts. Readings and a major term paper. AMST 268.10 This course is a rapid-fire, highly selective exploration of histories of pre-1900 American Culture. For most of the semester, we will read recent monographs in American cultural history on topics such as cultural contact, the frontier, systems of political and religious belief, the creation of the public sphere, gender relations, and racial formation. We will analyze the theoretical frameworks informing these studies and we will try to assess cultural history’s ability to address traditional historical questions about power, agency, and causality. AMST 270.10 This graduate seminar in Public History will focus on controversies surrounding public exhibitions and the debates on "revisionist history" which have made their way even into the halls of Congress. We will also discuss the role of scholars inside and outside the academy in educating the public in the places where the majority of American people learn. Among the topics we will consider will be the political and social consequences of the recent Culture Wars, the efforts of private corporations like Disney to build history theme parks and to interpret American history for the general public, public disputes over the symbols of the Civil War, and the growing popularity of historical film presentations like the Ken Burns documentaries and historical programming on the History Channel. Students will become familiar with the theoretical and practical arguments over public history. Requirements will include class presentations, exhibition reviews, and a research paper. Representatives from a number of institutions and agencies will participate in the seminar, providing a first-hand account and inside information about the field. Classes may sometimes be held at the National Museum of American History. AMST 276.10 Course Cancelled. AMST 277.80 First half of a two-semester sequence addressing the scope and purpose of the preservation movement in the US, with focus on developments since the 1960s. Attitudes toward the past, preservation theories, the intent and impact of legislation, organizational structures, design issues, approaches to documentation, concepts of significance and historicity, and preservation as an instrument of change are among the topics explored. AMST 286.80 A multidisciplinary look at historic house museums, exploring concepts about home, methods of interpretation, and theories of history. Field trips to Washington historic houses as well as presentations by leading museum professionals. Selected readings on topics such as "Home and House Interpreted," "Learning from Artifacts," and "The Historic House Museum as History Text." Short papers based on individual visits to recommended historic houses and other research as directed by instructor. Same as EDUC 286. AMST 289.10 This graduate course will examine the development of consumer culture in the post-war period, focusing especially on 1970 to the present. We will also examine the history of scholarly and popular theorizations of consumer culture. AMST 289.11 This graduate lecture and discussion course will investigate media and culture in the US from 1900 to the present. Looking at film, literature, television, and new media together, the class will address the major developments in US cultural history: modernity and postmodernity; the impact of new technologies on culture; the importance of visual images in the 20th century; and debates about "high" and "low" culture. In the first half of the semester (1900-1945), topics range from amusement parks and silent film to the Harlem Renaissance and the Federal Theatre Project. In the second half (1945-2000), we will look at the rise of television, the Black Arts movement in the 1960s, postmodern literature, the emergence of the internet, and the global impact of American Culture. AMST 289.12 This graduate lecture and discussion course survey American Social History. We will study the lives of common working people in their struggle for survival and achievement from the earliest "pre-discovery" and "settlement" of North America to the Civil War. In this process we will draw upon the latest historical research and theories. We will investigate some of the most recent and promising research techniques and methods. Students will develop the ability to think in historical and comparative perspective. We will be especially interested in the role of the family, work, class, race, ethnicity, and gender as they helped to shape American society during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Our central purpose is to investigate the development of our contemporary ideas, problems, fears and dreams. In short, we hope to examine our collective ancestry and the historical roots of the things Americans now often think of as "common sense." Most of all, students will be exposed to some of the excitement and dynamics of today's American historical profession. This class will require the active participation of every student. In addition to the required readings there will be a few field trips that will take students to the variety of research facilities which enrich the Washington, DC, area and make it one of the best locations in the world in which to study American social history. AMST 289.13 This graduate seminar will focus on the creation of cultural hegemony versus action for social change in twentieth century America. We will analyze and discuss who triumphs, and how. We will also look at the dominance of corporate culture during the last century and contrast it with subjects such as the emergence of Catholic social thought. The course will entail the writings of Robert Putnam, Robert Bellah, Harry Boyte and Nancy Fraser among others. Readings will include Olivier Zunz' Making America Corporate, 1870-1920. AMST 289.14 Preservation Planning will examine issues related to the role of historic resources in land-use planning. Communities are shaped by local, state, federal, and private decisions. Historic places and cultural resources are affected by these decisions and by their economic, social, environmental, and cultural values. This course will examine how historic resources are treated in local planning programs and projects. Students will be expected to analyze current planning activities in DC, VA, or MD, and to make recommendations for ways in which historic preservation objectives can be achieved with other objectives, such as economic development, affordable housing, transportation improvements, and recreational, educational, and other institutional growth. Students are expected to know how historic resources are identified and the basic preservation process. The class will include readings, fieldwork, and analysis and recommendations for a specific preservation planning issue. AMST 289.80 This graduate seminar will focus on the key works of James Baldwin--essays, fiction and drama--in their biographical, historical, and cultural contexts. We will focus particularly on Baldwin as witness to, and chronicler of, key shifts in American life from the late 1940s through the 1980s. AMST 289.81 This graduate course introduces students to the histories of U.S. sexual identities and subcultures. Using methodologies drawn from social history, ethnography and cultural studies, we will ask what the history of sexuality is and how it should be written. Course readings and films will be used to analyze the changing social organization and cultural meaning of sexual practices and desires in the United States, beginning with those that existed before European settlers landed on the continent. We will examine the establishment of sexual norms in colonial America; the relationship between sex and slavery; the contested boundaries drawn between same-sex sociability, friendship and eroticism during the nineteenth century; early twentieth-century cultural conflicts centered around prostitution, cross-racial sex, and racial and sexual violence; as well as the relatively recent emergence of heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality as the predominant categories of sexual experience and identity. Class time will be split between a weekly lecture and a smaller graduate section where students will discuss the week's assigned readings and films. AMST 295.10 Open to American Studies MA candidates only. AMST 299.10 Open to American Studies MA candidates only. AMST 300.10 Open to American Studies doctoral candidates only. AMST 394.10 Open to American Studies doctoral candidates only. AMST 395.10 Open to American Studies doctoral candidates only. ASMT 398.10 Open to American Studies doctoral candidates only. AMST 399.10 Open to American Studies doctoral candidates only.
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