American Studies Program
Interdisciplinary Clusters in
American Studies
Institutions and Power in the US
This interdisciplinary cluster emphasizes the interconnectedness among issues, institutions and social groups by encouraging students to analyze how institutions work, how power accrues, functions, & circulates, and how institutions shape social groups’ struggles for social justice. The list of approved courses is extensive, so students should select a particular theme and/or institution and work closely with their advisor to develop a well-focused cluster. (For example, environment and the law, or electoral politics in underrepresented communities.) The five courses needed to complete this cluster must come from at least 3 disciplines. If a theoretical course listed below does not have an explicit US focus or substantial US content, it will count towards the cluster only if the student’s research project is on a US topic (such courses are marked with an asterisk*). Special topics courses from various departments not listed below may count if approved by the director. For specific questions regarding this cluster, please see Deborah Pacini Hernandez or Jean Wu.
Requirements for the Institutions and Power in the US cluster
Required: At least two courses that give on overview of issues related to political, economic and social institutions, selected from list below.
| EC 5* |
Principles of Economics |
| EC 86 | American Economic Development in Historical Perspectives |
| EC 144* | Income Inequality, Poverty, and Economic Justice |
| ENG 172 | War and American Values (formerly ENG191) |
| HIST 22 | The Changing American Nation: The 19th and 20th Centuries |
| HIST 86 | Modern American Society |
| HIST 87 | America in the Twentieth Century |
| HIST 98 | The Immigrant in American History |
| HIST 99-06 | US Foreign Relations 1600-1900 |
| HIST 29 | US Foreign Relations 1900-present (formerly HIST99-07) |
| HIST 174 | Urban Society in Industrial America |
| PS 11 | Introduction to American Politics |
| PS 109 | Seminar: Politics of Ethnicity and American Identity |
| PS 111 | Political Psychology |
| PS 112 | Media, Politics, and Law |
| PS 144 | Meaning of America |
| SOC 110 | Racial & Ethnic Minorities |
| SOC 130 | Wealth, Poverty and Inequality |
| UEP/ENV 94 | Environmental Policy, Planning and Politics |
Required: At least two courses from the list below, examining particular institutions, populations and/or issues in greater depth
| AMER 12 |
Race in America |
| AMER 16 | (Un)Making American Identities |
| AMER 194 | American Sixties and Its Legacies |
| AMER194-01 /REL192-25 | Islam in America |
| AMER 182 | Asian America |
| AMER 131 | Active Citizenship |
| AMER 141 | Innovative Social Enterprises |
| AMER 142 | American Entrepreneurship |
| AMER 185 | Native American Issues |
| ANTH 16 | Intro to Latino Cultures |
| ANTH 18 | Growing Up Latino |
| ANTH 183/AMER 183 | Urban Borderlands |
| CD 167 | Children and the Mass Media |
| CD 182 | Social Policy for Children and Families |
| CEE 158* | Occupational and Environmental Health |
| CH 1 | Introduction to Community Health |
| CH 2 | Healthcare in America: Politics and Policies |
| CH 55 | Race, Ethnicity and Health |
| CH 99* | Introduction to Global Health |
| CH104 | Women and Health |
| CH 106 | Health, Ethics and Policy |
| CH 185 | Community Health and Drugs |
| CH 187 | Health Policy for Aging Populations |
| CH 188 | Global Health Seminar: The State of Health in Developing Countries |
| EC 30* | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| EC 43* | Women in the Labor Market |
| EC 48* | Health Economics |
| EC 62* | Economics of International Migration |
| ENG 92/191 | Boston Radicals |
| ED 161 | Sociology of the School |
| ED 162 | Class, Race, and Gender in the History of U.S. Education |
| ED 165 | Educating Women and Girls |
| HIST 35 | African Americans in U.S. History since 1865 |
| HIST 93 | Women in 20th Century America |
| HIST 94 | Sickness and Health in America |
| HIST 97 | The American Immigrant Pattern and Asian Americans |
| PHIL 125 | Racism and Social Inequality |
| PS 43 | Justice, Equality, Liberty |
| PS 101 | Presidency and the Executive Branch |
| PS 106 | Civil Liberties |
| PS 113 | Seminar: Non-Profits and Civic Society |
| PS 116 | Judicial Politics |
| PS 119 | Political Representation in the US |
| PS 188-23 | Ethnicity & US Africa Policy 1850-2009 |
| PS 195 | Seminar-Politics of Sustainable identities |
| REL 40 | History of Religion in America |
| REL 41 | Contemporary Religion in America |
| REL 106* | Contemporary Religious Thought |
| REL143/SOC 143* | Sociology of Religion |
| SOC 30 | Sex & Gender in Society |
| SOC 40 | Media and Society |
| SOC 70 | Immigration and American Society |
| SOC 111 | Making Social Change Happen |
| SOC 113* | Urban Sociology |
| SOC 121 | Sociology of Law |
| SOC 135 | Social Movements |
| SOC 149/UEP 181** | Sociology of Leadership |
| SOC 184/UEP 273** | Nonprofits, States and Markets |
*This course will count towards the cluster only if it has substantial US content and/or the student’s research project focuses on the US.
**UEP courses are graduate courses; please check with your advisor before seeking special permission to register for these courses.