Planning Your Major Before declaring the major, you should consult with the director and prepare a brief statement of purpose and explore the courses available to begin formulating an individual plan of study.
Plan of Study
Choose an area of concentration or specialization by selecting a cluster of courses relevant to a specific theme. This process enables you to build up a concentration of knowledge about a subject which will lead students to a thesis in the senior year. To make the study fully interdisciplinary and multicultural, you should select courses from at least three areas or disciplines.
Possible options
In addition to the two required courses in American Studies:
A student focusing on colonial and revolutionary America would likely take History 332 ("The Colonial and Revolutionary Period to 1783"), English 360 (Representative U. S. Writers: early Period") , and Political Science 311 ("Puritan Political Thought").
A student interested in the culture of U. S. Imperialism would find, in addition to English, History, and Political Science, relevant courses in Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean Studies and Asian Studies.
A student of African American modernism may find pertinent courses offered in the Music, and Art Departments, among others.
A student specializing in the culture of New York or the urban experience may take special topic courses especially dedicated to New York City offered in the Sociology Department, among others, and perhaps in the School of Architecture.
