Twin Cities campus

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Twin Cities Campus

American Studies Minor

American Studies
College of Liberal Arts
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
Department of American Studies, 104 Scott Hall, 72 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-4190; fax: 612-624-3858)
Email: amstdy@umn.edu
Website: http://americanstudies.umn.edu
  • Program Type: Graduate minor related to major
  • Requirements for this program are current for Fall 2019
  • Length of program in credits (master's): 9
  • Length of program in credits (doctoral): 12
  • This program does not require summer semesters for timely completion.
The American Studies graduate program is an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental program. The graduate faculty consists of core American Studies faculty members and graduate faculty members drawn from a wide number of departments. Students develop sub-fields (understood as a more specific focus of research and teaching) and also pursue broad training in analyzing the development of cultural and historical processes that shaped the nation and its diverse cultures, as well as analyzing contemporary practices.
Program Delivery
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Prerequisites for Admission
Special Application Requirements:
Students interested in the minor are strongly encouraged to confer with their major field advisor and director of graduate studies, and the American Studies director of graduate studies regarding feasibility and requirements.
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the General Information section of this website.
Program Requirements
Use of 4xxx courses toward program requirements is permitted under certain conditions with adviser approval.
The minimum cumulative GPA for minor field coursework is 3.50.
Required Course (3 credits)
Select at least 1 of the following courses in consultation with the American Studies director of graduate studies:
AMST 8201 - Historical Foundations of American Studies (3.0 cr)
AMST 8202 - Theoretical Foundations and Current Practice in American Studies (3.0 cr)
Electives (6 to 9 credits)
Master’s students select 6 credits, and doctoral students select 9 credits from the following in consultation with the American Studies director of graduate studies:
AMST 8231 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Readings (3.0 cr)
AMST 8232 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Research (3.0 cr)
AMST 8239 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Readings (3.0 cr)
AMST 8240 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Topical Development (3.0 cr)
AMST 8249 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Readings (3.0 cr)
AMST 8250 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Research Strategies (3.0 cr)
AMST 8259 - Literature, History, and Culture: Research Strategies (3.0 cr)
AMST 8260 - Literature, History, and Culture: Topical Development (3.0 cr)
AMST 8288 - Working in the Global Economy: Readings (3.0 cr)
AMST 8289 - Ethnographic Research Methods: Research Strategies in American Studies (3.0 cr)
AMST 8920 - Topics in American Studies (3.0 cr)
AMST 8970 - Independent Study in American Studies (1.0-9.0 cr)
Program Sub-plans
Students are required to complete one of the following sub-plans.
Students may not complete the program with more than one sub-plan.
Masters
Doctoral
  
More program views..
View college catalog(s):
· College of Liberal Arts

View future requirement(s):
· Fall 2022
· Spring 2021

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AMST 8201 - Historical Foundations of American Studies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Exposition of American studies as a field of inquiry, including its history, major theoretical framework, and interdisciplinary methodologies. prereq: grad AmSt major
AMST 8202 - Theoretical Foundations and Current Practice in American Studies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Analysis of central theoretical work in the field and survey of key methodologies. prereq: grad AmSt major or instr consent or dept consent
AMST 8231 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Readings
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Culture of Cold War, its legacy. How it affected/reflected domestic politics, public policies, civic life, gender expectations, sexuality, class relations, racial justice, and civil rights. Impact of domestic anti-communism and of American cultural politics abroad.
AMST 8232 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Research
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Student produce a research paper on history/culture of Cold War era as it developed in United States after World War II. Research projects build upon readings from 8231. prereq: 8231
AMST 8239 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Readings
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Social, cultural, and artistic modes of self-expression. Intellectual analysis of people in the United States identified as female or male or as members of groups defined by race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.
AMST 8240 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Topical Development
Credits: 3.0 [max 9.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Social, cultural, and artistic modes of self-expression and intellectual analysis of people in the United States identified as female or male and/or as members of group defined by race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. prereq: instr consent
AMST 8249 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Readings
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall
Popular arts in their political/social context. Issues of race, gender, class, and nationalism.
AMST 8250 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Research Strategies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall
Popular arts in their political/social context. Focuses on issues of race, gender, class, and nationalism. prereq: 8239 or instr consent
AMST 8259 - Literature, History, and Culture: Research Strategies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall & Spring
Interdisciplinary study of connections between literary expression and history, particularly as they articulate themes in American culture. prereq: instr consent
AMST 8260 - Literature, History, and Culture: Topical Development
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall & Spring
Interdisciplinary study of connections between literary expression and history, particularly as they articulate themes in American culture. prereq: instr consent
AMST 8288 - Working in the Global Economy: Readings
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall
Debates about global economy's consequences for American culture/character. Effects of global capitalism on factory work, service sector, pink-collar, and factory work in multinational corporations and professional/managerial positions inside/outside U.S. borders. How work is lived through race, class, gender, and nation.
AMST 8289 - Ethnographic Research Methods: Research Strategies in American Studies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Spring
Students conduct an empirical research project, write a final paper. Assumptions/practices of positivism, reflexive science, and feminist methodology. Issues surrounding politics/ethics of feminist research. Dilemmas in practice of fieldwork, oral histories, reading, and writing. prereq: 8288 or instr consent
AMST 8920 - Topics in American Studies
Credits: 3.0 [max 9.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Topics specified in Class Schedule.
AMST 8970 - Independent Study in American Studies
Credits: 1.0 -9.0 [max 9.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Independent study of interdisciplinary aspects of American civilization under guidance of faculty members of various departments. prereq: instr consent, dept consent