American Studies Program

American Studies Program

  • Courses that may be counted toward the AMST concentration

    This list is intended for use as a general guide for course selection. It is not to be considered definitive, as course offerings arc constantly reevaluated. If you have questions about whether or not a specific course applies to the concentration, please sec the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Courses marked with an * are approved only when the topics covered are substantially relevant to American Studies and are subject to approval by the DUS. There may be courses which you encounter across campus which are not listed here but which you may feel are relevant to an American Studies major; you are invited to bring these course syllabi to the DUS for major/ minor credit consideration.

    In choosing your courses, note that no more than 13 credits in courses numbered  below 300 may be applied to the concentration.

    Anthropology 

    ANTH 312. Comparative Colonial Archaeology

    ANTH 314. Archaeology of Mesoamerica

    ANTH 321. Encountering the Conquistadors

    ANTH 322. Archaeology of North America

    ANTH 323. Indians of North America

    ANTH 324. Indians of the Southwest

    ANTH 325. Sun Dance People

    ANTH 330. Caribbean Cultures

    ANTH 338. Native Cultures of Latin America

    ANTH 350. Special Topics in Anthropology*

    ANTH 371. The Idea of Race

    ANTH 427. Native People of Eastern North America

    ANTH 429. Exploring the Afro-American Past

    ANTH 430. Material Life in African America

    ANTH 432. Maroon Societies

    ANTH 457. Archaeology of Colonial Williamsburg and Tidewater Virginia

    ANTH 458. Caribbean Archaeology

    ANTH 472. Ethnographic History*

    ANTH 475. Globalization, Democratization and Neonationalisms*

    ANTH 482. Arts of the African Diaspora

    ANTH 484. Collecting and Exhibiting Cultures

    ANTH 486. Cultural Politics of Art*

    ANTH 490. Writing & Reading Culture*

    Art and Art History

    ARTH 330. Topics in Art History*

    ARTH 370. Nineteenth-Century Art

    ARTH 371. Twentieth Century Art

    ARTH 372. Modern Architecture and Town Planning

    ARTH 375. Contemporary Art and Art Criticism*

    ARTH 381. Nineteenth-Century American Art

    ARTH 382. Twentieth-Century American Art

    ARTH 385. Eighteenth-Century Decorative Arts in Britain and America.

    ARTH 386. Eighteenth-Century Decorative Arts in Britain and America

    ARTH 460. Seminar Topics in Art History*

    ARTH 470. Colonial American Architecture and Town Planning

    ARTH 474. Topics in American Art

    ARTH 481. Historic Preservation

    Black Studies

    BLST205 Introduction to Black Studies

    Economics

    ECON 34I American Economic History

    ECON 400 Topics in Economics*

    ECON 422 Applied Environmental Economics*

    English

    ENG 207. American Literature: themes and Issues.

    ENG 210. Topics in Literature*

    ENG 355. Modern Fiction

    ENG 356. Modern Poetry to 1930

    ENG 357. Modern Poetry since 1930

    ENG 360. Contemporary Literature*

    ENG 361. American Literature to 1836

    ENG 362. The American Renaissance

    ENG 363. American literature, 1865-1920

    ENG 364. American Literature, 1912-1960s

    ENG 365. Early Black American Literature

    ENG 366. Modern Black American Literature

    ENG 371. Topics in American Literature*

    ENG 380. Topics in a Literary Period *

    ENG 411. Topics in Literary Theory*

    ENG 412. Topics in Literature and Other Arts *

    ENG 414. Topics in Women Writers *

    ENG 414A. Major African American Women Writers

    ENG 416. Topics in Gender and Sexuality*

    ENG 416A. Literature and the Formation of Sexual identity

    ENG 417. Topics in Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality*

    ENG 417A. Literatures of the Americas

    ENG 417B. Harlem in Vogue

    ENG 419. Study of a Single Author or Auteur*

    ENG 465. Topics in English*

    ENG 475. Research Seminar in English*

    Government

    GOVT 201 Introduction to American Government and Politics

    GOVT 306 Political Parties

    GOVT 324 U.S. Foreign Policy

    GOVT 350 Introduction to Public Policy

    GOVT 353 The Politics of States and Localities

    GOVT 355 Southern Politics

    GOVT 360 The American Welfare State

    GOVT 370 The Legislative Process

    GOVT 371 The Presidency

    GOVT 372 American Legal Process

    GOVT 373 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

    GOVT 455 Seminar: Education Policy and Politics in the U.S.

    GOVT 470 Seminar: Congress and the President

    History

    HISTl21-122 American History

    HIST211-2 Topics in History*

    HIST 215 The World of Thomas Jefferson

    HIST 216 American History and Historic Sites

    HIST 220 Williamsburg Colonial and Revolutionary

    HIST221-222 U.S. Women's History, 1600 -Present

    HIST223 Pacific War

    HIST 224 Southern Cultures: Field Holler to Nascar

    HIST 226 The American West since 1890

    HIST 228 The United States, 1945-1975: Society, Thought, and Culture

    HIST235-36 Introduction to African-American History

    HIST 237-238 American Indian History

    HIST 330 America and China: U.S.-China Relations Since 1784

    HIST340 Maroon Societies

    HIST345 Exploring the Afro-American Past

    HIST400 Colonial and Revolutionary Virginia

    HIST411-412 Early American History

    HIST415 Antebellum America

    HIST416 The Civil War Era

    HlST417 The Old South

    HIST418 US Gilded Age

    HIST426 Invasion of North America

    HIST428 US Military History, 1860-1975

    HIST 431 US Immigration History

    HIST433-34 History of American Foreign Policy

    HIST435 America and Vietnam

    HIST437-38 American Cultural & Intellectual History: Beginnings through Early 20th Century

    HlST452 Free and Enslaved Blacks in the Old South

    HIST479C The New South

    HIST 487C The Age of Exploration, 1450-1600

    HIST490-9l1/ 490C-91C Topics in History*

    Literary and Cultural Studies

    ENG 351. Special Topics in Literary and Cultural Studies*

    ENG 401. Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies*

    Music

    MU 241 Worlds of Music

    MU 271 American Popular Music

    MU 273 Jazz

    MU 363 Interdisciplinary Topics in Music*

    MU 365 Topics in Music*

    MU 367 Ethnomusicology*

    MU 373 Music in the US

    MU 375 Music and Film*

    MU 385 The Romantic Period

    MU 387 Music of the Twentieth Century

    MU 465 Seminar in Music*

    MU 467 Seminar in Ethnomusicology*

    PHILOSOPHY

    322. American Philosophy

    Religion

    REL 308 Topics in Religious Studies*

    REL326 Judaism in America

    REL 327 Sexuality, Women, and Family in Judaism*

    REL345 Religion in American Life and Thought to 1840

    REL346 Religion in American Life and Thought: 1840 to the Present

    REL347 Sects, Cults, and Small Denominations in America

    REL348 African-American Religion

    SOCIOLOGY

    SOC 203 American Society

    SOC 302 Criminology*

    SOC 304 Gender in Society*

    SOC 306 Urban Sociology

    SOC 307 Sociology of Education*

    SOC 308 Environmental Sociology*

    SOC 309 Media and Society*

    SOC 332 Marriage and the Family*

    SOC 337 Immigration, Assimilation and Ethnicity

    SOC 361 Social Movements and Social Change*

    362 Medical Sociology

    363 Sociology of Religion*

    364. Sociology of Work.

    365. Economy and Society.

    366. Asian American Studies.

    425. Blacks in American Society.

    428. Technology, Science and Power*

    430. Comparative Studies in Gender and Work.

    433. Crime and Justice in America

    Theatre, Speech, and Dance

    THEA 332. Sex, Race, Plays & Films, Dramatizing Diversity*

    THEA 410/410W. Theatre and Society in 20 th-Century America

    THEA 461. Topics in Theatre History, Theory and Criticism*

    DANC 220. History of Modern Dance

    DANC 230. History of American Vernacular Dance

    DANC 460. Topics in Dance*

    SPCH 410. Special Topics in History and Criticism of American Public Address*

    Women's Studies

    WMST360 Feminist Writings and Women's Movements*

    WMST221-2 U.S. Women's History, 1600 -Present

    WMST320 Sites of Southern Memory

    WMST 380 Rhymes with Witch

    WMST390 Topics in Women's Studies*

    WMST 414 Major African American Women Writers

    WMST 416 Literature and the Formation of Sexual Identity *

    WMST 420 Women and Popular Culture