American Studies Courses

In 1903, the famous African American scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois said, "The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line." Many people today believe that race will continue to be "the" issue of the 21st century. In this course, we will examine the meanings of race in modern America, analyze the root causes and consequences of racist ideologies, and discuss current and future activist approaches to the issues raised by racist theories and practices. Our study will be multicultural in focus, with attention being given to Asian American, Native American, African American, European American, and Latino/a perspectives. Questions we will ask will include: How is race defined in the USA? Who defines it? How is it experienced? Who experiences it? What is its role in our lives as individuals, members of groups and of society at large? The course will be interdisciplinary, emphasizing in particular social science and arts/humanities approaches; and active student participation will be an important component.

This multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary course studies the 20th-century United States through two of its most compelling narrative forms: the road tale and the buddy tale. We will consider this most popular form of epic movement across multiple forms and significations, including: citizenship, and disenfranchisement; political entitlement and oppression; "discovery" and self-discovery; emancipation and enslavement; captivity and assimilation; resistance and resignation; self-improvement and the pursuit of the American Dream. Throughout the course we will focus on the similarities and differences between male and female road travel and "buddy" adventures.

ON THE ROAD IN AMERICA will include such films and texts as: The Searchers (1957); Easy Rider (1969); Thelma and Louise (1991); Smoke Signals (1999); and the Living End (1993); Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957); Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971); Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine (1984); Chuang Hua, Crossings (1968); Ishmael Reed, Flight to Canada (1976); and Edwidge Danticat, Breath Eyes Memory (1994).

AMER 0083-01/WS 0196 is a cross-listed course and will count as an elective course in either American Studies or Women's Studies. This course offers an introduction to studies in both of these programs.

From the end of the American Civil War to the present, the emergence of baseball in the US reflected the evolution of urbanization, immigration, race, the labor movement, entrepreneurial capitalism, crime, and legal precedents that reached the Supreme Court. Baseball has been a mirror of the times; that reflection continued through the 2oth century in the Progressive Age, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, World War II, the coming of Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, the shifting and expansion of franchises. In 1953, exactly fifty years after the formation of Organized Baseball into two leagues with eight teams in each, the geographic and demographic revolution began that took major league baseball from coast to coast. Eventually, this led to the elimination of the Reserve Clause, the beginning of free agency, and the thirty professional teams today that represent "The National Pastime." We will examine baseball both inside and outside the lines: how it was played, who played it, and the place of this children's game in the American psyche. Finally, we will also survey the 160-year history of the US as the background for the forces that created this quintessential American game.

Students who wish to do internships under American Studies should enroll in AMER 0099 for their internship for course credit. Normally, these internships are for American Studies majors. Internships are available in a wide range of public and private organizations and institutions (e.g., media, museums, social service agencies). In most cases, the student will make the arrangements with the organization so that one person will be supervising the student and overseeing the internship work. It is expected that the student will be working a minimum of 12 hours per week. The supervised fieldwork will provide the student with the opportunity to better understand the work environment and issues facing the particular organization. The student should meet approximately three times with the Director of American Studies (or another Tufts faculty member) to discuss the fieldwork, goals, and effectiveness of the organization. (E-mailing the director or faculty member several times during the semester is an acceptable alternative to meeting in person.) If a student wishes to receive a letter grade instead of Pass/Fail, he/she must keep a journal, and write a 10-page paper which will be submitted for a grade to the Tufts faculty member overseeing the internship.

In this course you will learn how to apply business skills to the solution of public problems.  You will learn how to: find new solutions; communicate effectively with clients and funders; build a strong organization; turn idealism into action; and develop a business plan to address a public problem of your choosing. The course will feature case studies and meetings with prominent social entrepreneurs who will offer their perspectives on how to create  revolutionary change.

“In God we Trust,” “One Nation Under God,” “God Bless America,”: phrases like these alert us to the on-going influence of religion on American public life.  This course explores the role of religion in shaping American civic engagement and political activity from the seventeenth century to the present, aiming to put contemporary events in broader historical context.  Key topics and themes include: the relationship between church and state in the colonial period; faith and the founders; religion and social activism in the antebellum era (especially anti-slavery and women’s rights); religion, race and Civil Rights; religious “outsiders” and American politics (particularly Mormons, Catholics, and Muslims); spirituality and social protest in the 20th century (pacifism; feminism; and economic reform); the rise of the religious right; religion and American politics post-9/11; and the current presidential election.

This community-based research seminar integrates academic and experiential learning in an ongoing (since 2001) project documenting the history and development of Cambridge and Somerville’s Latino communities, and their interactions with other resident and new immigrant groups. In Fall 08 student research will concentrate on the arts and cultural (re)production, an aspect of Somerville’s Latino community that has not yet been documented. In collaboration with arts-related and/or immigrant-centered agencies, Tufts students will explore various forms of Latino/a cultural production (e.g. murals, music and dance) taking place in Somerville in order to interpret how and to what extent Latinos/as are contributing to maintaining their cultural heritage, and at the same time, creating opportunities for them to participate in Somerville’s active arts environment. Students working independently or in teams will identify and design an oral history-based project related to Latino/a arts-related activities; conduct and transcribe in-depth interviews with relevant individuals; and document, via photography, tape recording or video, the variety of artistic expression being created by Somerville’ Latinos/as. After analyzing and interpreting and their findings, they will present their findings to the community in a public event, and add their reports to the growing Urban Borderlands oral history archives. (See Digital Collections and Archives)

This course considers the epistemological impact of slavery on
nineteenth-century American literature. Surveying a broad range of texts, beginning with the poetry of Phillis Wheatley and concluding with D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, we will examine how the "peculiar institution" not only helped to initiate and revitalize various American literary genres, but also how its aesthetic and cultural influence extended well beyond the Civil War. Of particular interest will be those stakes involved in continuing to define an African American (literary) consciousness through "black" racial identity.

Students wishing to do an independent study project related to their cluster topic before initiating their SSP/HT must find an adviser and sign up for AMER 193. No more than one Independent Study course can count towards the cluster.

The US is in the midst of the most significant influx of immigrants in its history. More than one in ten Americans is foreign born, and together with their children make up almost a quarter of the US population. How will these newcomers impact the form and function of American democracy? Yet, while this topic is timely given our current political context, those well versed in the literature would note that, as a nation of immigrants, the debates surrounding today's hot-button issue are neither novel nor unique, but rather reflect a larger story of American political development. Indeed, immigration has not only been responsible for the changes in the country's demographic makeup but has also presented continuing political challenges to our notions of equality, citizenship, pluralism and racial formation. Throughout this semester we will examine the central question: what are the political causes and consequences of immigration policy on American politics?

What is American Women’s writing?  Who is an American Woman writer?  The texts in this course will emphasize the heterogeneity of American women’s writing by reading a variety of texts that trace and retrace the contours and concerns of race, nation, belonging, and representation from the end of the nineteenth-century to the present. Texts may include but are not limited to: Gertrude Stein’s Three Lives; Kate Chopin’s The Awakening; Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Passing; Toni Morrison’s Beloved; Helena Maria Viramontes’s Under the Feet of Jesus; excerpts from Anna Julia Cooper’s A Voice From the South; Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina; Fae Myenne Ng’s Bone; Alison Bechdel's graphic novel/comix Fun Home; among others.  This is a seminar. Class will be run on a discussion basis and active student participation is required. In addition to reading novels we may also view film and other visual arts as we think through "American women writing" and the practice, poetics, and politics of representation

Description coming soon.......

Analysis of the production, dissemination, and consumption of the most important forms of popular music--mambo, boogaloo, salsa, conjunto, corrido, banda, contemporary rock, and rap--listened to and danced by U.S. Latinos from World War I to the present. Readings, films, and recordings examine the historical and social contexts from which these musical forms have emerged, highlighting the intricate relationship between popular music, migration, and the formation of social and cultural identities.

Description coming soon.......

Prerequisite: Race in America or Asian America or permission of instructor

A critical examination of researching race and racing research. Students will be expected to conduct a qualitative research project of their choice.  Examples of projects include oral histories, community-based research, historical events, contemporary phenomena, etc.  

Note: 10 seats reserved for American Studies juniors; American Studies seniors with permission--register for AMER0194-06

5 seats reserved for other major juniors; seniors with permission--register for AMER0194-07

The Senior Special Project (SSP) will include a preparation of an analytic essay, a research paper, or a project such as an oral history, a life story, a film, or a play. The SSP may also be based, in part, on a documented internship, or on leading an Exploration. The SSP should utilize more than one disciplinary approach and should seek to develop connections and integration among the disciplines employed. Detailed information is available in the American Studies office.

The completed project should be given to your readers no later than Thursday, December 1, 2011. Your final manuscript should be free of misspellings and/or typographical errors. The oral defense of your SSP should be completed no later than Friday, December 9, 2011. You must submit an electronic copy of your SSP to the American Studies Office no later than December 21, 2011, one day before the end of final exams. It is your responsibility to meet these deadlines, which will allow for relatively minor revisions, if necessary.

This Senior Seminar, which provides support and guidance for seniors in the process of completing their Honors Thesis, is open only to American Studies majors with permission to continue their Senior Honors Thesis research into the spring. Participation in the seminar is required for all American Studies seniors undertaking the Senior Honors Thesis. For seniors expecting to graduate in May 2012, the completed thesis manuscript should be submitted to readers by Friday, April 13, 2012. The oral defense should be arranged by the student and his or her committee to take place no later than Thursday, April 26, 2012 at which time it will most likely be graded. The final Honors Thesis manuscript should be free of errors. Remember, it is the student's responsibility to meet these deadlines and to file a copy with Digital Collections & Archives in Tisch Library and email a final hard-copy to the American Studies office.

Note to Seniors: please remember to fill out the American Studies Grade Sheet