American Studies Major

American Studies

Sponsored by the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges, American Studies is a multidisciplinary major that encourages students to think critically and creatively about culture in the United States. The American Studies Program is coordinated by an intercollegiate faculty whose aim is to introduce students to the complexity of the American experience. Majors take courses in a variety of disciplines such as literature, history, ethnic studies, sociology, anthropology, political science, music, and the visual arts. In addition, majors take multidisciplinary courses that use materials from different disciplines to explore a particular issue in American life. The interdisciplinary approach to this major affords the student many career choices. Some follow graduate study; other paths include the professions of law, library science, journalism, business and museum curatorship.

Learning Outcomes of the Program in American Studies

Department Goals and/or Objectives

Goals are broad statements that describe what the program wants to accomplish

1. Students gain knowledge of the histories and cultures of the United States.
2. Students gain an understanding of a wide range of methods across the disciplines.
3. Students learn how to analyze a wide range of evidence (e.g., written texts, films, paintings, musical compositions, etc.).
4. Students learn how to carry on research in American Studies effectively.
5. Students learn how to communicate effectively about the histories and cultures of the United States in both written and oral forms.
6. Students attain the skills and knowledge necessary for graduate study or a career in American Studies or a related field.

Student Learning Outcomes

Outcomes describe specific knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes students should demonstrate

SLO1: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the United States histories and cultures.
SLO2: Students show comprehension of various methodologies across disciplines.
SLO3: Students are able to analyze evidence.
SLO4: Students will conduct a research project in American Studies effectively.
SLO5: Students will be able to communicate effectively in written form.
SLO6: Students will be able to communicate effectively in oral form.

Pitzer Advisers: B. Anthes, T. Honma, S. Phillips, S. Portillo Villeda, C. Strauss, U. Willoughby.

Major Requirements

The major in American Studies consists of eleven courses and a senior thesis. Students develop a thematic focus in consultation with their adviser by the beginning of the junior year.

Required Courses

To introduce students to the field of American Studies, students take:

• AMST 103 JT Intro to American Cultures , a prerequisite course that is team-taught by members of the intercollegiate faculty in the spring semester to introduce the themes, concerns, and methodologies of American Studies (one course).

To provide a broad knowledge and set of skills in the field, students take:

• Two U.S. history courses, at least one of which must contain significant pre-1900 content such as:  HIST 070A SC  United States History to 1865,or equivalent course: (HIST 020 PO  , HIST 025 PZ  , HIST 050A AF  , HIST 090 CM  , HIST 114 CM  , HIST 116 CM  , HIST 125 CM  
• A course in Africana, Asian American or Chicano/a-Latino/a studies; or one course on the histories and/or cultures of Native Americans (one course).

To provide depth as well as breadth, students take:

• AMST 180 SC American Studies Seminar  (one course);
• Four courses drawn from at least two departments that focus on a specific theme (e.g., Race and Social Justice in the U.S.; the U.S. in a Transnational Context) - (four courses)

For their capstone experience in American Studies, students must complete:

•  AMST 190 SC  Senior Thesis Seminar (offered fall)
•  AMST 191 SC  Senior Thesis (offered spring)

All students are required to write a senior thesis by enrolling in this two-course, two-credit sequence. Students will enroll in AMST190 SC, a seminar, in the fall semester. In the spring semester, students enroll in AMST191 SC and complete the thesis under the direction of their thesis adviser and second reader.

American Studies Courses

American Studies

• •  AMST 012 PZ -Intro Race, Ethn & Am Cltrl Stud
• •  AMST 103 PZ -Intro to American Cultures
• •  AMST 103 JT -Intro to American Cultures
• •  AMST 103 PO -Intro to American Cultures
• •  AMST 180 PZ -American Studies Seminar
• •  AMST 180 SC -American Studies Seminar
• •  AMST 190 JT -Senior Thesis Seminar
• •  AMST 190 PZ -Senior Thesis Seminar
• •  AMST 191 PZ -Senior Thesis

Anthropology

• •  ANTH 012 PZ -Native Americans & Environments
• •  ANTH 118 PZ -Land, Labor, and Life in SoCal

Asian American Studies

• •  ASAM 082 PZ -Racial Politics of Teaching
• •  ASAM 090 PZ -Community Studies
• •  ASAM 102 PZ -Social Responsibility Praxis
• •  ASAM 105 PZ -Zines, Creativity, Community
• •  ASAM 128 PZ -Body Art in the Diaspora
• •  ASAM 135 PZ -Race Empire Filipinx America

Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies

• •  CHLT 153 CH -Rural & Urban Social Movements
• •  CHLT 166 CH -Chicana Feminist Epistemology

English and World Literature

• •  ENGL 011A PZ -Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms
• •  ENGL 012A AF -Intr to Afr Amer Lit Before 1865
• •  ENGL 148 SC -Writing SWANA America

Environmental Analysis

• •  EA 086 PZ -Environmental Justice

Geography

• •  GEOG 145 HM -Feeling Natural?

History

• •  HIST 025 PZ -US History Before 1877
• •  HIST 026 PZ -Modern US History Since 1877

Political Studies

• •  POST 101 PZ -US Campaigns and Elections
• •  POST 105 PZ -Nat’lism Populism & Social Media
• •  POST 107 CH -Latino Politics
• •  POST 131 PZ -US Foreign Policy
• •  POST 174 PZ -US Immigration Policy

Religious Studies

• •  RLST 084 CM -Relig, Race, Civil Rights Mvmt

Sociology

• •  SOC 109 PZ -Wokeness:Afri Amer Social Theory
• •  SOC 157 PZ -Gender in American Society