| American Studies |
AMST 444A - Portable, Exportable Nation
Credits:
4.00
(Also listed as ENGL 444A.) Writing intensive.
AMST 501 - Introduction to American Studies
Credits:
4.00
An introduction to the basic methods used in the
interdisciplinary study of history, literature, arts, and
other aspects of the life and culture in the United States,
with a special focus on a local New England sub-region: the
Piscataqua river, Manchester, Boston, Portland, and the
White Mountains, with an emphasis on the multiracial,
multilingual, and multiethnic nature of New England culture.
Disciplinary approaches drawn from literature, history,
environmental studies, folklore, material culture, art
history, architecture, film, anthropology, and sociology.
May include guest lectures, field work, trips. Required for
students minoring in American studies. Writing intensive.
AMST 502 - Introduction to African American Literature and Culture
Credits:
4.00
An introduction to African-American literature in the
context of a variety of cultural perspectives. Course
topics may include: major writers, literary genres,
historical periods, Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts
Movement, fine and folk arts, religion, music, and film.
(Also offered as ENGL 517.) Writing intensive.
AMST 503 - Introduction to Native American Studies
Credits:
4.00
An introduction to the methods used in the interdisciplinary
study of the history, literature, material culture, and
other aspects of life and culture among Native American
peoples. Specific tribes and nations covered may vary, but
concepts emphasized include contact, colonialism, and
sovereignty.
AMST 603 - Photography and American Culture
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary study of the relationship between
photography and the literature, art, politics, and history
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Introduces
theories of photography as well as works of individual
artists. Topics vary from year to year. Writing intensive.
AMST 604 - Landscape and American Culture
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary study of the perception, representation,
and/or construction of nature. Topics vary from year to year
and may include: landscapes in nineteenth-century literature
and art, colonial mapping of the Americas (traditions of
writing and cartography), Native American traditions of land
perception, and the twentieth-century emergence of
ecocriticism. Writing intensive.
AMST 605 - Film in American Culture
Credits:
4.00
Advanced, focused study of American cinema. Topics vary from
year to year and with instructor. Focus may range from
general consideration of American film history, theory, and
criticism, to specific analyses of selected types of
American cinema: "classical" Hollywood, "new" Hollywood, and
"alternatives", to specific periods, movements, genres, and
film-makers. Prereq: ENGL 533, or CMN 550, or permission.
Special fee. Writing intensive.
AMST #607 - Religion in American Thought and Life
Credits:
4.00
Interdisciplinary study of the varied nature of American
religious experience and its relationship to other aspects
of American culture. Topics vary from year to year, and may
include, for example: the interdisciplinary study of a
spiritual community, African-American religious history,
material culture and spiritual expression, politics and
religious free speech, religious culture in the
nineteenth-century, multi-ethnic American religions, and
literature. (Also offered as ENGL 607, HIST 607, HUMA 607,
RS 607). Writing intensive.
AMST 608 - Women Artists and Writers 1850-Present
Credits:
4.00
Studies the impact of gender on the lives and works of
selected American artists. Considers lesser known figures
such as Fannie Fern, Lily Martin Spencer, and Mary Hallock
Foote as well as better known artists such as Willa Cather
and Georgia O'Keefe. Prereq: permission, or one of the
following: WS 401, HIST 566, ENGL 585, 586, 685, 785, or
a 600-level art history course. (Also offered as ARTS 608,
ENGL 608, HIST 608, and HUMA 608.) Not offered every year.
Writing intensive.
AMST 609 - African American Experience in the 20th Century
Credits:
4.00
Investigates the music, literature, and social history of
African American America in the period of the Harlem
Renaissance, in the Great Depression, World War II,
and in the 1960's. Special attention to the theme of
accommodation with and rejection of dominant white culture.
(Also offered as ENGL 609, HUMA 609.) Writing intensive.
AMST 610 - New England Culture
Credits:
4.00
An interdisciplinary course investigating some of the major
contributions New England has made to American life. The
course focuses on periods, such as the Puritan era
1620-90), the Transcendentalist period (1830-1860), late
nineteenth-century industrialism, and the contemporary era.
New England places are also featured, such as Boston,
Newport, Salem, the Connecticut River Valley, and rural
northern New England. Course materials are drawn from the
literature, history, art history, and material culture.
Writing intensive.
AMST 612 - Periods in American Culture
Credits:
4.00
Intensive multidisciplinary study of the art, literature,
material culture, and the social, political, and cultural
movements of a specific period in the American past.
Periods vary from year to year. Examples: the 1890's, the
1690's, the 1770's, the 1950's. May be repeated for credit
if subject matter is different.
AMST 613 - Regions in American Culture
Credits:
4.00
The study of the culture, history, and politics of
particular regions in the United States. Topics vary and
may include: the history and literature of the South;
natural resources, expansion, and European American/Native
American contacts in the West; cultural interactions of the
Southwest. May be repeated for credit if subject matter is
different.
AMST 614 - Native American Studies Topics
Credits:
4.00
The multidisciplinary study of the histories, cultures, and
representations of indigenous peoples. Topics vary and may
include Native American/Euro-American interactions under
colonialism, the so-called "Era of Assimilation," and
contemporary issues of sovereignty. May be repeated for a
maximum of 8 credits if the subject matter is different.
AMST 615 - Asian American Studies Topics
Credits:
4.00
The multidisciplinary study of Asian American literature,
culture, theory, and history. Perspectives may be drawn from
gender studies, anthropology, cultural studies, film
studies, and medicine. Topics vary and may include the study
of contemporary fiction and film, representations of gender,
of race and cultural pathologies, and of the ethnic body.
May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits if the subject
matter is different.
AMST 620 - Internship
Credits:
1.00 to 8.00
Supervised internship with a governmental agency, private
corporation, philanthropic institution, library, archives,
museum, historical society, publishing company, or other
institution seeking individuals interested in historical
research, community development, or careers in education.
Repeatable for a maximum of 8 credits. Permission required.
Cr/F.
AMST 696 - Special Topics
Credits:
4.00
Focused study of an issue, problem, or theme in
American Studies. Topics vary. For example: Black Protest in
the 1960's, the rise of consumer culture, domestic art,
architecture and suburban planning. Barring duplication of
subject, course may be repeated for credit. For details see
the coordinator. Prereq: AMST 501, and another AMST course,
or permission. Writing intensive.
AMST 697 - Seminar in American Studies
Credits:
4.00
Open to qualified juniors and seniors, with permission of
the coordinator and the instructor. Intensive study of a
specialized topic that varies from year to year. Enrollment
in the seminar is limited to 15 so that all students can
take an active part in the discussion and work closely
with the instructor on their papers. Barring duplication
of subject, course may be repeated for credit. For details
see the coordinator. Prereq: a grade of B or better in AMST
501, completion of at least two other courses in the minor,
permission. Not offered every year.
AMST 750 - Applied American Environmental Philosophy
Credits:
4.00
Applying the philosophical theory underlying
environmental studies and approaches to environmental
conservation. Students conduct critiques of extensive
readings and write papers creatively analyzing aspects of
selected philosophical works. Major research manuscript
required. (Also offered as NR 750.)
AMST 795 - Independent Study
Credits:
1.00 to 8.00
Open to qualified juniors and seniors. May include fieldwork
or an internship at a museum, library, historical society,
etc. To be elected only with permission of the coordinator
and with qualified supervision. May be repeated up to 8 cr.