ENGL7782 · English

Issues and Methods in American Studies

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

This course offers an introduction to the field of American Studies, which focuses on the interdisciplinary study of American culture. We will read a range of recent scholarship, exploring diverse approaches, methods, and issues of interest. In the process, we will assemble a "tool kit" of critical skills for making interpretive arguments about works of culture in their historical moments. The cultural forms we analyze may include popular fiction, film, music, painting, and material cultures. Students write a research paper on a cultural artifact of their own choosing.