American Studies Program

The American Studies Program is an interdisciplinary academic program offered at Knox. It offers one major and one minor.

Program Committee

Current

• Konrad Hamilton, Program Chair, Associate Professor of History
• Gregory Gilbert, Associate Professor of Art History
• Lane Sunderland, Chancie Ferris Booth Professor of Political Science

American Studies

See main page at American Studies.

The program offers one American Studies major and one minor.

American Studies (major)

This major allows advanced study in American Studies.

Courses Required for the American Studies major

10 credits:

• All of the following:
  • AMST 285 (In Search of America)
  • AMST 390 (Senior Research Project)
  • AMST 392 (Oral Presentation)
  • PS 245 (American Political Thought)
• One of the following:
  • PHIL 230 (Philosophy and Liberal Democracy)
  • PS 101 (American National Government)
  • PS 362 (American Constitutional Law I)
  • PS 363 (American Constitutional Law II)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 259 (America in the 1960s)
  • HIST 122 (American Biography)
  • HIST 260 (American History I: Colonial Era to 1865)
  • HIST 261 (American History II: 1865 to Present)
  • HIST 263 (Slavery in the Americas)
  • HIST 264 (African-American History Since the Civil War)
  • HIST 363 (The Great Society)
  • HIST 366 (The American Civil Rights Movement)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 272 (Alternatives to Consumerism)
  • ANSO 103 (Contemporary Social Issues)
  • ANSO 215 (Poverty and Social Welfare Policy)
  • BKST 101 (Introduction to Black Studies)
  • EDUC 201 (School and Society)
  • ENVS 228 (Environmental Racism)
  • GWST 101 (Women, Culture, and Society)
  • JOUR 323 (Media and Society)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 243 (U.S. Latino Literature: Identity and Resistance)
  • AMST 260 (Religion and Politics)
  • AMST 307 (Identity and Alterity in Latino Literature and Culture)
  • ANSO 231 (Native America: Identity and Adaptation)
  • ANSO 233 (American Utopias)
  • ART 221 (Native Arts of the Americas: Their History and Cultural Legacy)
  • ART 225 (Nineteenth Century European and American Art and Architecture)
  • ART 226 (Twentieth Century European and American Art and Architecture)
  • BKST 233 (African American Literature)
  • BKST 235 (African American Women Writers)
  • ENG 231 (American Literature I)
  • ENG 232 (American Literature II)
  • ENG 335 (Studies in American Romanticism)
  • ENG 336 (Studies in the Literatures of America)
  • ENVS 232 (Nature and the Environment in American Literature)
  • GWST 206 (Theory in the Flesh: Writings by Feminists of Color)
  • GWST 325 (Beyond Stereotypes: Exploring Literature by Chicanas)
  • MUS 120 (Jazz)
  • PHIL 273 (American Philosophy and Postmodernism)
  • THEA 378 (American Drama and Theatre: Beginnings to the Present)
• Four elective credits, which may be drawn from the choices above
• At least two courses must focus on non-white American issues
• No more than four courses may be at the 100-level; at least three must be at the 300-level
• Participation in one of the following off-campus programs:
  • Washington Semester
  • ACM Urban Studies
  • ACM Urban Education Term
  • ACM Chicago Arts
  • an approved internship

No more than two courses may be double-counted for an American Studies major and other majors or minors

American Studies (minor)

This minor allows for intermediate study in American studies.

Courses Required for the American Studies minor

5 credits:

• All of the following:
  • AMST 285 (In Search of America)
  • PS 245 (American Political Thought)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 259 (America in the 1960s)
  • HIST 122 (American Biography)
  • HIST 260 (American History I: Colonial Era to 1865)
  • HIST 261 (American History II: 1865 to Present)
  • HIST 263 (Slavery in the Americas)
  • HIST 264 (African-American History Since the Civil War)
  • HIST 363 (The Great Society)
  • HIST 366 (The American Civil Rights Movement)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 272 (Alternatives to Consumerism)
  • ANSO 103 (Contemporary Social Issues)
  • ANSO 215 (Poverty and Social Welfare Policy)
  • BKST 101 (Introduction to Black Studies)
  • EDUC 201 (School and Society)
  • ENVS 228 (Environmental Racism)
  • GWST 101 (Women, Culture, and Society)
  • JOUR 323 (Media and Society)
• One of the following:
  • AMST 243 (U.S. Latino Literature: Identity and Resistance)
  • AMST 260 (Religion and Politics)
  • AMST 307 (Identity and Alterity in Latino Literature and Culture)
  • ANSO 231 (Native America: Identity and Adaptation)
  • ANSO 233 (American Utopias)
  • ART 221 (Native Arts of the Americas: Their History and Cultural Legacy)
  • ART 225 (Nineteenth Century European and American Art and Architecture)
  • ART 226 (Twentieth Century European and American Art and Architecture)
  • BKST 233 (African American Literature)
  • BKST 235 (African American Women Writers)
  • ENG 231 (American Literature I)
  • ENG 232 (American Literature II)
  • ENG 335 (Studies in American Romanticism)
  • ENG 336 (Studies in the Literatures of America)
  • ENVS 232 (Nature and the Environment in American Literature)
  • GWST 206 (Theory in the Flesh: Writings by Feminists of Color)
  • GWST 325 (Beyond Stereotypes: Exploring Literature by Chicanas)
  • MUS 120 (Jazz)
  • PHIL 273 (American Philosophy and Postmodernism)
  • THEA 378 (American Drama and Theatre: Beginnings to the Present)
• At least one course must focus on non-white American issues, and it may not be counted for the Understanding Diversity Requirement
• No more than two courses may be at the 100-level; at least one must be at the 300-level

No more than two courses may be double-counted for an American Studies minor and other majors or minors

Meeting the Competency Requirements

• Writing Requirement: AMST 390, AMST 350, AMST 400, PS 362, PS 363, HIST 366, ART 225, ART 226, ENG 335, ENG 336
• Oral Requirement: AMST 392
• Information Literacy Requirement: The course sequence satisfies this requirement