An analytical history of American popular culture since 1865. We start from the premise that popular culture, far from being merely a frivolous or debased alternative to high culture, is an important site of popular expression, social instruction, and cultural conflict. We examine theoretical texts that help us to "read" popular culture, even as we study specific artifacts from television shows to Hollywood movies, the pornography industry to spectator sports, and popular music to theme parks.

Through the course of the semester, students will consider the many histories, experiences, and cultures that shape and define the ever-changing, ever-evolving field of Asian/Pacific/American (A/P/A) Studies, an interdisciplinary space marked by multiple communities, approaches, voices, issues, and themes. The course will cover the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of A/P/As during World War II, the emergence of the "Asian American" movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post-1965 Asian immigration.

This course provides an overview of early American history, from contact in 1492 to the eve of colonial independence movements in 1763. Together, we will pay as much attention to the how and why (processes, motivations, imaginaries) as to the what (dates, events) of colonial history, focusing on diverse sites of contact, exchange, and conflict in the colonial projects of England and Spain in North America.

"Don't hate the media, become the media." The U.S. Constitution recognizes a free press as the lifeblood of democracy, informing citizens and holding the powerful accountable. But as this bumper sticker conveys, there is widespread distrust of the media. This course analyzes the transformation of the press into a corporate enterprise over the past 150 years, and the opposition this has provoked.

Topics course. Enrollment limited to 20. Which histories become part of national memory, and which do not? This course will interrogate the intellectual, political, and pedagogical bases of museums and public history collections in the US from the eighteenth century to today. We will devote part of our time to the theoretical readings that will ground our inquiry: texts will range from museum studies, anthropology, and sociology, to history, literary studies, and cultural studies.

A multidisciplinary exploration of different research methods and theoretical perspectives (Marxist, feminist, myth-symbol, cultural studies) in American studies. Prerequisite: AMS 201 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to American studies major

What is Asian/Pacific/American Studies? How is it done? What are its disciplinary, geographical, and imaginative boundaries? This course will introduce students to this relatively new field through a series of lectures. Lectures will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of studying A/P/A histories, ethnicities, communities, experiences, and issues. Faculty members from across the Five College Asian/Pacific/American Studies Certificate Program will present lectures and facilitate discussion. To be held at Smith. Graded S/U only.

By permission of the department, for junior and senior majors.

In 1994 South Africa underwent a "peaceful revolution" with the election of Nelson Mandela. This course is designed to study the historical events that led to this dramatic development in South Africa from 1948-2000.

Topics course. This seminar will focus on some of the major perspectives, themes, and theoretical underpinnings in the field of African Diasporic Studies. We will read 20th and 21st century fiction and nonfiction from a range of cultural traditions that explore the conditions of displacement and uprootedness, which characterize the African Diaspora; we will also investigate the transformations of culture and identity that result from forced and voluntary migrations.