American studies might be your perfect major, second major, or minor. Find out by taking one of these courses.
Music, movies, sports, art, books, television, politics, race, the environment: if it interests you, American Studies has a course that covers it. You can read, discuss, and research a fun topic and earn humanities, history, social and behavioral sciences, or writing credit at the same time. And unlike courses in other departments, many of the most interesting AMS courses are not exclusive to American studies majors.
Fair warning, though: If you take one of these “gateway” courses, you may be hooked on American studies and find yourself majoring in the field.
AMS 150 Introduction to American Studies: Arts and Values offers an exploration of the relation between the arts — popular, folk, and elite — and American culture in four periods: Victorian America, the 1920s and 1930s, World War II and the Postwar Era, and the 1960s. Class presentations and discussions revolve around novels, movies, art, music, artifacts, and readings about the periods. This course is team taught by all the members of the American studies faculty. Offered fall semester.
Fans of “Deadliest Catch,” “Dirty Jobs,” “Ice Road Truckers,” and similar reality TV shows will enjoy AMS 205 Dirty Jobs. Taught by Dr. Michael Innis-Jimenez, this course looks at occupations that are dirty, dangerous, and otherwise unsavory and examines the media trends that spawned those popular tough-job shows. The class meets once a week and is also conducted through online discussion focusing on why such occupations have become so popular in our culture. Offered fall semester.
For more information on undergraduate courses offered by the Department of American Studies, visit the UA Undergraduate Catalog website. Information about graduate American studies courses is available through the UA Graduate Catalog.