Major Requirements
The major in American Studies is a 12-course interdisciplinary program. Students wishing to declare a major in American studies should consult with the program coordinator.
The student should, in consultation with the major advisor, design a course of study to ensure that courses are taken in an appropriate sequence, and that all requirements are met by graduation. As part of the process of declaring a major, the student must complete a one-page essay explaining the choice of courses.
There are three levels of program requirements and electives. Each student must include at least two 3000-level courses in the major:
Level I: Foundations of the American Nation and Society
Four required courses, preferably taken during the student's first two years:
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AMST1101 Introduction to American Studies
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HIST1105 United States History to 1877
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HIST1106 United States History Since 1877
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SOC1105 U.S. Institutions
Level II: Expressions of the American Experience
Seven electives chosen from the following courses:
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ART3205 American Art to 1913
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EDUC1111 The Great American Experiment: Education for All in a Diverse Society
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ENGL2303 The Modern American Novel
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ENGL2304 American Voices I: U.S. Literature to 1865
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ENGL2305 Writing Women
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ENGL2306 Survey in American Drama
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ENGL2307 Making It New: Poetry from Bradstreet to Bishop
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ENGL2309 The Haves and the Have-Nots: American Authors on Money, Class and Power
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ENGL2413 African-American Literature: A Tradition of Resistance
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ENGL2604 American Voices II: U.S. Literature Since 1865
- ENGL3301 The American West in Film and Literature
- ENGL3303 Images of Masculinity
- ENGL3601 Crime Stories and American Culture
- HIST2105 America Since 1960
- HIST2128 Immigrants in the American Experience
- HIST2129 American Catholics: Diversity and Change
- HIST2130 African American History 1865 to the present
- HIST2205 Women in American History
- HIST3107 A History of Boston
- HIST3111 U.S. and Global Issues: 19th and 20th Centuries
- PERF1303 American Musical Theater
- POLSC1201 Introduction to American Politics and Government
- POLSC2207 Politics and the Media
- POLSC2223 Politics through Film
- POLSC2225 The 1960s
- POLSC2228 State and Local Government
- POLSC2401 American Foreign Policy
- POLSC3202 The American Presidency
- POLSC3607 Constitutional Law
- SOC2105 Race, Ethnicity, and Group Relations
- SOC2127 Social Class and Inequality
- SOC2131 Catholic Social Teaching
Level III: Capstone Course
One course selected from the following options for upper-level independent work:
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Interdisciplinary Seminar in American Studies
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AMST4178 Directed Research
- AMST4995 Internship
