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.

Since film’s modest beginnings in 1895 as one-minute marvels, male makers have dominated the industry world wide.  When women were able to break through and direct, they tried to pack a pungent punch and invest their films with multiple layers of meaning, both within the narrative and referencing out to their own battles as helmers.  Our course will cover product released from 1956 to 2003, offering tensions arising from social expectations (Orlando, Cleo from 5 to 7, Salaam Bombay), family flayings (Titus, Daughters of the Dust, Mi Vida Loca), and couples forming and reforming (La Pointe-Courte, Beau Travail, Lost in Translation).  Much attention will be given to film techniques such as camera movement, editing, and lighting.  We will also cover how Hollywood continues to exert industry control over international film distribution, most recently through the bleeding out of 3D.
The course grade will be based on an oral presentation made with another student, two papers, and an in-class exam.  No pre-requisites.  Women at War has been approved for both the Mass Communications & Media Studies minor and the Film Studies minor.

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.

Since the inception of the American film industry, U.S. Latinos have been (mis)represented in Hollywood feature films intended primarily for non-Latino audiences. In this course, students will examine how images of Latinos and their communities have been constructed in Hollywood films produced from the silent era to the present. Students will contrast these images with those constructed by Latino filmmakers when they began making films in the 1970s, contesting Hollywood stereotypes with more accurate and nuanced constructions of their communities. Weekly film viewings illustrate how filmmakers of different ethnic/racial/national backgrounds employ cinematic images to express their views on issues relevant to the Latino experience such as immigration, language choice, changing gender roles, racial and ethnic identity, and inter-ethnic relations. Readings will familiarize students with the emergent body of Latino-produced film criticism.

Historical survey of religion in America, from Columbus's voyage in 1492 to the present. Native American and African-American traditions, the first plantings of European traditions (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Puritanism, Lutheranism, and Judaism), the birth of uniquely American denominations (Mormonism, Adventism, Christian Science, and Pentecostalism). Colonialism, slavery, the Enlightenment, biblicism, church-state relations, and the religious history of the Boston area. This course meets the Humanities distribution requirement.

What is Asian America? Where did the term come from? What is Asian America's relationship to America? Who is considered an Asian American? Who gets to decide? What is Asian American history, identity, culture, and politics? This multidisciplinary course explores the definition of Asian America, its history, and some of its contemporary issues. We will examine the reasons for why Asians are in America; the role of Asian Americans in the development of American society; their responses to America?s reception of them; their relationship to American foreign policy regarding Asia; their position in the context of American race relations; current Asian immigration and settlement; the process of developing Asian American identities and cultures; the status of contemporary Asian American communities; and some critical Asian American issues. Though Asian Americans have a long history in America and also are one of the fastest growing racial minority groups in the country, why do Asians in America continue to be perceived as "foreigners," "aliens," and the inassimilable ?yellow peril?? Then again, why do these ?potentially dangerous aliens? continue to be held up as the ?model minority? to the rest of society? What can we learn about America itself by studying the Asian experience within it?

Interdisciplinary introduction to African American dance for the concert stage in its aesthetic and historical context from the 17th century to the 21st century, with major focus on developments, dancers, and choreographers of 20th century United States. Influence of biological determinism, medical history, race, and racism on the opportunities for dancers and public reception of dance.  Influence of African American concert dance and artists-as-activists on social-political trends. Influence of contemporary issues of biological determinism, race, and racism on the context of contemporary dance.  Choreographers and companies include Dunham, Ailey, Jones, Dance Theater of Harlem. Discussion and video viewing are major elements of many class sessions. 

This class will be organized around thematic investigations of the political policies and socioeconomic processes that contain and inform urban schooling.  Students will explore a political economy of schooling related primarily to race and class, with opportunities to explore gender, language, and so on. Specifically, we will examine the ways in which policies and practices, such as the racialization of welfare and the legalization of Whiteness, inform school policies and practices, including funding, governance, and so on. Students will engage an interdisciplinary body of scholarship framed by Critical Race Theory.

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 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, April 21, 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 May 5, 2011. You must file a corrected copy of your SSP at the American Studies Office no later than May 12, 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.

Continuation of year-long course begun in Fall, 2010

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 2011, the completed thesis manuscript should be submitted to readers by Friday, April 8, 2011. The oral defense should be arranged by the student and his or her committee to take place no later than Thursday, April 28, 2011, 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 also email a copy to Kathy Spagnoli in the American Studies office.