American Studies

American studies is the interdisciplinary study of the United States. Majors and minors analyze American history and experience through a variety of different disciplines in order to gain insight into the multiplicity of cultures, ideas, and institutions that make up the nation. They draw on departments and programs, such as African and African American studies, American Catholic studies, art history and music, English, history, Latin American and Latino studies, philosophy, political science, urban studies, and sociology. Those majoring or minoring in American studies have in common, however, the desire to link these perspectives into a complex view of the nation and its culture.

American studies is a small program and admission is competitive based on grades, a writing sample, and a faculty reference. Students seeking to enter the program meet with the director to obtain an application and entrance information. We have about 15-20 majors and minors per class.

Program Activities

The American studies program presents a variety of programs for its students. We take excursions into New York City, such as faculty-led tours of New York City’s waterfronts, the New York Historical Society, Green-Wood Cemetery, and El Museo del Barrio. We sponsor guest lecturers and performers, such as Judith Sloan and Warren Lehrer, authors of Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, and Aliens in a New America; historian Mae Ngai, author of Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America; journalist Philip Gourevitch, author of The Ballad of Abu Ghraib; and performance artist Patrick Johnson, who wrote Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South. Many of these events give students an opportunity to make their voices and opinions heard, such as our open forums and salon discussions on topics such as “Wal-Mart: the Price of Doing Business in America” and “Democracy and the Media: The Effects of Journalism on Past and Present Elections.” Perhaps the most highly anticipated day of the year is the senior thesis presentation every December. These events, along with social gatherings each semester, allow American studies students opportunities to socialize with one another and with their faculty.

Courses outside the program

The following courses offered outside the department have the AMST attribute and count toward the American Studies major and minor:

Course List
Course	Title	Credits
AFAM 3030	AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN	4
AFAM 3036	GLOBAL BLACK YOUTH CULTURES	4
AFAM 3037	BEING AND BECOMING BLACK IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD	4
AFAM 3102	THE BLACK FAMILY	4
AFAM 3112	THE SIXTIES	4
AFAM 3115	MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND MALCOLM X	4
AFAM 3120	BLACK RELIGION AND BLACK POLITICS	4
AFAM 3130	RACIAL AND ETHNIC CONFLICT	4
AFAM 3132	BLACK PRISON EXPERIENCE	4
AFAM 3134	FROM ROCK-N-ROLL TO HIP-HOP	4
AFAM 3136	CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK POWER	4
AFAM 3138	NONVIOLENT PROTEST	4
AFAM 3146	CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES	3
AFAM 3150	CARIBBEAN PEOPLES AND CULTURE	4
AFAM 3210	ON THE MOVE: MIGRATION, LABOR, AND TRANS-NATIONALISM IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA	4
AFAM 3510	IN "AMERICA'S BACKYARD": U.S.-CARIBBEAN SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS 1850-1950	4
AFAM 3633	THE BRONX: IMMIGRATION, RACE, AND CULTURE	4
AFAM 3720	AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY	4
AFAM 4000	AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND THE AMERICAN DREAM	4
AFAM 4148	RACE, RELIGION, AND POLITICS: CATHOLIC AND CIVIL RIGHTS	4
AMCS 3101	THE DISCERNMENT SEMINAR	1
AMCS 3200	AMERICAN AND CATHOLIC	4
AMCS 3333	AMERICAN CATHOLIC FICTIONS	4
AMCS 3340	CATHOLICISM AND DEMOCRACY	4
AMCS 3982	CATHOLIC STUDIES SEMINAR II	4
ANTH 3180	ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS: CULTURES OF NEW YORK CITY	4
ANTH 3330	RACE AND URBAN LANDSCAPE	4
ANTH 3339	IRISH AND MEXICAN MIGRATION: NEW YORK FOCUS	4
ANTH 3340	ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RACE AND ETHNICITY	4
ANTH 3341	RACE, SEX, AND SCIENCE	4
ANTH 3343	GHETTOS AND GATED COMMUNITIES	4
ANTH 3351	COMPARATIVE CULTURES	4
ANTH 3354	RACE, IDENTITY, AND GLOBALIZATION	4
ANTH 3380	HAZARDS, DISASTERS, AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE	4
ANTH 3393	GRAFFITI: THE CHALLENGES AND CONUNDRUMS OF STREET ART	4
ARHI 2250	PRE-COLOMBIAN ART	4
ARHI 2520	AMERICAN ART	4
ARHI 4530	GENDER AND MODERN ART	4
CISC 4001	COMPUTERS AND ROBOTS IN FILM	4
CISC 4650	CYBERSPACE: ISSUES AND ETHICS	4
COLI 4603	ASIANS IN THE AMERICAS	4
COMC 1101	COMMUNICATIONS AND CULTURE: HISTORY, THEORY, AND METHODS	4
COMC 2236	THE ROCK REVOLUTION IN MUSIC AND MEDIA	4
COMC 2258	MYTH AND SYMBOL OF AMERICAN CHARACTER	4
COMC 2271	MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL THEORY	4
COMC 2377	MASS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY	4
COMC 3186	SPORTS COMMUNICATION	4
COMC 3235	POPULAR MUSIC AS COMMUNICATION	4
COMC 3237	GENDER IMAGES AND MEDIA	4
COMC 3247	RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER IN MEDIA	4
COMC 3268	MEDIA AND NATIONAL IDENTITY	4
COMC 3272	HISTORY AND CULTURE OF ADVERTISING	4
COMC 3330	PEACE, JUSTICE, AND THE MEDIA	4
COMC 3350	MEDIA LAW	4
COMC 3370	ETHICAL ISSUES IN MEDIA	4
COMC 3375	CHILDREN AND MEDIA	4
COMC 4222	MEDIA AND THE ENVIRONMENT	4
COMC 4279	MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE	4
COMC 4340	FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION	4
COMC 4360	COMMUNICATION ETHICS AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE	4
COMM 1000	FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES	3
DTEM 1401	INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND EMERGING MEDIA	4
DTEM 1402	DIGITAL CULTURES	4
DTEM 3476	SOCIAL MEDIA	4
DTEM 4480	DIGITAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY	4
ECON 3453	LAW AND ECONOMICS	4
ECON 3570	LABOR MARKET AND DIVERSITY	4
ECON 3850	ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS	4
ECON 4110	ETHICS AND ECONOMICS	4
ENGL 1501	IMAGINING NEW YORK CITY IN LITERATURE	3
ENGL 3001	QUEER THEORIES	4
ENGL 3036	LATIN AMERICAN SHORT STORY	4
ENGL 3325	SLAVERY AND 18TH CENTURY LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3333	CAPTIVES, CANNIBALS AND REBELS: (ADVANCED LITERATURE CORE)	4
ENGL 3359	ASIAN DIASPORIC LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3425	NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE	4
ENGL 3436	AMERICAN DREAM IN LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3438	AMERICAN MODERNISM	4
ENGL 3467	DISOBEDIENCE IN LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3535	MODERN POETRY	4
ENGL 3584	EARLY CARIBBEAN LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3613	MODERN AMERICAN NOVELS	4
ENGL 3628	BLACK AUTOBIOGRAPHIES	4
ENGL 3629	20TH CENTURY AFRO-AMERICAN LITERATURE	4
ENGL 3649	WOMEN’S LITERATURE, AMERICAN TRAGEDY	4
ENGL 3653	MAJOR AMERICAN AUTHORS: (Advanced Literature Core)	4
ENGL 3655	THE ART OF CAPTIVITY	4
ENGL 3673	POSTMODERN LITERATURE AND CULTURE	4
ENGL 3701	AMERICAN WRITERS IN PARIS	4
ENGL 3919	WRITING WHITENESS	4
ENGL 3930	INTRODUCTION TO GAY AND LESBIAN LITERATURE	4
ENGL 4113	SEMINAR: WRITING WHITENESS	4
ENGL 4118	DICKINSON, WHITMAN, AND COMPANY	4
ENGL 4119	SEMINAR: GOD AND MONEY IN EARLY AMERICA	4
ENGL 4121	NEW YORK CITY IN FICTION	4
ENGL 4184	POSTWAR AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE	4
ENGL 4227	BLACK LITERATURE AND FILM	4
ENGL 4421	DISABILITY, LITERATURE, CULTURE: NEUROLOGICAL, MENTAL, AND COGNITIVE DIFFERENCE IN CULTURE & CONTEXT	4
ENGL 4603	ASIANS IN THE AMERICAS	4
ENGL 4604	JAZZ AGE, LITERATURE, AND CULTURE	4
FITV 2601	HISTORY OF TELEVISION	4
FITV 2659	THE BROADCAST INDUSTRY	4
FITV 3545	FILM AND TELEVISION OF HITCHCOCK	4
FITV 3571	SCIENCE FICTION IN FILM AND TELEVISION	4
FITV 3639	QUALITY TELEVISION/CULT TV	4
FITV 3647	GENDER, RACE, CLASS, AND TELEVISION	4
FITV 3648	TELEVISION, RACE, AND CIVIL RIGHTS	4
FITV 3678	TELEVISION COMEDY AND AMERICAN VALUES	4
FITV 4570	FILMS OF MORAL STRUGGLE	4
HIST 1100	UNDERSTANDING HISTORICAL CHANGE: AMERICAN HISTORY	3
HIST 3001	AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY I	4
HIST 3013	HISTORY OF AMERICAN FOOD	4
HIST 3635	SCIENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE	4
HIST 3653	GENDER IN EARLY AMERICA	4
HIST 3655	WITCHCRAFT IN COLONIAL AMERICA	4
HIST 3656	THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION	4
HIST 3657	AMERICAN CONSTITUTION	4
HIST 3752	COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR	4
HIST 3753	CIVIL WAR ERA: 1861-1877	4
HIST 3774	HISTORY OF CAPITALISM IN THE U.S.	4
HIST 3775	THE EARLY REPUBLIC	4
HIST 3797	THE HISTORY OF US POPULAR CULTURE	4
HIST 3804	CITY IN AMERICAN HISTORY	4
HIST 3806	U.S. IMMIGRATION/ETHNICITY	4
HIST 3808	NEW YORK CITY POLITICS	4
HIST 3820	SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND SOCIAL REFORM IN AMERICA SINCE 1877	4
HIST 3822	U.S. CULTURAL HISTORY	4
HIST 3826	MODERN US WOMEN'S HISTORY	4
HIST 3838	HISTORY OF U.S. SEXUALITY	4
HIST 3842	THE VIETNAM WARS	4
HIST 3843	AMERICAN DRUG WAR	4
HIST 3846	THE HISTORY OF U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1974 TO PRESENT	4
HIST 3857	AMERICA SINCE 1945	4
HIST 3862	HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY	4
HIST 3864	NEW FRONTIERS? 1960'S AMERICA	4
HIST 3880	HISTORY OF THE COLD WAR	4
HIST 3969	LATIN AMERICA AND THE U.S.	4
HIST 3990	NORTH AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY	4
HIST 3991	THE AMERICAN INDIAN	4
HIST 4005	AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY: HISTORY AND ART	4
HIST 4008	RACE AND GENDER IN THE OLD WEST	4
HIST 4120	IMAGINING EMPIRE	4
HIST 4652	SEMINAR: AMERICA AT WAR	4
HIST 4715	OIL AND POWER IN THE AMERICAN CENTURY	4
HIST 4820	SEMINAR: AFRICAN ICONS	4
HIST 4845	U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS	4
HPRH 2052	CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT	3
IRST 3412	IRISH AMERICA	4
JOUR 3760	THE JOURNALIST AND THE LAW	4
JOUR 4750	VALUES IN THE NEWS	4
JOUR 4766	TELEVISION NEWS INNOVATORS	4
LALS 2005	AMERICAN PLURALISM	4
MAND 2670	ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS	4
MLAL 3701	VILLAINS, VAMPS AND VAMPIRES: AN INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN CINEMA	4
MUSC 2014	JAZZ: A HISTORY IN SOUND	4
MUSC 2022	BROADWAY MUSICALS	4
MUSC 2031	ROCK AND POP MUSIC SINCE WORLD WAR II	4
PHIL 3422	HARRY POTTER AND PHILOSOPHY	4
PHIL 3720	AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY	4
PHIL 3722	NATIVE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY	4
PHIL 3990	ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS AND ETHICS	4
PHIL 4302	ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY & ETHICS	4
PHIL 4407	GENDER, POWER, AND JUSTICE	4
PHIL 4416	ART, MORALITY, AND POLITICS	4
PHIL 4418	ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH	4
PHIL 4470	LINCOLN: DEMOCRATIC VALUES	4
PHIL 4486	EVIL, VICE, AND SIN	4
PJST 4970	COMMUNITY SERVICE/SOCIAL ACTION	4
POSC 1100	INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS	3
POSC 2102	INTRODUCTION TO URBAN POLITICS	4
POSC 2202	INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN POLITICS	3
POSC 2203	INTRODUCTION TO THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM	3
POSC 2205	THE U.S. CONGRESS	4
POSC 3121	NEW YORK CITY POLITICS	4
POSC 3131	POLITICS, URBAN HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT	4
POSC 3209	CONSTITUTIONAL LAW	4
POSC 3210	CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES	4
POSC 3213	INTEREST GROUP POLITICS	4
POSC 3214	THE U.S. CONGRESS	4
POSC 3215	AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES	4
POSC 3217	THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY	4
POSC 3219	CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND THE DEATH PENALITY	4
POSC 3220	CRIMINAL LAW AND JUSTICE IN THE U.S.	4
POSC 3301	CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS	4
POSC 3307	ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS	4
POSC 3309	WOMEN IN AMERICAN POLITICS	4
POSC 3315	POLITICAL PARTICIPATION	4
POSC 3317	MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION	4
POSC 3321	AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY	4
POSC 3404	AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT	4
POSC 3413	CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY	4
POSC 3530	U.S. FOREIGN POLICY	4
POSC 3614	POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS	4
POSC 3645	POLITICS OF IMMIGRATION	4
POSC 3915	INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY	4
POSC 4013	RELIGION AND AMERICAN POLITICS	4
POSC 4015	AMERICAN ECONOMIC POLICYMAKING	4
POSC 4020	PLACE, SPACE, AND IMMIGRANT CITIES	4
POSC 4210	SEMINAR: STATE, FAMILY, AND SOCIETY	4
POSC 4215	SEMINAR: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS	4
PSYC 3600	MULTICULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY	4
PSYC 3640	CROSS-CULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY	4
PSYC 3700	HUMAN SEXUALITY	4
PSYC 3730	MEN AND MASCULINITIES	4
PSYC 4310	AGING AND SOCIETY	4
PSYC 4340	LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY	4
PSYC 4920	YOUTH, VALUES, AND SOCIETY	4
SOCI 1025	SOCIOLOGY OF AMERICAN CULTURE	3
SOCI 2420	SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY	4
SOCI 2505	RELIGION AND SOCIAL CHANGE	4
SOCI 2701	INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE	4
SOCI 2925	MEDIA, CRIME, SEX, AND VIOLENCE	4
SOCI 2965	SCIENCE FICTION AND SOCIAL CRISIS	4
SOCI 3136	INEQUALITY-WHY/EFFECTS	4
SOCI 3140	OLD AND NEW MINORITIES IN THE U.S.	4
SOCI 3255	SOCIOLOGY OF MEDIA	4
SOCI 3401	GENDER, CRIME, AND JUSTICE	4
SOCI 3405	GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS	4
SOCI 3406	RACE/SOCIAL CONSTRUCT	4
SOCI 3409	RACE AND GENDER IN VISUAL CULTURE	4
SOCI 3426	RACE, RACISM, AND WHITENESS	4
SOCI 3456	MODERN AMERICAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS	4
SOCI 3500	CONTEMPORARY FAMILY ISSUES	4
SOCI 3502	WORK, INEQUALITY, AND SOCIETY IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA	4
SOCI 3503	WORK, FAMILY, AND GENDER	4
SOCI 3507	QUEER THEORY	4
SOCI 3601	URBAN POVERTY	4
SOCI 3602	URBAN SOCIOLOGY	4
SOCI 3603	URBAN AMERICA	4
SOCI 3708	LAW AND SOCIETY	4
SOCI 3710	VIOLENCE AND POLITICS	4
SOCI 3711	AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS	4
SOCI 3714	TERRORISM AND SOCIETY	4
SOCI 3720	MASS INCARCERATION	4
SOCI 4105	RELIGION, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY	4
SOCI 4400	GENDER, BODIES, AND SEXUALITY	4
SOCI 4421	DISABILITY, LITERATURE, CULTURE: NEUROLOGICAL, MENTAL, AND COGNITIVE DIFFERENCE IN CULTURE & CONTEXT	4
SOCI 4902	INTERNSHIP SEMINAR: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS	4
SOCI 4961	URBAN ISSUES AND POLICIES	4
SOCI 4970	COMMUNITY SERVICE/SOCIAL ACTION	4
SOCI 4971	DILEMMAS OF THE MODERN SELF	4
SPAN 3070	THE LATIN-AMERICAN URBAN CHRONICLE	4
SYMP 0010	WEST WING ILC	1
THEO 3375	AMERICAN RELIGIOUS TEXTS	3
THEO 3960	RELIGION AND RACE IN AMERICA	4
THEO 4013	RELIGION AND AMERICAN POLITICS	4
THEO 4025	FUTURE OF MARRIAGE 21ST CENTURY	4
THEO 4411	RELIGION, THEOLOGY, AND NEW MEDIA	4
THEO 4600	RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE	4
WGSS 3001	QUEER THEORIES	4
WGSS 3002	FEMINIST AND WOMEN'S STUDIES	4
WGSS 3341	RACE, SEX, AND SCIENCE	4
WGSS 3503	WORK, FAMILY, AND GENDER	4
WGSS 3826	MODERN US WOMEN'S HISTORY	4
WGSS 3931	INTRODUCTION TO GAY AND LESBIAN LITERATURE	4
WGSS 4105	RELIGION, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY	4
WGSS 4400	GENDER, BODIES, SEXUALITY	4

For more information

Visit the American Studies program web page.

AMST 2000. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN CULTURE. (4 Credits)

An interdisciplinary history of American cultural traditions. Students will be introduced to major developments in American culture, arts, literature, folkculture, thought, and media. Course sets transformations in culture in the context of American political, social, religious, and economic history. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AMST 2800. AMERICAN LEGAL REASONING. (4 Credits)

An introduction to American legal reasoning through selected readings. For enrollment, please contact pre-law advisor Erin Burke at erburke@fordham.edu or the American Studies director at amerstudies@fordham.edu. Preference will be given to American Studies majors and pre-law students. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: ASSC.

AMST 3100. INTRO TO AMERICAN CULTURE. (4 Credits)

An introduction to American culture with particular emphasis on the interdisciplinary aims and methods of American Studies. Junior level seminar usually taken in the first semester of junior year. Provides an overview of methods and texts used by different disciplines. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

AMST 3600. AMERICAN LEGAL REASONING. (4 Credits)

Attribute: ASSC.

AMST 3610. SPECIAL TOPICS: WOMEN AND AMERICAN COMEDY. (4 Credits)

This course explores the history of women and comedic performance in the U.S., from the vaudeville stage of the late nineteenth century to stand-up and the television situation comedy of the 20th and 21st century. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

AMST 3800. INTERNSHIP. (1-3 Credits)

AMST 4010. APPROACHES TO AMERICAN STUDIES. (4 Credits)

An introduction to the interdisciplinary perspectives and methods of American Studies. Class will explore the theme of characterizing and defining "America," with attention to how a distinctive interdisciplinary approach to this theme has shaped the field of American Studies. Students will also develop skills to analyze a wide range of primary materials from an interdisciplinary perspective. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: ICC.

AMST 4500. THE SENIOR SEMINAR. (4 Credits)

A team-taught seminar, drawing on faculty in different areas of American Studies, the seminar provides a focused exploration of some aspect of American history and culture and forms the basis of the senior essay. During their senior year, all majors enroll in this course and, in consultation with the director of the program, research and write their senior thesis. American Studies senior majors only. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

AMST 4999. INDEPENDENT STUDY. (1-4 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.