Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0330 - American Studies Seminar

This seminar is intended for advanced Division II and Division III students whose concentration relates to notions of American national and cultural identity and/or to the study of U.S. histories, literatures, and cultures. The course will have two emphases. First, we will read theoretical, critical, and scholarly texts important to the practice of American Studies as an interdisciplinary field, with an emphasis on recent work that engages with ethnic studies, border studies, critical race theory, transnationalism, and the cultures of U.S. imperialism. Additionally, invited scholars from Hampshire and the Five Colleges will discuss their approaches to American Studies, and we will visit nearby archives at UMass, Amherst, and/or Smith. The second emphasis of the course is on research and presentation. Division III students will write, present, and revise a piece of their independent project; Division II students will design a research prospectus that could later provide the basis for a Division III project. Division II students should expect to arrive on the first day of class with a proposed research topic. This course will require approximately 8 hours of work outside of class per week. Prerequisite: previous work in American Studies or related discipline. Please email mhardesty@hampshire.edu for information about instructor permission.

Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives Independent Work Field Trip, $0. This course will require approximately 8 hours of work outside of class per week.