Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Undergraduate-New Brunswick
 
About the University
Undergraduate Education in New Brunswick
Programs of Study and Courses for Liberal Arts Students
Faculties Offering the Programs
Programs, Faculty, and Courses
Availability of Majors
Course Notation Information
Accounting 010
African Area Studies 016
African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures 013
Africana Studies 014
Aging 018
American History 512
American Literature
American Studies 050
Learning Goals
Major Requirements
American Studies Minor Requirements
Minor in Comparative and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Asian American Studies Initiative
Departmental Honors Program
The American Studies Prize
The New Jersey Folk Festival
Courses
Anthropology 070
Archaeology
Armenian 078
Art 081
Art History 082
Arts and Sciences 090
Asian Studies 098
Astrophysics 105
Biochemistry
Biological Sciences
Biomathematics
Biomedical Sciences
Botany
Business Analytics and Information Technology 623
Business Law 140
Cell Biology
Chemistry 160
Chinese 165
Chinese Studies 170
Cinema Studies 175
Classics
Cognitive Science 185
Communication 192
Community Development
Comparative Literature 195
Computer Science 198
Criminal Justice 202
Criminology 204
Critical Sexualities Studies 888
Dance 203, 206
Dentistry
East Asian Languages and Area Studies 214
Economics 220
Education 300
Engineering
English
Entomology
Environmental Certificates
European Studies 360
Exercise Science and Sport Studies 377
Film Studies
Finance 390
Food Science 400
Foreign Language Proficiency Certificates
French 420
Genetics
Geography 450
Geological Sciences 460
German 470
Gerontology
Greek 490
Greek, Modern Greek Studies 489
Hindi
History
History/French Joint Major 513
History/Political Science Joint Major 514
Human Resource Management 533
Hungarian 535
Individualized Major 555
Information Technology and Informatics 547
Interdisciplinary Studies, SAS 556
Italian 560
Japanese 565
Jewish Studies 563
Journalism and Media Studies 567
Junior Year Abroad
Korean 574
Labor Studies and Employment Relations 575
Landscape Architecture 550
Latin 580
Latin American Studies 590
Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies 595
Law
Life Sciences
Linguistics 615
Management 620
Marine Sciences 628
Marketing 630
Mathematics 640
Medical Technology 660
Medicine and Dentistry
Medieval Studies 667
Microbiology
Middle Eastern Studies 685
Military Education, Air Force 690
Military Education, Army 691
Military Education, Naval 692
Molecular Biology
Music
Nursing
Nutritional Sciences 709
Operations Research 711
Organizational Leadership 713
Pharmacy
Philosophy 730
Physics 750
Physiology and Neurobiology
Planning and Public Policy 762
Polish 787
Political Science 790
Portuguese 810
Psychology 830
Public Health 832
Public Policy 833
Religion 840
Russian 860
Russian, Central and East European Studies 861
Science, Technology, and Society 880
Social Justice 904
Social Work 910
Sociology 920
South Asian Studies 925
Spanish 940
Statistics and Biostatistics 960
Statistics-Mathematics
Study Abroad 959
Supply Chain Management and Marketing Science 799
Theater 965, 966
Ukrainian 967
Urban Studies
Visual Arts
Women's and Gender Studies 988
School of Arts and Sciences
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Mason Gross School of the Arts
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Rutgers Business School: Undergraduate-New Brunswick
School of Communication and Information
School of Engineering
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
School of Management and Labor Relations
General Information
Divisions of the University
Camden Newark New Brunswick/Piscataway
Catalogs
New Brunswick Undergraduate Catalog 2013–2015 Programs of Study and Courses for Liberal Arts Students Programs, Faculty, and Courses American Studies 050 Courses  

Courses

01:050:101 Introduction to American Studies (3) Introduces the American studies method through the use of primary documents including novels, autobiographies, paintings, photographs, and films.
01:050:102 Introduction to Critical and Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (3) Comparative approach to critical race studies. Examines how U.S. society constructs racial difference and forms of connections and conflicts among racial and ethnic groups.
01:050:200,201 Topics in American Studies (3,3) Varied field topics in American studies that lend themselves to interdisciplinary treatment.  
May be repeated for credit when topic differs.
01:050:202 American Regionalism (3) Multidisciplinary study of the regions of the United States, with focus on their literature, folklore, music, and other arts.
01:050:203 The American West (3) Introduces the classic Western film, Native American literature, and American writers about the West. It may also treat the concept of the frontier and contemporary issues such as ecology and immigration.
01:050:216 America in the Arts (3) What is "American" about American art and design; examination of the architecture as well as fine, folk, and industrial arts and artifacts of the United States. Normally a craft project required of students.
01:050:227 Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture (3) A survey of 19th-century American literature and culture with special focus on the concept of the "American Renaissance." Credit not given for both this course and 01:350:227.
01:050:228 The Contemporary American (3) The emerging American of our times. Forces shaping American culture as revealed in literature, the media, social criticism, and psychology.
01:050:240 Latino/Latina American Cultures (3) Introductory survey of recent texts and films by and about Latinas/os in the United States. Discussion of exile, integration, and assimilation; political presence and nationalism; and examination of literary modes and genres (autobiography, poetry, novel, film, music). Special attention to the migration experiences of Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican communities.
01:050:244 American Land-Use Policy (3) Exploring the diverse connections between America's national development and its land environment. This is essentially a course in ecological history. Credit not given for both this course and 10:762:244.
01:050:245 Introduction to Asian American Studies (3) General introduction to the history and culture of Asian Americans and major debates in Asian American studies.
01:050:247 History and Culture of Hip-Hop (3)

Historical, social, political, and aesthetic roots of hip-hop culture and music. The place of hip-hop in a larger global commercial exchange, advertising, fashion, cinema, music video, and popular literature.

01:050:250 Cultures of the Portuguese-Speaking Communities in the United States (3) Discussion of sociocultural issues concerning the diverse Portuguese-speaking communities of the United States. Course taught in English; will count for the Portuguese major or minor if all written work is done in Portuguese. Credit not given for both this course and 01:810:250.
01:050:259 Popular Culture (3) How popular culture shapes and reflects society in advertising, music, popular entertainment, fads, fashion, radio, television, sports, and games.
01:050:260 On the Road: Mobility in America (3) Considers mobility, mainly physical but also social, as a singularly American trait if not obsession. Includes films as well as literature (both fiction and nonfiction) and music.
01:050:261 The American Best Seller (3) Representative best-selling novels of recent decades and what they and their popularity indicate about American values and assumptions.
01:050:262 American Film and American Myth (3) American film and its relationship to American myths, society, and culture. Representative classic films screened.
01:050:263 American Folklore (3) Traditional verbal and material lore. American folk narratives, myths, legends, tales, ballads, and songs. How folklore functions in American society and institutions.
01:050:264 American Folklife (3) Examination of the lifestyles of American folk groups with emphasis on artifacts: folk architecture, handicrafts, art, costume, and foods.
01:050:265 American Experimental Film and Video (3) Survey course on history and development of American experimental cinema movements from beginning to present. Filmmakers include Andy Warhol, Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Sidney Peterson, Kenneth Anger, Yoko Ono, and others.
01:050:266 Cult Films in American Culture (3) Focus on the American "cult" film from its origins in the 1920s and its evolution in American culture. Close analyses of cult films will be paired with critical readings in film, theory, and cultural history.  This course previously given as a 300-level topics course. Credit not given for that course and this one.
01:050:267 American Film Directors (3) In-depth analyses of the structure and content of films of Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, John Frankenheimer, David Lynch, Val Lewton, Andy Warhol, and others. Emphasis on the mise-en-scène, narrative form, set design, sound, and special effects in the films of these celebrated filmmakers. Credit not given for both this course and 01:175:267.
01:050:268 David Lynch and the American Film Avant-Garde (3) Focuses on the surreal films of David Lynch and the American Film Avant-Garde. Includes in-depth analyses of the structure and content of many of Lynch's bizarre and unique films, including Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, and Blue Velvet. Credit not given for both this course and 01:175:268.
01:050:281,282,283,284 Topics in American Studies (1.5,1.5,1.5,1.5) Half-semester minicourses given each year on topics of contemporary interest that lend themselves to interdisciplinary treatment. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.
01:050:291 Jerseyana: New Jersey as a Culture (3) Interdisciplinary, regional approach to New Jersey, examining its landscape, the peculiarities of its history, its folklore and myths, arts and architecture, music, and literature.
01:050:295 Latino and Caribbean Cultural Studies (3) Comparative study of Latino and Caribbean culture by reviewing aesthetic, historical, sociological, and scientific definitions of culture. Reading knowledge of Spanish recommended. Credit not given for both this course and 01:595:295 or 01:195:295.         
01:050:300,301 Topics in American Studies (3,3) Topics of contemporary interest that lend themselves to interdisciplinary treatment. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.
01:050:303 A Decade in American Culture (3) Interdisciplinary approach to understanding a particular decade in American culture, employing the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Decade studied depends on the instructor.
01:050:304 The American City (3) Interdisciplinary approach to the origin, development, and problems of the American city.
01:050:305 Images and Narratives of War (3) Examination of the various ways that wars, post-WWII (such as Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and others), have been represented in American popular culture. Material includes films, novels, memoirs, reportage, and histories.
01:050:306 American Detective Fiction and Film (3) Examination of the distinctively American literary genre of the hard-boiled detective novel and the many films that this genre has inspired, including a look at film noir.
01:050:307 The Culture of the 1960s (3) Examination of the culture of the 1960s, with emphasis on the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam and student radicalism, Woodstock, women's liberation, and the sexual revolution, using social history, literature, music, and film.
01:050:308 The Culture of Metropolis (3) Examination of the urban culture of New York City in the 19th and 20th centuries, emphasizing the impact of race, class, gender, and ethnicity on developing subcultures.
01:050:309 Nineteenth-Century Architecture in the United States (3) Overview of the social and intellectual history of architecture in the United States to 1900. Role of architecture in societal transformations (the development of nationhood, industrialization, and urbanization). Emphasis on the invention of new building types, including universities, government buildings, prisons, hospitals, railroad stations, and the architecture of World's Fairs. Prerequisites: 01:082:105,106 or permission of instructor. Credit not given for both this course and 01:082:391.
01:050:310 Methodologies in American Studies (3) Introduction to methodologies in American studies. Examination and analysis of the critical approaches and debates that have shaped and transformed the discipline. Prerequisites: 01:050:101 or 228. Required for the major.  Restricted to majors, or with special permission.
01:050:311 Seminar in Black Diasporic Media (3) Examines a range of visual media by black cultural producers. Offers a diasporic framework as an opportunity to trace how technologies, genres, styles, and issues circulate through various historical moments, media, conceptualizations of blackness, and locations. Credit not given for both this course and 01:014:303.
01:050:312 Sports in American Culture (3) Examines the place of sports in American life and how sports may be thought of as "the American religion," as a metaphor for American ideals and values. Figures from the world of sports (players and coaches) will be regular guest speakers.
01:050:314 Technology and Culture in America (3) Cultural responses to the growth and elaboration of American technology as reflected in literature, art, and popular culture.
01:050:315 Documentary Expression in America (3) Relationship between the social and aesthetic functions of documentary in film, photography, journalism, biography, and the nonfiction novel.
01:050:316 Twenty-First Century Writing (3) Introduction to new genres of writing--blogs, graphic novels, and Twitter feeds--that characterize the 21st century, along with a consideration of some familiar genres that remain strong, such as postmodern fiction, writings around 9/11, and the memoir.
01:050:324 Wayward Americans (3) Cultural approach to the means by which socially dominant groups in American society have sought to control deviant behavior. Examination of social theory, social history, literature, and film.
01:050:325 Women on the Fringe: Perceptions of Women as Social and Sex-Role Deviants in American Civilization (3) Societal reaction to female behavior deviating from social and feminine norms. Use of historical narratives, literature, and film to treat such themes as heresy, madness, prostitution, adultery, criminality, political protest, and lesbianism.
01:050:326 The Culture of American Women (3) Construction of feminine culture as distinct from the dominant patriarchal culture, examining social history, religion, psychology, sociology, oral history, literature, and film.
01:050:329 The United States as Seen from Abroad (3) United States as perceived by foreign commentators, such as Dickens, Trollope, and Waugh, and American expatriate intellectuals and artists, such as James, Hemingway, and Baldwin.
01:050:330 American Cults and Communes (3) Examination of historic and fictional communal and religious experiments, illuminating their surprising similarities and what they tell us about American society and culture. From the Shakers and the Oneida community through Jonestown and the Hare Krishnas. Texts include novels and feature films.
01:050:331 Ethnic America (3) Examination of cultural pluralism and the means by which ethnic groups such as Irish, Italians, Jews, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics have constructed their ethnic identities and the political and cultural forces that shaped those constructions.
01:050:332 The American Jewish Experience in Literature (3) Patterns of alienation and assimilation of an American ethnic group as portrayed in its literature. Attention to early narratives as well as the works of contemporary writers such as Roth, Potok, Bellow, Malamud, and Singer. Credit not given for both this course and 01:563:332.
01:050:333 The Cultures of Consumption (3) Examination of the development of mass society, mass production, and consumption from the 1880s to the present. Areas considered may include industrialization and the development of work in relation to leisure, the development of the advertising industry, television, technology, and popular and mass production and consumption.
01:050:335 Jewish-American Women: Contested Lives (3) Explores the Jewish-American female identity in autobiography and memoir, social history, literature, and film. Examines interplay of religious belief, secularism, social mobility, and acculturating influences within American experience. Credit not given for both this course and 01:563:335 or 01:988:334.
01:050:336 American Jews and the Media (3) Examines the roles that the news media (film, recordings, radio, television, and computers) played in American Jewish life throughout the 20th century.  Credit not given for both this course and 01:563:306.
01:050:337 Contemporary Jewish Culture (3) Study of contemporary Jewish life, especially in America--in communities, institutions, rituals, personal histories, etc.--through the approach of fieldwork and ethnographic writing. Credit not given for both this course and 01:563:346.
01:050:340 Race Matters (3) How "race" is represented and narrated as a political, cultural, and critical category. Discussions on racial formations in contemporary American culture; race as social construction; race as "natural" and as a "performance"; inquiry and debate on self-hatred, racisms, whiteness, Orientalism; race, gender, and queer intersectionality; and color.
01:050:341 The Child in America (3) Evolution of concepts of childhood and adolescence in America and of child-rearing practices through an examination of social history, religious tracts, novels, poetry, film, and child care manuals.
01:050:342 American Sexuality (3) Changing American attitudes toward sexual expression and changes in sexual behavior. Examination of literature, film, 19th- and 20th-century advice manuals, and reports on sexual behavior such as the Kinsey Report and the works of Masters and Johnson.
01:050:351 American Art, 1776-1913 (3) Visual and material culture of the United States from the American Revolution to the Armory Show. Survey of painting, sculpture, photography, and print culture in relation to American social, political, and cultural history. Prerequisite: 01:082:105,106 or permission of instructor.  Credit not given for this course and 01:082:351.
01:050:355 Museums, Monuments, and American Culture (3) Introduction to museum studies. Theories of societal roles of museums, monuments, and historical sites: history versus heritage, preservation laws, restoration, and governmental censorship. Includes field trips and collaborative projects.
01:050:359 Race, Culture, and Politics: Blacks and Jews in America (3) How black and Jewish identities have evolved in relationship to one another through an examination of social and political history, literature, and film. Credit not given for both this course and 01:512:359 or 01:014:359 or 01:563:359.
01:050:365 American Folk Song and Ballad (3) Social concerns in folk songs--sources and circulation in oral tradition, with reference to lyrical folk songs, narrative folk songs, traditional ballads, broadside ballads, and Native American ballads.
01:050:366 Folklore of American Occupational and Regional Groups (3) Folklore of occupational groups such as sailors, lumbermen, cowboys, and miners, and of regional groups such as southern mountaineers, Mississippi Delta blacks, Louisiana Cajuns, and Jersey Pineys.
01:050:370 The Black Community and Social Issues (3) Examines a variety of social issues that impact the life chances of African Americans in the United States. Credit not given for both this course and 01:014:384.
01:050:376 Native American Literatures in English (3) Fiction, poetry, and autobiography by such writers as Apes, Momaday, Welch, Silko, and Erdrich. Attention to issues of Native American representation. Credit not given for both this course and 01:351:376.
01:050:377 Asian-American Literatures in English (3) Theme or genre-based study of selected Asian-American writing in English. Topics chosen by individual instructors; consult departmental announcement. Credit not given for both this course and 01:351:377.
01:050:380,381 Internship in American Studies (3,3) Professional, supervised work in an approved organization or agency; an appropriately designed academic project required.  Prerequisite: Permission of the department before registration. No more than one internship can count toward the major or minor.
01:050:389 Junior Seminar in American Studies (3) A required interdisciplinary seminar for majors. Theme dependent on instructor. Prerequisites: Two 300-level American studies courses, or one American studies 300-level course and one approved section of 01:355:201 (Research in the Disciplines). To be taken by American studies majors in their junior year.
01:050:390 Special Problems in American Culture (3) Independent study of an interdisciplinary nature, which may be expressed in a paper, audiovisual project, or other creative enterprise. Prerequisites: Permission of department during preceding semester required. May be repeated for credit with permission of department.
01:050:400,401 Advanced Topics in American Studies (3,3) Advanced topics and readings in American studies. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.
01:050:450 Seminar: Folk Festival Management (3) Designed to accompany presentation of the New Jersey Folk Festival. Readings in histories of folk performance and fieldwork in folklore, as well as planning and production of public event. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor during preceding semester required.
01:050:455 Maritime Culture (3) Uses a number of disciplines to explore the influence of the sea on American life. A study of marine policy that embraces both economic and environmental issues, as well as current policy regarding world trade and regulatory reform, conservation and fisheries, national defense, and admiralty law.
01:050:465 Cultures of U.S. Imperialism (3) An exploration of American nation-building through the imperial projections of the United States. Topics include the economic, political, social, and cultural dynamics between the United States and its colonies, both formal and informal. Focus might be on a single location or on a comparative approach to imperialist projects.
01:050:487,488,489 Seminars in American Studies (3,3,3) Interdisciplinary seminars for majors. Themes dependent on instructor. For American studies majors who have completed 01:050:389.
01:050:490 Senior Essay or Senior Project in American Studies (3) Independent study of an interdisciplinary nature, which may be expressed in a paper, audiovisual project, or other creative enterprise. Prerequisites: Permission of department during preceding semester required. May be repeated for credit with permission of department.
01:050:495 and 496 Honors in American Studies (3,3) Research essay or project, designed by the student and prepared under faculty supervision. An oral defense is required. Prerequisite: Permission of department. Open only to seniors.
 
For additional information, contact RU-info at 732-445-info (4636) or colonel.henry@rutgers.edu.
Comments and corrections to: Campus Information Services.

© 2013 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.