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American Studies (AMST) Courses

Academic Unit: American Studies

AMST 1012 - Migrants, Refugees, Citizens, and Exiles: The U.S. on an Immigrant Planet [CIV]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Immigration to the United States at various historical periods and across geographical/political terrains. How immigration, as a national/racial project, is shaped by legal categories and discursive practices based on race, class, gender, and sexuality. Diverse ways marginalized groups produce national/transnational political practices.
AMST 1101 - Imagining Asian America [SOCS DSJ]
(3 cr; A-F only; offered Periodic Fall)
Equivalent courses: ANTH 1101 (starting 21-JAN-20)
What are the histories, cultures, and experiences of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing group in the United States? How do they fit into the U.S.'s history of immigration, race, and citizenship? Is the "model minority" myth really true? This course is an introduction to Asian American Studies, an interdisciplinary field that uses ethnography, literature, histories, films, memoirs, and other texts to study how the history of Asian immigration to the United States has visibly shaped existing Asian American communities and identities, and how ?Asian America? is central to a more general understanding of American popular culture and public life. The course is roughly organized chronologically. We will first begin with an introduction to the field of Asian American Studies by asking the questions: What is Asian America? What is Asian American Studies? We will then examine important concepts, categories, and processes before exploring the rich history of Asian migration to the United States and contemporary issues facing Asian Americans today. One of the core principles of this course is to encourage active and interdisciplinary learning. This means that we will be learning in a variety of ways to explore and understand the material (reading, writing, watching, listening, seeing, discussing, presenting). We will be drawing from a wide range of disciplines (history, law, sociology, education, cultural studies, psychology, etc.). And we will be using a variety of materials (memoir, scholarly articles, historical documents, government records, newspapers, films, photographs, popular culture, etc.) Your active participation in these activities is essential.
AMST 1401 - Comparative Genders and Sexualities [DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Gender/sexual practices/identities within international framework. How such practices/identities reflect/refract national ideals and express national/international division.
AMST 1511 - Americans Abroad: Rethinking Travel, Culture, & Empire [GP HIS]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
In this course, we will look at Americans (including ourselves) who travel abroad and what their experiences, both in the present and historically, tell us about how we imagine others and our/their place in the world. What do these experiences tell us about who we are as a people, a culture, and a nation? This course will examine how these experiences have transformed (and continue to transform) Americans and the countries and cultures with which they interact. Indeed, this course challenges students to consider the overall effects that these processes have had on America?s relationship with the rest of the world.
AMST 1906W - Race and Science Fiction [AH WI DSJ]
(3 cr; A-F only; offered Periodic Fall)
Race and Science Fiction considers how science fiction allows us to ask questions about race across time and space. In doing so, the course not only introduces students to how race and racism have been differently constructed throughout history but also gives students the tools to contextualize and critique present issues of racial inequality. The course also sets up first year students for a successful future at the University of Minnesota by introducing them to the core values and themes of a liberal education.
AMST 2011 - The United States since September 11 [CIV HIS]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
How American citizenship and nationhood have changed since 9/11. The event and its aftermath in historical perspective. Political, economic, and military antecedents. How 9/11 has changed relations between the U.S. government, U.S. citizens, immigrants, and international community. How 9/11 has been remembered.
AMST 2031 - Chasing the American Dream: Economic Opportunity & Inequality in the U.S. [HIS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
This course begins by focusing on the historical origins and meanings of the American dream. How did this dream of unlimited opportunity come about? What has it meant in different historical moments and to divergent social groups? And, why does it continue to be such a powerful and compelling idea in the United States and around the world?
AMST 2041 - The Politics of Pandemics
(3 cr; A-F only; offered Every Fall & Spring)
This course examines public health in the United States, its institutions, practices, and policies and how they have been applied to infectious and chronic disease, as well as related to health and wellness more broadly. American public health is contextualized historically and pandemic problems, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, heart disease, obesity, and infectious disease, are examined critically relation to American culture and politics, including the most recent corona-virus pandemic. Students will gain an in-depth perspective on public health in the United States and how the history of American public health is deeply influenced by politics and culture, particular the dimensions of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
AMST 3001 - Contemporary Perspectives on Asian America [DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: AAS 3001
Interdisciplinary overview of Asian American identities. Post-1965 migration/community. History, cultural productions, and concerns of Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, Filipino, and Southeast Asian ancestry.
AMST 3003 - Public History
(3 cr; A-F or Audit; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 4 credits)
Equivalent courses: CLA 3003 (inactive), HIST 3001 (starting 02-SEP-08), AMIN 3001
Interpretations of collective past as produced in public venues, including museum exhibitions, films, theme parks, websites. Intellectual and political issues in history produced for public audiences. Career opportunities.
AMST 3112 - Prince, Porn, and Public Space: The Cultural Politics of the Twin Cities in the 1980s [HIS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
This course uses music (especially Prince and the Replacements), debates around pornography/sex, and shifts around access to public space in order to explore the local culture and national importance of the Twin Cities during the 1980s.
AMST 3113W - Global Minnesota: Diversity in the 21st Century [WI DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: was AMST 3113 until 05-SEP-00
Diverse cultural (racial, ethnic, class) groups in America. Institutions/processes that shape their relations and create domination, resistance, hybridity, nationalism, racism, alliance. Specific content may vary.
AMST 3114 - America in International Perspective [DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring)
The nature of international cultural exchange. The impact of U.S. cultures and society on other countries of the world as well as the impact of other cultures and societies on the United States.
AMST 3212 - Dissident Sexualities in U.S. History
(3 cr; A-F or Audit; offered Every Fall)
Equivalent courses: HIST 3212 (starting 02-SEP-08), GLBT 3212
History of sexuality in United States. Emphasizes sexualities that have challenged dominant social/cultural norms. Development of transgender, bisexual, lesbian, gay identities/communities. Politics of sex across lines of race/ethnicity. Historical debates over controversial practices, including sex work.
AMST 3214 - Queer Kinship: Undoing the American Family [AH DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Summer)
What is the American family? Is it a part of the ?American Dream?? Is it a claim to national belonging? The American family only exists within US mythology built on imperialism and settler colonialism. This course will explore how the heteronormative nuclear family structure symbolizes modern capitalist society that emphasizes the core American values of individualism, democracy, and the ability to reproduce. Thus, the individual family members are not only transformed into productive citizens but are also tasked with the responsibility to reproduce the nation(alism). For example, the recent advancement for gay marriage is scripted as a new phenomenon that poses as both a threat to the American values and a sign of progress. This paradox exposes the limits of gay identity politics and nationalist ideology within neoliberalism, which later used to justify and rationalize racist and xenophobic ideologies. This course asks: how is the American family always already queer?
AMST 3253W - American Popular Culture and Politics: 1940 to the Present [WI CIV HIS]
(4 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: was AMST 3253 until 12-JUN-00
Historical analysis of how popular arts represent issues of gender, race, consumerism, and citizenship. How popular artists define boundaries of citizenship and public life: inclusions/exclusions in polity and national identity. How popular arts reinforce/alter political ideologies.
AMST 3361 - Asian Americans and Food
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Equivalent courses: AAS 3361
Asian Americans have always been intimately connected to food practices and institutions in the American imagination. Food is the medium through which Asian American cultural difference, their status as "perpetual foreigners" and the "model minority character" are typically expressed and disseminated. Historically, Asian migration to the United States was fueled by labor needs particularly in the agricultural sector. In addition, Asian labor has been stereotypically linked to food service and preparation such as the ubiquitous Chinese take-out place and more recently, the sushi and Korean fusion joints. This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of food to better understand the historical, social, and cultural aspects of Asian American food preparation, distribution and consumption. Students will investigate the politics and poetics of Asian American foodways by examining social habits, and rituals around food in restaurants, homes and other public venues. The course texts include ethnographic essays, fictional works, memoirs, magazines, and television shows.
AMST 3661 - African Americans in Germany [HIS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
Equivalent courses: GER 3661 (starting 05-SEP-23)
How have African Americans understood their experiences with race outside of the United States? African Americans have been migrating and circulating the globe since the American Revolution, and it is only recently that scholars have considered the ways in which an abroad experience has been transformative for African Americans. In this seminar-style class, we will explore why and how African Americans have used their experiences in Germany to express a new understanding of their identity in the United States.
AMST 3814 - Women, Rage, and Politics [SOCS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
This course explores the relationship between women, rage, and politics. Following bell hooks, we ask where is the rage? Doing so, invites us to interrogate how rage is gendered, how politics are gendered, and how do rage and gender intersect to mobilize for justice. Drawing on political organizing by women of color during the recent Black Lives Matter uprising, we consider what it means to make and claim space as women of color in politics. We also look at how rage - BIPOC women's rage, white rage, rage against women - gets mobilized to cement and/or combat racism, xenophobia, and misogyny. Finally, the course reframes women's rage as intrepid and redemptive, capable of sparking change during this political movement.
AMST 3896 - Internship for Academic Credit
(1 cr [max 4]; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 4 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
An applied learning experience in an agreed-upon, short-term, supervised workplace activity, with defined goals, which may be related to a student's major field or area of interest. The work can be full or part time, paid or unpaid, primarily in off-campus environments. Internships integrate classroom knowledge and theory with practical application and skill development in professional or community settings. The skills and knowledge learned should be transferable to other employment settings and not simply to advance the operations of the employer. Typically the student's work is supervised and evaluated by a site coordinator or instructor.
AMST 3920 - Topics in American Studies (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 6 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
Topics specified in Class Schedule.
AMST 3993 - Directed Studies
(1 cr [max 9]; Prereq-instr consent; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 9 credits)
Guided individual reading or study.
AMST 4101 - Gender, Sexuality, and Politics in America [HIS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Equivalent courses: was AMST 4101W until 03-SEP-02, GLBT 4101
Ways public and private life intersect through the issues of gender, sexuality, family, politics, and public life; ways in which racial, ethnic, and class divisions have been manifest in the political ideologies affecting private life.
AMST 4301 - Workers and Consumers in the Global Economy [DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Impact of global economy on workplaces/workers in the United states, Mexico, and Caribbean countries. Influence on consumption. Consequences for American culture/character. Effects on U.S./Mexican factory work, service sector, temporary working arrangements, offshore production jobs in Dominican Republic, and professional/managerial positions.
AMST 4962W - Proseminar in American Studies [WI]
(3 cr; Prereq-AmSt sr or instr consent; Student Option No Audit; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: was AMST 3302W until 06-SEP-05, was AMST 3302 until 05-SEP-00
This course serves as the capstone course for majors of the American Studies BA program.
AMST 5412 - Comparative Indigenous Feminisms [GP]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: CHIC 5412 (starting 05-SEP-17), CHIC 3412 (starting 05-SEP-17), ANTH 5412, GWSS 3515, AMIN 5412
The course will examine the relationship between Western feminism and indigenous feminism as well as the interconnections between women of color feminism and indigenous feminism. In addition to exploring how indigenous feminists have theorized from 'the flesh' of their embodied experience of colonialism, the course will also consider how indigenous women are articulating decolonization and the embodiment of autonomy through scholarship, cultural revitalization, and activism.
AMST 5920 - Topics in American Studies (Topics course)
(1 cr [max 4]; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topics specified in Class Schedule.
AMST 8201 - Historical Foundations of American Studies
(3 cr; Prereq-grad AmSt major; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Exposition of American studies as a field of inquiry, including its history, major theoretical framework, and interdisciplinary methodologies.
AMST 8202 - Theoretical Foundations and Current Practice in American Studies
(3 cr; Prereq-grad AmSt major or instr consent or dept consent; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Analysis of central theoretical work in the field and survey of key methodologies.
AMST 8231 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Readings
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Culture of Cold War, its legacy. How it affected/reflected domestic politics, public policies, civic life, gender expectations, sexuality, class relations, racial justice, and civil rights. Impact of domestic anti-communism and of American cultural politics abroad.
AMST 8232 - Cultural Fallout: The Cold War and Its Legacy, Research
(3 cr; Prereq-8231; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Student produce a research paper on history/culture of Cold War era as it developed in United States after World War II. Research projects build upon readings from 8231.
AMST 8239 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Readings
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Social, cultural, and artistic modes of self-expression. Intellectual analysis of people in the United States identified as female or male or as members of groups defined by race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.
AMST 8240 - Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in the United States: Topical Development (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-instr consent; Student Option; offered Every Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Social, cultural, and artistic modes of self-expression and intellectual analysis of people in the United States identified as female or male and/or as members of group defined by race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.
AMST 8249 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Readings
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Popular arts in their political/social context. Issues of race, gender, class, and nationalism.
AMST 8250 - Popular Culture and Politics in the 20th Century: Research Strategies
(3 cr; Prereq-8239 or instr consent; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Popular arts in their political/social context. Focuses on issues of race, gender, class, and nationalism.
AMST 8259 - Literature, History, and Culture: Research Strategies
(3 cr; Prereq-instr consent; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Interdisciplinary study of connections between literary expression and history, particularly as they articulate themes in American culture.
AMST 8260 - Literature, History, and Culture: Topical Development (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-instr consent; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Interdisciplinary study of connections between literary expression and history, particularly as they articulate themes in American culture.
AMST 8288 - Working in the Global Economy: Readings
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Debates about global economy's consequences for American culture/character. Effects of global capitalism on factory work, service sector, pink-collar, and factory work in multinational corporations and professional/managerial positions inside/outside U.S. borders. How work is lived through race, class, gender, and nation.
AMST 8289 - Ethnographic Research Methods: Research Strategies in American Studies
(3 cr; Prereq-8288 or instr consent; Student Option; offered Periodic Spring)
Students conduct an empirical research project, write a final paper. Assumptions/practices of positivism, reflexive science, and feminist methodology. Issues surrounding politics/ethics of feminist research. Dilemmas in practice of fieldwork, oral histories, reading, and writing.
AMST 8333 - FTE: Master's
(1 cr; Prereq-Master's student, adviser and DGS consent; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; 6 academic progress units; 6 financial aid progress units)
(No description)
AMST 8401 - Practicum in American Studies
(3 cr; Prereq-instr consent; S-N or Audit; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Training in teaching undergraduate courses in American studies.
AMST 8444 - FTE: Doctoral
(1 cr; Prereq-Doctoral student, adviser and DGS consent; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; 6 academic progress units; 6 financial aid progress units)
(No description)
AMST 8520 - Seminar: American Art and Material Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 4 times)
Equivalent courses: was ARTH 8520 until 19-JAN-21, was ARTH 8520 until 20-JAN-04, was ARTH 8520 until 02-SEP-03, was ARTH 8520 until 28-MAY-02, was ARTH 8520 until 22-JAN-02, was ARTH 8520 until 07-SEP-99
Topics in American art, popular art, and material culture, emphasizing methods and techniques of inquiry: creation and use of archives, oral history, sources for pictorial evidence, and current approaches to interpreting traditional and non-traditional data.
AMST 8666 - Doctoral Pre-Thesis Credits
(1 cr [max 6]; Prereq-Doctoral student who has not passed prelim oral; no required consent for 1st/2nd registrations, up to 12 combined cr; dept consent for 3rd/4th registrations, up to 24 combined cr; doctoral student admitted before summer 2007 may register up to four times, up to 60 combined cr; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
x
AMST 8777 - Thesis Credits: Master's
(1 cr [max 18]; Prereq-Max 18 cr per semester or summer; 10 cr total required [Plan A only]; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 50 credits; may be repeated 10 times)
(No description)
AMST 8801 - Dissertation Seminar
(3 cr; Prereq-AmSt doctoral student beginning dissertation work; S-N or Audit; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: GWSS 8997 (starting 20-JAN-15, was WOST 8997 until 05-SEP-06)
Conceptualizing the research problem for the dissertation and structuring the process of writing a chapter of it.
AMST 8888 - Thesis Credit: Doctoral
(1 cr [max 24]; Prereq-Max 18 cr per semester or summer; 24 cr required; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 100 credits; may be repeated 10 times)
(No description)
AMST 8920 - Topics in American Studies (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topics specified in Class Schedule.
AMST 8970 - Independent Study in American Studies
(1 cr [max 9]; Prereq-instr consent, dept consent; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 9 times)
Independent study of interdisciplinary aspects of American civilization under guidance of faculty members of various departments.

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