American Studies Concentration - Interdisciplinary Studies Major
Program Director: Dr. Michael Masatsugu
Liberal Arts Building 4221
Phone: 410-704-4647
Email: mmasatsugu@towson.edu
The Program
The American Studies Concentration is an interdisciplinary program that allows students to take courses in different academic departments that focus on the concept of American culture. The American Studies approach emphasizes the interrelatedness of history, literature, the arts and popular culture. In their course work students will examine American institutions, ideas and material forms in order to better understand the nation’s past and to shape their own futures. The major is designed for those students who may wish to have careers in fields such as law, government service, non-profit organizations, journalism, museum work and teaching, where a broad knowledge of American history and culture is desirable.
A minor is available for those students with another major who want to learn more about American culture. Students have the opportunity to receive units for internships.
Requirements for the Concentration
Students majoring in the American Studies Concentration must complete 45 units.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| AMST 201 | INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN STUDIES | 3 |
| Capstone Experience | ||
| AMST 491 | DIRECTED READINGS IN AMST | 3 |
| or AMST 497 | INTERNSHIP IN AMERICAN STUDIES | |
| Lower-Division Electives | ||
| Select one course from each area: | 9 | |
| Historical Perspectives | ||
| MAIN THEMES IN AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES | ||
| HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE CIVIL WAR | ||
| HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE CIVIL WAR | ||
| HONORS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE CIVIL WAR | ||
| HONORS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE CIVIL WAR | ||
| BLACKS IN AMERICA:MYTHS AND REALITY | ||
| American Literature | ||
| SURVEY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| MAJOR WRITERS IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| ETHNIC-AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| Arts and Culture | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF AMERICAN CULTURE | ||
| MYTHS AND STORIES IN AMERICAN ART | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO DANCE: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | ||
| HISTORY OF SPORT IN AMERICA | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC IN THE U.S. | ||
| JAZZ HISTORY FOR NON-MAJORS | ||
| HONORS HISTORY OF JAZZ FOR NON-MAJORS | ||
| AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT | ||
| CHRISTIANITIES IN AMERICA | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN THEATRE | ||
| AMERICAN WOMEN AND POPULAR CULTURE | ||
| Upper-Division Electives | ||
| Students must take at least 6 units from each of the following three areas. No more than 9 units may be taken in any one discipline. 1 | 30 | |
| American Institutions and Communities | ||
| Courses in this area examine the social, political and economic structures that have shaped American life, their histories and the ways individuals and groups have created and challenged these institutions. | ||
| NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS | ||
| NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY | ||
| ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL | ||
| AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | ||
| MONEY AND BANKING | ||
| TOPICS IN BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA | ||
| GEOGRAPHY OF MARYLAND | ||
| WOMEN IN 20TH CENTURY U.S. HISTORY | ||
| THE AMERICAN COLONIES 1492-1763 | ||
| THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 1763-1800 | ||
| THE CIVIL WAR | ||
| THE FDR ERA | ||
| RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY: 1945-1975 | ||
| UNITED STATES LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, AND QUEER HISTORIES | ||
| MAKERS, BUYERS, USERS: THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY 1500-PRESENT | ||
| THE AMERICAN WEST | ||
| THE CITY IN AMERICAN HISTORY | ||
| NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY FROM 1500 TO 1900 | ||
| NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1900 | ||
| AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY TO THE MID-19TH CENTURY | ||
| AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY FROM THE MID-19TH CENTURY | ||
| WORKERS AND WORK IN THE UNITED STATES | ||
| HISTORY OF MARYLAND FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT | ||
| WOMEN, GENDER, AND SPORT | ||
| URBAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | ||
| AFRICAN-AMERICAN POLITICS | ||
| THE PRESIDENCY | ||
| CONGRESS | ||
| JUDICIAL SYSTEM | ||
| AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES | ||
| CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND POLITICS | ||
| CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES: THE FIRST AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS | ||
| CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS: PERSONAL LIBERTY AND THE RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED. | ||
| POLITICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY | ||
| THE SUPREME COURT | ||
| INTEREST GROUPS AND PUBLIC POLICY | ||
| AMERICAN RELIGIONS | ||
| Global Connections | ||
| Courses in this area investigate Americans' experiences with the world and the ways the global cultures have shaped American culture. Topics include migrations, immigration, globalization and transnational cultures. | ||
| TOPICS IN MULTI-ETHNIC AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| THE UNITED STATES AND VIETNAM:1945-1975 | ||
| AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY: 1865 - 1950 | ||
| AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY SINCE 1950 | ||
| DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1900 | ||
| ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY | ||
| IMMIGRANTS & IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES | ||
| LATIN AMERICAN POLICY OFTHE UNITED STATES | ||
| UNITED STATES-RUSSIAN RELATIONS | ||
| U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | ||
| INTELLIGENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY | ||
| Ideas and the Arts | ||
| Courses in this area explore textual, oral and visual representations of American culture and employ multi-disciplinary strategies to understand them. | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO MUSEUM STUDIES | ||
| MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY | ||
| AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART | ||
| ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE UNITED STATES I: COLONIAL TO 1900 | ||
| ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE U.S. II: 1900 TO PRESENT | ||
| HISTORY OF PRINTS IN AMERICA | ||
| RADIO, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY | ||
| AMERICAN DRAMA | ||
| LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAN ROMANTIC PERIOD | ||
| LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAN REALSTIC PERIOD | ||
| AMERICAN SHORT STORY | ||
| DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN NOVEL: 19TH CENTURY | ||
| AMERICAN NOVEL-20TH CENTURY | ||
| AMERICAN POETRY THROUGH FROST | ||
| MODERN AMERICAN POETRY | ||
| CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY | ||
| TOPICS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| ROOTS OF ROCK AND ROLL | ||
| SPORT IN FILM | ||
| MUSIC IN THE U.S. | ||
| JAZZ HISTORY | ||
| AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY | ||
| AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT | ||
| Total Units | 45 | |
- 1
Other courses relating to American culture may be substituted with the approval of the program coordinator.
Sample Four-Year Plan
The selected course sequence below is an example of the simplest path to degree completion. Based on course schedules, student needs, and student choice, individual plans may vary. Students should consult with their adviser to make the most appropriate elective choices and to ensure that they have completed the required number of units (120) to graduate.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| AMST 201 (Core 11) | 3 | Lower-Division Elective - Arts and Culture | 3 |
| Core 1 (or Core 2) | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Lower-Division Elective - Historical Perspectives | 3 | Core 2 (or Core 1) | 3 |
| Lower-Division Elective - American Literature | 3 | Core 3 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Core 12 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| Upper-Division Elective - American Institutions and Communities | 3 | Upper-Division Elective - Ideas and the Arts | 3 |
| Upper-Division Elective - Global Connections | 3 | Upper-Division Elective - American Institutions and Communities | 3 |
| Core 5 | 3 | Core 4 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Core 7 | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | Core 9 | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| Upper-Division Elective - Global Connections | 3 | Upper-Division Elective | 3 |
| Upper-Division Elective - Ideas and the Arts | 3 | Upper-Division Elective | 3 |
| Upper-Division Elective | 3 | Core 6 | 3 |
| Core 8 | 4 | Core 10 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| Upper-Division Elective | 3 | AMST 491 or 497 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Upper-Division Elective | 3 |
| Core 13 | 3 | Upper-Division Elective | 3 |
| Core 14 | 3 | Upper-Division Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 1 |
| 15 | 13 | ||
| Total Units 120 | |||
- Students possess the ability to integrate knowledge and modes of thinking across two or more disciplines.
- Students communicate effectively in the presentation of interdisciplinary materials through various modes of transmission.
- Students conduct, analyze and apply research from two or more disciplines or through interdisciplinary research.