American Studies Minor - NYC

Campus: NYC

The American Studies minor is a path to studying the United States and its borderlands across a range of disciplines and departments in Dyson College. Designed to enrich and to be compatible with any major, the minor provides a cultural studies framework for understanding national ideals as well as contradictions through elective coursework in the areas of American Arts and American Publics. With an American Studies minor, you prove your skill at critical analysis, your commitment to place-based knowledge, and your capacity to lead much-needed conversations about social equality.

Minor Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required Course
AMS 102	Introduction to American Studies	3
Elective Courses
Students must take an additional four elective courses (12 credits) from a variety of departments. Follow your own interdisciplinary path through one or both of the following areas: ¹		12-16
Area 1: American Arts
AMS 210	Native and Indigenous Peoples Studies
AMS 296A	Topic: Public Cultures: Museum Studies
AMS 296B	Topic: Public Cultures: Urban Cultural Life and the Downtown Culture Explosion
AMS 296C	Topics: Entertaining America's Children
AMS 296D	Constructing Whiteness in America
AMS 296F	Topic: Legal Literacy and Defense
AMS 296G	Topic: Postwar New York and the American Empire
AMS 296H	Topic: American Shadows: Coercion, Conspiracy, and the Mysteries of State
AMS 296L	Topic: 10K Years of Land Art in the Americas: Creativity, Ecology, Geology
AMS 333	Chinatowns in the Americas
AMS 397D	Contours of Black Entrepreneurship in America
ANT 212	Magic and the Spirit World
ART 188	Art as a Vehicle of Social Commentary and Political Progress
ART 205	Contemporary Art History
ART 207	Art History: Architectural History of New York City
ART 214	Art History: Modern Art
ART 215	New York and the Visual Arts
ART 216	Art History: American Art
ART 224	Hip Hop in Contemporary Art and Design
ART 226	Native American Art History
ART 233	Public Art in the Urban Context
ART 266	International Center for Photography: Fundamentals of Studio Lighting
ART 288	Mobile Media: City as Screen
CRJ 150	Introduction to Criminal Justice
CMS 113	Media, Culture, and Society
CMS 226	Writing for the Electronic Media
CMS 228	Writing for Convergent Technologies
CMS 242	New Communication Technologies and Moral Panic
CMS 244	Digital Cultures
CMS 245	Communication and Popular Culture
CMS 280	Introduction to Journalism
CMS 312	Introduction to Cultural Studies
ECO 286	Economic Issues through a Photographer's Lens
ENG 309	Creative Nonfiction
ENG 310	Journalism
ENG 322A	Advanced Writing: The Art of the Memoir
ENG 341	Language in Society
ENG 342	Writing About Culture: Ethnography
ENG 396E	Writing Cultural Criticism for the Web
FSS 130	The Aesthetics and Technology of Motion Picture Production
FSS 202	History of Film
FSS 206	History of Film II: World War II - Present
FSS 230	Digital Television Field Production
FSS 240	Film Genres
FSS 260	Major Film Movements
FSS 386	Advanced Topics in Film and Screen Studies
LIT 211E	American Literature I
LIT 211J	American Voices
LIT 211U	Latina/o Voices: Transnational Currents in American Writing
LIT 212A	The New American Dream: Literature and Cultural Division
LIT 212E	American Literature II
LIT 212Q	Young Adult Fiction
LIT 212X	Early American Black Lives Matter
LIT 212Y	American Women Writers
LIT 303	Introduction to Cultural Studies
LIT 307	Contemporary American Poetry
LIT 315B	Twentieth Century Literature: Labyrinths in Literature and Film
LIT 320	American Literature I
LIT 321	Masters of American Literature II
LIT 326	African American Literature
LIT 341	Selfies, Literature and the Visual
LIT 342	Studies in American Literature
LIT 345	Literatures of Diversity
LIT 375	The Black Arts Movement
MUS 147	Rock and Contemporary Culture
MUS 149	How the Entertainment Industry Works
PAGE 182	Current Theater in New York
PAGE 184	Current Dance in New York
PAGE 272	Theater for Social Change
PAGE 273	Theater of the Oppressed
PAGE 274	Theatre and Social Justice
PHI 113	Ancient Philosophy
PHI 218	Legal and Political Philosophy
PHI 223	Environmental Ethics
PHI 289	Political Philosophy from Machiavelli to Marx
PHI 296	Special Topics in Philosophy
PHI 308	Theory of the World
PHI 355	Ethical Theories
PHI 357	Philosophy of Religion
SPA 154Q	Topic: Negotiating Border Lines - Latino Films of the United States
SPA 154R	Topic: Borders of Latino/a Identity: An Introduction to Latino/a Literature and Culture of the US
SPA 154S	Perspectives on America: The Experience of Latina Writers
SPA 155B	The Literature and Culture of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
SPA 345	Latin American Theatre
WS 269	Lesbians in Literature and Film
WS 296E	Topic: Historical and Modern Sexual Revolutions
WS 275	Gay Male Experiences
WS 285	Queer Cinema
WS 369	Queer Theory
WS 380	Seminar in Feminist Theory
Area 2: American Publics
ANT 210	Urban Ethnography
ANT 225	Black Women in Cross Cultural Perspectives
BIO 123	Biology and Contemporary Society
BIO 215	Urban Ecology
CRJ 121	Government Administration (COS 396A Topics:Communications and Media Analytics)
CMS 114	Introduction to Mass Media
CMS 213	Intercultural Communication
CMS 239	Milestones in Communication Research
CMS 270	Political Communication
CMS 296A	Topic: Conflict Management
CMS 311	Ethics, Morality, and the Media
CRJ 150	Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJ 242	Crime and Public Policy
CRJ 243	Alcohol, Drugs and Crime
CRJ 245	Organized Crime
CRJ 249	Law and Society
CRJ 250	Community Relations in the Criminal Justice System
CRJ 298	Contemporary Perspectives on Violence
CRJ 300	Homeland Security Strategies
CRJ 311	Controversial Criminal Cases
CRJ 346	Terrorism and Society
CRJ 351	Criminal Evidence and Procedure
ECO 211	Sports Economics
ECO 271	Economics Geography
ECO 272	The Economics of Poverty and Income Distribution
ECO 285	Economics and Public Policy Perspectives of Crime
ECO 296W	Topics: Sustainable Development
ECO 296Z	Topic: U.S. Economy and Monetary Policy
ECO 352	Current Economic Issues
ENV 105	Social Responsibility and the World of Nature
ENV 111	Environmental Studies: Economic, Ethical and Political Perspectives
ENV 112	Environmental Studies - Basic Issues
ENV 205	Globalization, Trade and the Environment
ENV 225	Energy Policy
ENV 245	Environmental Justice
ENV 297E	Topic: Sustainability and Social Change
ENV 297G	Nature and the City
ENV 310	Environmental Policy and Sustainable Governance
ENV 311	Development of Environmental Regulation
HIS 111	American Civilization to 1877
HIS 112	American Civilization Since 1877
HIS 113 (various topics courses)
HIS 215	American Social and Cultural History
HIS 239	Wars in the Asia-Pacific
HIS 254	The American Civil War
HIS 256	American Colonial History
HIS 259	The American Revolution
HIS 260	Constitutional History of the United States
HIS 264	History of the American Presidency 1900 - Present
HIS 265	American Urban History
HIS 268	American Labor History
HIS 269	Recent United States History
HIS 271	Culture and History of Black America
HIS 273	Ethnic and Racial History of the United States
HIS 280	History of American Women
HIS 302	African-American History Since 1910
HIS 310	United States in the Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1929-1945
HIS 321	Economic History of the United States
HIS 345	History of America Immigration Law, 1790 to the Present
HIS 366	History of New York City
HIS 367	History and Geography of New York
LLS 100	Latina/o Communities
PHI 115	Normative Ethics: Contemporary Moral Problems
PHI 121	Ethics in the Workplace
PHI 260	Business Ethics
PJS 101	Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies
PJS 203	Nonviolence: Theory and Practice
POL 111	American Government and Political Institutions
POL 213	Twenty-First Century Politics
POL 214	Revolution or Reform
POL 220	Political Parties and Interest Groups
POL 222	Issues in Public Policy
POL 224	Public Opinion and Polling Methods
POL 241	Classical Political Thought
POL 243	Modern Political Theory
POL 244	American Political Thought
POL 249	Feminist Political Theory
POL 257	Latinx Politics in the United States
PSY 206	Psychology and Law
PSY 209	Health Psychology
PSY 215	Psychology of Cultural Diversity
PSY 227	Psychology of Women
PSY 233	Psychology of Civic Engagement
PSY 304	Social Psychology
PSY 308	History of Psychology
PSY 375	Lifespan Development Psychology
PSY 380	Experimental Psychology I
RES 101	Introduction to the Study of Religion
SOC 112	Race and Ethnicity in Cities
SOC 114	Criminology
SOC 116	Sociology of Deviance
SOC 209	Race and Ethnicity
SOC 221	Juvenile Delinquency
SOC 222	Gender and Social Change
SOC 223	Sexuality, Reproduction and the Family
SOC 226	Community Service in New York City
SOC 245	Urban Planning
SOC 323	Social Theory
SOC 380	Social Research Methods
WS 166	Gender, Race and Class
WS 250	Queer Stories:LGBTQ People and Communities in Historical Context
WS 268	Men and Masculinities
WS 293	Transgender Studies
Total Credits		15-19

¹: Please contact the American Studies program chair, Dr. Stephanie Hsu, for an updated list of approved elective courses.