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:

• AMST1101 Introduction to American Studies
• HIST1105 United States History to 1877
• HIST1106 United States History since 1877
• POLSC1201 Introduction to American Politics and Government

Level II: Expressions of the American Experience

Seven electives chosen from the following courses:

• ART3205 American Art to 1913
• EDUC1111 The Great American Experiment: Education for All in a Diverse Society
• ENGL2303 Modern American Writers
• ENGL2304 American Voices in Fiction and Non-Fiction
• ENGL2305 Writing Women
• ENGL2306 Survey in American Drama
• ENGL2307 Making It New: Poetry from Bradstreet to Bishop
• ENGL2309 The Haves and the Have-Nots: American Authors on Money, Class and Power
• ENGL2413 African-American Literature: A Tradition of Resistance
• 3301 The American West in Film and Literature
• HIST2105 America Since 1960
• HIST2128 Immigrants in the American Experience
• HIST2129 American Catholics: Diversity and Change
• HIST3107 A History of Boston
• HIST3111 U.S. and Global Issues: 19th and 20th Centuries
• MUSIC1107 American Musical Theater
• 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
• RELIG2107 Protestant Traditions in the United States
• SOC2105 Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOC2127 Social Class and Power
• SOC2131 Catholic Social Teaching

Level III: Capstone Course

One course selected from the following options for upper-level independent work:

• Interdisciplinary Seminar in American Studies
• Directed Research
• Internship Programs