A student majoring in American studies at Colby is taught--in single courses and through a combination of courses--the subject matter of America's past and present, with special effort devoted to the integration and knowledge of more than one academic discipline. Built around a core of courses in American studies, American history, and American literature, the American Studies Program strives for genuinely interdisciplinary insights into the complexities of American thought and culture.

Requirements for the Major in American Studies
The American Studies major requires 14 courses--five in American studies (American Studies 271, 393, 493, and two electives), three in American history (History 131 or 231, 132 or 232, and one elective at the 300-level or above), three in American literature (English 355, 356, and one elective at the 200-level or above), and a three-course thematic concentration, approved by the American studies advisor, selected from the following list of appropriate courses.

Of the required courses, History 131/231 and 132/232 and American Studies 271 should be taken before the end of the second year.

The point scale for retention of the major applies to all courses offered toward the major. No requirement for the major may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. No more than five courses taken abroad may be counted toward the major.

Honors Program
Students majoring in American studies may apply during their junior year for admission to the honors program. Permission is required; guidelines are established by the department. Successful completion of the work of the honors project, and of the major, will enable the student to graduate "With Honors in American Studies."

Attention is called to the major in African-American/American studies; requirements are listed under "African-American Studies."

Course Offerings

115j The Image of Women and Men in American Film The ways in which Hollywood films of a particular era reflected and helped determine the vast social and psychological changes that women, men, and the country were experiencing--or were denying experiencing--during tumultuous time periods of United States history. Topics include gender roles, genre, directorial style, historical background, the effects of camera placement, movement and lighting, and the function of narrative; how to "read" a film. Eras covered in particular years include the Postwar Era (1944-1959) and "The Sixties" (1958-1978). Three credit hours. A. MR. EISEN

[213j] Medicine in 19th- and 20th-Century America: Women As Pioneer Healers An investigation of medical education and practices in America before the introduction of the scientific model, including regular medicine; "irregular" approaches such as hydropathy, homeopathy, and botanics; and quackery. Primary sources and secondary readings used to explore women's participation as healers and professional doctors during this era. Contrast and comparison will be made with current trends and the status of women who now choose medical careers. Practicing physicians will be invited to participate, and field trips to medical facilities will be considered. Normally offered every other year. Enrollment limited. Three credit hours. D.

271fs Introduction to American Studies An introduction to methods and themes in American studies, the interdisciplinary examination of past and present United States culture. The course will analyze a wide selection of cultural texts, from all periods of American history, to explore the dynamic and contested nature of American identity. Literary, religious, and philosophical texts, historical documents, material objects, works of art and music, and varied forms of popular culture are studied, with a focus on what it means, and has meant, to be an American. Four credit hours. MS. KIM

[273] Introduction to American Material Culture: The Interpretation of Objects Exploration of the ways in which objects can be employed to illuminate the culture of the society in which they were produced. Objects such as photographs, furniture, tools, clothing, and buildings examined in light of an intersecting sequence of methodologies, including close formal analysis, iconography, structuralism, semiotics, feminism, and Marxist criticism. Four credit hours; three credit hours in January.

[275] Gender and Popular Culture In the 20th century, popular culture is a key site for the dissemination of ideas about gender roles, gender relations, and sexuality. The course will explore a variety of recent feminist approaches to the study of popular culture and will use these theories to analyze the ways contemporary films, music, advertising, toys, television, magazines, and popular fiction help to construct us as gendered individuals. Also listed as Women's Studies 275. Enrollment limited. Four credit hours. D.

276s African-American Culture in the United States An interdisciplinary examination of black cultural expression from the slave era to the present--including folk tales, blues, gospel music, work songs, jazz, sermons, dance, literature, and social institutions--tracing the stages of development of a distinctive black culture in America, its relationship to the historical, social, and political realities of African Americans, and its role in the cultural formation of the United States. Also listed as African-American Studies 276. Four credit hours. S, D. MS. RAWLINGS

277f Introduction to Asian-American Cultures Through examination of selected interdisciplinary readings and popular culture, a focus on the experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. Thematic emphasis on the diversity of Asian Americans across class, ethnic, and national lines. Topics include the social and cultural construction of race and ethnicity; immigration patterns and their effects; militarism and colonization; family and community; cultural nationalism and feminism. Three or four credit hours. D. MS. KIM

[279] The American Gothic Examination of the pervasive influence of the Gothic (and related genres such as Horror and the Grotesque) on American culture through a diverse range of "texts," including films, pop art, material objects, and fiction. The Gothic has been, in one form or another, an influential part of the American cultural landscape from the Puritans' fascination with evil to what Melville identified in Hawthorne as the "power of blackness ten times black"; to the Neo-Gothic revival in architecture in the 19th and 20th centuries; to satanic cults and popular rituals like Halloween; to the fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King; and to cult films like The Night of the Living Dead and The Haunting of Hill House. Exploration of how our collective "frame of mind" about class, nuclear holocaust, race, nationalism, technology, and gender is constructed in American gothicism. Four credit hours.

[282] American Popular Culture An examination of "popular" culture and its relationship to "folk," "mass," and "high" cultures. Two primary issues considered simultaneously: (1) the historical evolution of different forms of popular culture, including popular literature, theater, and music, as well as mass cultural forms like silent and sound film, recorded music, radio, paperback books, and television; and (2) the use of theoretical tools of cultural studies to analyze the production and reception of particular examples of popular culture, connecting these texts to their historical and cultural contexts. Special attention to the role of popular culture in shaping the development of gender, racial, and class formations in the United States. Four credit hours

[315] Contemporary Asian-American Women Writers Consideration of contemporary fiction, autobiography, poetry, essay, and video by Asian-American women with particular attention to specific cultural contexts. From a minority discourse approach, the course will explore Asian-American women's significant contributions and responses to panethnicity, feminism, and multiculturalism. Texts are thematically organized around the topics of immigration and nationalism, family and community relations, gender and sexual identity, and labor and cultural resistance. Also listed as Women's Studies 315. Four credit hours. L, D.

334s Film and Society A seminar exploring Hollywood's social consciousness--and unconsciousness--as evidenced in popular film from various decades. Students attend one evening screening per week. Assigned movies and readings discussed in class with a view toward understanding ways in which Hollywood cinema has confronted and/or avoided themes and topics of concern to United States society at large. The course is offered conjointly with Sociology 334, Social Deviance, as part of the Advanced Integrated Studies Program. Four credit hours. INSTRUCTOR

378s American Dreams: The Documentary Film Perspective A study of the American experience as viewed through the lenses of American documentary filmmakers and videographers. The issues of documentary: Is it reality or art? Truth-telling or fiction-making? Propaganda or objective presentation? Has the filmmaker been responsible in her/his "creative treatment of actuality," as Grierson defines documentary, or has s/he manipulated her/his subjects and/or audiences? When do the filmmakers' politics show through too much, distorting the subject? A study of all the different visions of America that documentaries have created: from its historical roots (The Plow That Broke the Plains, Frank Capra's war documentaries) through its classic examples (High School, Thin Blue Line, Berkeley in the '60s, Hoop Dreams) to its most current realizations (It Was a Wonderful Life, Tongues Untied), which are, as Paula Rabinowitz notes, part of a renaissance in American documentary, born out of the new filmic expression of the most marginalized groups in American society. Through a series of essays, students work toward a creative resolution of our issues and dilemmas: how would they choose to create an American documentary vision of their own? Four credit hours. D. MS. MANNOCCHI

393f Proseminar: Signs of the Century Seminar explores visual symbolism in our "society of the spectacle" through readings of classic and recent American studies texts and through ongoing classroom discussion of the students' semester-long research projects that examine influential and widely disseminated visual images produced in 20th-century America. Enrollment limited. Prerequisite: Junior standing as American studies major. Four credit hours. INSTRUCTOR

398s Personal Narratives of American Women An interdisciplinary examination of American women's stories of themselves--the hidden stories of "marginal" women's experience, which have frequently found a voice and audience through the genre of "personal" narrative in the arts, and the issues of legitimacy and theoretical relevance in defining such texts as personal rather than historical, cultural, or sociological narratives. Using autobiography, creative nonfiction, contemporary music and film, and texts by women of color, lesbians, and working class women, students attempt to define and analyze notions of historical objectivity. Four credit hours. D. MS. KIM

483f, 484s Senior Honors Project Research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member and focused on an approved interdisciplinary topic leading to the writing of a thesis. Prerequisite: A 3.25 major average and permission of the director of the program. Three credit hours. FACULTY

491f, 492s Independent Study Individual study of special problems in American studies in areas where the student has demonstrated the interest and competence necessary for independent work. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and the program director. One to four credit hours. FACULTY

[493] Seminar: Culture and Politics in the 1980s An in-depth, interdisciplinary examination of the complex relationships between politics, economics, and cultural production in the 1980s. Working from a grounding in the history of the decade and in cultural theory, students will explore the ways cultural texts like films, novels, music, music videos, advertising, plays, news media, and television were instrumental in shaping national political culture and American identity. Final project is a substantial research paper. Enrollment limited. Prerequisite: Senior standing as American studies major. Four credit hours.

493f Seminar: Ethical Issues in American Culture An in-depth, interdisciplinary examination of the complex relationships between politics, economics, and cultural production in contemporary culture, 1950-2000, concentrating on public issues of ethical significance. The seminar is offered conjointly with Philosophy 493 as a part of the Advanced Integrated Studies Program. Prerequisite: Senior standing as American studies major. Four credit hours. MR. BASSETT

[493] Seminar: Asian-American Autobiography Autobiographical texts (prose, poetry, video, film, painting) by Asian Americans, with consideration of the many issues surrounding life writing, including the politics of literary production and the reception and appropriation of Asian-American autobiography by dominant culture. Using recent autobiographical theory, students consider mediation and authoring, the desire for ethnic authenticity, the will to speak and self-name, and the meaning of identity. The multiple and dynamic nature of identity and the roles of class, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, and sexuality in identity formation. Prerequisite: Senior standing as American studies major. Four credit hours. D.

Courses from other departments that may be applied to the American studies major
(Not all courses are offered every year; check curriculum for availability.)

Administrative Science
336 Business Strategy and Ethics
354 Law in American Society

Anthropology
211 Indigenous Peoples and Cultures of North America
217 Race and Ethnicity: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
313 Investigating Cultural Diversity
354 Native American Religion and Empowerment

Art
275 Classics of the Sound Cinema
278 American Visual Arts I
278 American Visual Arts II
353 Contemporary Art, 1914 to the Present
493 Seminar (when appropriate)

Economics
231 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
274 American Economic History
312 Topics in Law and Economics

Education
215 Adolescents in Schools and Society
235 Revolutionary Multiculturalism and the Political Project
332 Women, Girls, and the Culture of Education
336 American Education: Historical Perspectives on Modern Issues

English
333 Modern American Drama, 1920-1970
338 American Renaissance I: Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville
341 American Realism and Naturalism
342 American Indian Literature
343 African-American Literature
345 Modern American Fiction
351 Contemporary American Poetry
355 Studies in American Literary History I
356 Studies in American Literary History II
362 Art and Oppression: Lesbian and Gay Literature and Modern Society
413 Authors Courses (when appropriate)
493 Seminar in American Literature

Government
211 The American Presidency
212 The American Congress
213 United States Senate Simulation
214 Parties and the Electoral Process
231 United States Foreign Policy: The Cold War
232 United States Foreign Policy: After the Cold War
273 American Political Thought
310 Interest Group Politics
311 The Judicial Process
313 Constitutional Law I: Federalism
314 Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights
316 Presidential Electoral Politics
317 The Policy Making Process
319 Law and Social Change: Women and Minorities
320 American Liberalism in Thought and Practice
331 Business and American Foreign Policy
335 United States-Latin American Relations
351 United States Policy Toward the Middle East
371 Foundations of American Constitutionalism
411 Seminar: The New Deal
412 Tutorial, The Politics of Presidential Elections
413 Seminar: Policy Advocacy
414 Seminar: Ethics in Politics
415 Tutorial: American Government
419 Money and Politics
432 Seminar: United States Foreign Policy

History
131 Survey of United States History, to 1865
132 Survey of United States History, 1865 to the Present
231 American Women's History, to 1870
232 American Women's History, 1870 to the Present
233 Not Work: The Rise of Sport and Leisure in America
234 The American Revolution
235 American Women, American Wars
239 The Era of the Civil War
247 African-American History, from Slavery to Freedom
281 Jews and Judaism in America
333 American Cultural History, 1600-1865
336 America: The New World, 1607-1783
338 Struggling from Revolution to Civil War: U.S. History, 1775-1860
340 Biographies and Autobiographies of Great American Women
342 Crisis and Reform: American Society and Politics in the 1960s
344 American Liberalism in Thought and Practice
347 America in Vietnam
433 Seminar: U.S. Cultural History, 1890-1915
435 Seminar: Women in the Civil War
442 Seminar: African-American Thought and Leadership
447 Seminar: The Cold War

Music
133 American Music
232 Jazz History
236 American Musical Theater in the 20th Century
238 Burnt Biscuits and Green Onions: From Rhythm and Blues to Soul

Philosophy
252 American Thought

Psychology
232 Cognitive Psychology
237 Psychology of Language
253 Social Psychology
356 Social Psychology Seminar

Religious Studies
217 Religion in the United States of America
256 Religion in Film and Fiction
257 Women in American Religion
297 The End Is Near: Religion at the Millenium
318 Seminar: Mary Daly
356 African-American Religious Experience

Science, Technology, and Society
250 Industry, Technology, and Society, 1750-1915
251 Industry, Technology, and Society in the 20th Century
271 History of Science in America
393 Technology, War, and Society

Sociology
214 African-American Elites and Middle Classes
231 Contemporary Social Problems
233 Crime and Justice in American Society
238 The School in American Society
252 Race, Ethnicity, and Society
273 The Family
276 Sociology of Gender
277 Social Psychology
292 Social Change
334 Social Deviance
353 The City in Sociological Perspective
354 Sociology and the American Race Problem
355 African-American Women and Social Change
357 Civil Rights, Black Power, and Social Change
376 Divorce and Contemporary Society

Women's Studies
221 Gender, Race, and the Politics of Difference
311 Seminar in Feminist Theory