American Studies, B.A.

The American Studies major leading to a B.A. degree consists of 36 credits, including 15 credits of American Studies core courses, 18 credits of course work distributed across 3 core themes, and 3 credits of applied experience (internship, student teaching, service learning, applied/action research). A minor program is available for students majoring in other fields who wish to complete a concentration in American Studies. All courses applicable to the major or minor, excluding the applied experience, must carry a grade of C or above. A maximum of 9 credits from related disciplines may be applied to the Core Themes with the approval of the department. A maximum of 6 credits in independent study may be counted toward the major.

American Studies Foundational Core (15 credits)

The American Studies Core provides a foundation in the key research and writing practices of the discipline. Two lower-level courses introduce students to fundamental American Studies concepts. Students build knowledge and engage in professional writing and research practices in an upper-level gateway course, two advanced seminars, and a capstone research seminar.

AMST 100 - Introduction to American Studies (3.00)
AMST 200 - What is an American? (3.00)
AMST 300 - Approaches in American Studies (3.00)
AMST 400 - level Seminar (3.00)
AMST 490 - Senior Seminar (3.00)

Core Themes

6 upper-level courses, two in each of the core themes listed below, for a total of 18 credits. One 200-level course may be applied to the core themes. One course in the core themes must be a 400-level seminar. Students select two courses exploring each theme from the following lists:

U.S. Social Structures: American Regions, Institutions, and Communities.

Courses in this category focus on particular institutional structures and practices that shape and are shaped by the experiences of individuals and social groups in American society.

AMST 210 - Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies (3.00)
AMST 250 - Sports in American Culture (3.00)
AMST 310 - Gender and Inequality in America (3.00)
AMST 317 - Nonviolence and American Social Movements (3.00)
AMST 320 - Television in American Culture (3.00)
AMST 321 - Radio in American Culture (3.00)
AMST 327 - Sports and Media in American Society (3.00)
AMST 350 - Critical Decades (3.00)
AMST 356 - Special Topics in U.S. Social Structures (3.00)
AMST 380 - Community in America (3.00)
AMST 382 - Perspectives on the Family (3.00)
AMST 384 - Perspectives on Childhood and Adolescence (3.00)
AMST 388 - American Environments: Landscape and Culture (3.00)
AMST 410 - Seminar in U.S. Social Structures (3.00)
AMST 422 - Preserving Places, Making Spaces in Baltimore (3.00)
AMST 480 - Community in America (3.00)

Global America: The U.S. in the World, The World in the U.S.

Courses in this category explore the relationships of America with other countries and cultures, including globalization, migrations, immigration, diasporic experiences in America, and transnational cultures.

American Signs: U.S. Literary, Visual, and Material Culture.

Courses in this category provide interdisciplinary analysis of oral, written, visual, and material representations of American life and culture and the historical and social contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

AMST 322 - American Society and Culture in Film (3.00)
AMST 323 - Baltimore in Film (3.00)
AMST 325 - Studies in Popular Culture (3.00)
AMST 344 - Made in America: Material Culture in the United States (3.00)
AMST 358 - Special Topics in American Signs (3.00)
AMST 365 - Asian American Fictions (3.00)
AMST 376 - The American Dream (3.00)
AMST 385 - Teachers in American Culture (3.00)
AMST 395 - American Music and Culture (3.00)
AMST 430 - Seminar in American Signs (3.00)
AMST 464 - Immigration Nation: Examining Narratives of Immigration to the U.S. (3.00)
AMST 466 - Media Literacy and Racial Representation (3.00)
AMST 476 - Theories of Culture and Media (3.00)

Applied Experience (3 credits: P/F or Regular Credit)

Includes internships, service learning, undergraduate research, student teacher praxis, and AMST courses designed as applied research. Students in dual programs may fulfill this requirement by taking an approved applied experience course in the second department. AMST 205 may be counted toward the applied experience requirement.

American Studies Major/Education Certification

There is a dual major/certificate program for students seeking teaching certification in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education. Students in this program whose certification requirements include supplementary courses in social sciences or history may subsitute 9 credits of those courses for 9 credits of the core themes. Students making this substitution must select one course exploring each theme from the lists below for the remaining 9 credits in the core themes. Students seeking education certification may count student teaching as their applied experience.