American Studies

Phone: 718.489.5235

Minor Mission

The American Studies minor is an interdisciplinary program bringing together the methods and insights of many departments to give the SFC student a complex, rich and sophisticated understanding of American culture as well as the context for understanding America’s interactions with the larger world.

St. Francis College is an extremely diverse community in one of the most lively and diverse cities in the United States. This program focuses on the complex culture created by such diversity and energy and will connect the classroom to the larger world by helping students learn ways to think critically about the culture around them. American Studies offers a dynamic way of exploring our world by using multiple disciplines to form a more sophisticated and useful understanding of American culture.

The program gives students a stand out addition to their transcript and resume.

Goals and Objectives

Develop skills in critical thinking, effective oral and written communication, and research.
Practice interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary learning in order to give students a complex understanding of American culture and expose them to a variety of historical, artistic, literary, social, political and philosophical perspectives.
Examine the city as a “text” or platform for encountering, critiquing and engaging American culture.
Promote cultural events that support an appreciation for the complexity of American culture and America in a global context.

AMS-1001 American Culture and Conflict (3 Credits)

This course will introduce students to some of the primary questions and methods of American Studies. We will begin by asking a deceptively simple set of questions: What is American Studies? How do we practice American Studies? What are its borders and boundaries? We will then move on to some of the central questions of the field: Is there such a thing as an American identity? How have American defined themselves? Who is an American? What are the promises and preoccupations of America and American Culture? In trying to answer these questions we will draw from a variety of texts and genres, from fiction and poetry to political speeches, diaries, music, visual art, sociological studies, historical narratives, critical theory, media and other forms of popular culture.

Fulfills General Education Requirement: HCE, SEH

Typically offered: Fall Only