The Program in American Studies
Virginia Commonwealth University offers a Minor in American Studies, an interdisciplinary program sponsored by the English and History departments, is devoted to the study of American culture and society.  Participating departments also include Political Science, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, Art History, Urban Studies and Planning, and the School of Mass Communications.  American Studies is based on the conviction that any cultural era, phenomenon or issue considered in its full depth will necessarily lead the inquirer beyond the confines of a single discipline.  The educational aim of the program is not simply to foster an understanding of American cultural development and organization, but also to cultivate and encourage in each student a connecting habit of mind--the ability to synthesize the methods and materials of several traditional disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. 

Requirements for the American Studies Minor
The Minor degree consists of at least 18 upper-level credits to be distributed as follows:  six credits in American Studies (AMST) courses; three credits in humanities electives; three credits in social science electives; and six credits in either humanities, social science, or other approved electives, or in independent study.  All courses selected to fulfill distribution areas must deal with American materials and topics.  A list of recommended courses and electives is available from the coordinator.

AMST 394 (Perspectives in American Studies) provides an introduction to the methods, significant works and major trends in American Studies, typically through the study of American character and culture.  AMST 391 (Topics in American Studies) focuses on a particular cultural issue or era in American civilization with materials drawn from such areas as history, the social sciences, philosophy, literature and the arts.  Topics offered in the past have included American Writers in Paris, American Culture in the 1920s, World's Fairs in America, The Hollywood Novel, American Popular Culture, and American Culture in the 1930s, American Horror, and many others.

Electives can be drawn from the following list of courses, as well as from upper-level topics courses and seminars that deal with American topics and materials:

Humanities Electives
ARTH 340 Art and Architecture of the United States
ARTH 342 Afro-American Art
ARTH 441 Architecture of the United States
ARTH 442 Architecture in Richmond
ARTH 443 Folk Art in the United States
ARTH 444 Studies in the Art of the United States
ENGL 313 Southern Literature
ENGL 314 African American Literature
ENGL 371 American Literature: Colonial and Federal
ENGL 372 American Literature: American Romanticism
ENGL 373 American Literature: Realism and Naturalism
ENGL 374 American Literature: Early Twentieth Century
ENGL 375 American Literature: Contemporary
ENGL 413  American Novels and Narratives, Nineteenth Century and Earlier
ENGL 414 American Novels and Narratives, Twentieth Century
MHIS 441 American Music
MHIS 471 Jazz History and Literature
RELS 334 Religion in Contemporary America
RELS 335 The American Jewish Experience

Social Science Electives
GEOG 451 Cultural geography of Central Virgina
GEOG 460 Richmond and Its Environs
HIST 341 American Women's History
HIST 342 Colonial America, 1585-1763
HIST 343 Two American Revolutions, 1763-1800
HIST 344 Ante-bellum America: 1800-1860
HIST 345 Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 346 The Emergence of Modern America, 1877-1914
HIST 347, 348 Twentieth Century U. S. History
HIST 349, 350 American Military History
HIST 351, 352 History of the South
HIST 355 History of Virginia
HIST 357, 358 American Social History
HIST 361, 362 Americans From Africa
HIST 363 History of the American Urban Experience
HIST 365, 366 American Intellectual History
HIST 369, 370 American Constitutional and Legal Development
HIST 374 History of the American Frontier
HIST 375, 376 American Diplomatic History
HIST 390 Africa and the Americas: Slavery, Race and Gender
MAC 492 Seminar in Advertising in Society
POLI 301 American Parties and Elections
POLI 302 Politics of the Civil Rights Movement
POLI 306 The Congress
POLI 308 The Presidency
POLI 310 Public Policy
POLI 314 American Constitutional Law
POLI 315 Judicial Policymaking
POLI 316 Women and the Law
POLI 318 Politics of Race, Class and Gender
POLI 319 Women and American Politics
POLI 321 Urban Government and Politcs
POLI 322 State and Local Government and Politics
POLI 323 Virginia Government and Politics
POLI 329 Intergovernmental Relations
POLI 331 Public Administration
POLI 343 Black Political Thought
POLI 345 African-American Politics
POLI 363 U.S,  Foreign Policy
SOCY 305 Sociology of the Black Family
SOCY 322 Minority Groups in the United States
URSP 315 The Evolution of American Cities
URSP 316 Urban Life in Modern America

For further information, please contact :
Dr. Richard A. Fine  
Department of English 
210 Anderson House (913 W. Franklin St.)
828-4483
rfine@vcu.edu