INTRO TO AMERICAN STUDIES

How can one approach America, what it has been and what it has produced? Given the length, breadth, diversity, and complexity, of American history and culture, how does one even begin to answer that question? In this panoramic look at some of most interesting, important, and emblematic work that has been created in the first centuries of American history, we attempt to approach the question – and, really, it’s not just a single question - from a wide variety of perspectives, befitting the variety and diversity of the Americans who created that work. Students will be asked to acquaint themselves with a wide variety of material, including but not limited to works of prose fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry, theater, visual art and architecture, and radio and film. Discussion section required: AMST UN1011