Undergraduate Degrees
American Studies and Ethnicity offers challenging and diverse opportunities to study the peoples, cultures and institutions of the United States in interdisciplinary courses. Combining the study of history with literature, the arts and the social sciences, American Studies and Ethnicity seeks to bring together these various disciplines and modes of inquiry in a common project: the effort to understand the diverse peoples and cultures that have composed the United States and to provide critical perspectives on the words, deeds, myths and material practices that have shaped this country in its full regional, ethnic, class and gender diversity. An education in American Studies and Ethnicity will be particularly appropriate for students interested in pursuing careers in law, journalism, government, foreign service, social work, international business, public administration and education.
American Studies and Ethnicity is administered by an executive committee comprising the chair, directors of the four majors and other faculty members. In addition to the college academic advisor, the directors of the majors serve as advisors to majors and minors, providing, in conjunction with the sequence of courses, the opportunity for students to undertake an interdisciplinary concentration under close faculty supervision. It is recommended that students meet with the appropriate major director to plan a coherent set of courses to fulfill the major or minor requirements.
Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity
Program Major Requirements
Ten courses in American Studies and Ethnicity or courses certified for American Studies and Ethnicity credit are required. The 10 courses must be distributed as follows: the three core requirement courses of AMST 200, AMST 350 and AMST 498; one course from each of the following three lists:
History, Literature and Culture, and
Social and Political Issues; and additional elective courses for a total of 16 units chosen from the courses certified in American Studies and Ethnicity at the 300 level or above.
Core requirements | Units |
AMST 200 | Introduction to American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
AMST 350 | Junior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity: Theories and Methods | 4 |
AMST 498* | Senior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
200/300/400-level required courses | Units |
One course from each of the following categories: |
History |
AMST 250 | The African Diaspora | 4 |
AMST 373 | History of the Mexican American | 4 |
AMST 378 | Introduction to Asian American History | 4 |
AMST 379 | Arabs in America | 4 |
HIST 200 | The American Experience | 4 |
HIST 354 | Mexican Migration to the United States | 4 |
HIST 355 | The African-American Experience | 4 |
HIST 380 | American Popular Culture | 4 |
HIST 457 | The American West | 4 |
HIST 458 | History of California | 4 |
Literature and Culture |
AHIS 365 | African American Art | 4 |
AHIS 465 | Studies in American Art | 4 |
AHIS 475 | Blackness in American Visual Culture | 4 |
AMST 285 | African American Popular Culture | 4 |
AMST 377 | Legacies of Viet Nam | 4 |
AMST 385 | African American Culture and Society | 4 |
AMST 448 | Chicano and Latino Literature | 4 |
AMST 449 | Asian American Literature | 4 |
COMM 458 | Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment and the Arts | 4 |
ENGL 263 | American Literature | 4 |
ENGL 392 | Visual and Popular Culture | 4 |
ENGL 442 | American Literature, 1920 to the Present | 4 |
ENGL 445 | The Literatures of America: Cross-Cultural Perspectives | 4 |
ENGL 446 | African-American Poetry and Drama | 4 |
REL 336 | Re-viewing Religion in Asian America | 4 |
REL 483 | Religion and Popular Culture in the United States | 4 |
Social and Political Issues |
AMST 202 | Interethnic Diversity in the West | 4 |
AMST 206 | The Politics and Culture of the 1960s | 4 |
AMST 220 | The Making of Asian America | 4 |
AMST 274 | Exploring Ethnicity through Film | 4 |
AMST 285 | African American Popular Culture | 4 |
AMST 301 | America, the Frontier, and the New West | 4 |
AMST 320 | Social Construction of Race and Citizenship | 4 |
AMST 357 | Latino Social Movements | 4 |
AMST 365 | Leadership in the Community — Internship | 4 |
AMST 395 | African American Humor and Culture | 4 |
AMST 446 | Cultural Circuits in the Americas | 4 |
AMST 466 | The Psychology of African Americans | 4 |
ANTH 240 | Collective Identity and Political Violence: Representing 9/11 | 4 |
GEOG 340 | Latino L.A. | 4 |
GEOG 350 | Race and Environmentalism | 4 |
JOUR 466 | People of Color and the News Media | 4 |
POSC 320 | Urban Politics | 4 |
POSC 328 | Asian American Politics | 4 |
POSC 421 | Ethnic Politics | 4 |
POSC 424 | Political Participation and American Diversity | 4 |
POSC 427 | Black Politics in the American Political System | 4 |
POSC 428 | Latino Politics | 4 |
PSYC 462 | Minority Mental Health | 4 |
REL 333 | Religion in the Borderlands | 4 |
SOCI 342 | Race Relations | 4 |
SOCI 355 | Immigrants in the United States | 4 |
SOCI 356 | Mexican Immigrants in a Diverse Society | 4 |
SOCI 366 | Chicana and Latina Experiences | 4 |
SOCI 375 | Asian Americans: Ethnic Identity | 4 |
SOCI 376 | Contemporary Issues in Asian American Communities | 4 |
SOCI 432 | Racial and Ethnic Relations in a Global Society | 4 |
upper division elective courses | Units |
Additional courses for a total of 16 units from the lists above or below, 300 level or higher. No more than two total courses in the major may be taken outside the college. |
AMST 490x | Directed Research | 2-8, max 8 |
AMST 493 | Senior Honors Thesis in American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
AMST 499 | Special Topics | 2-4, max 8 |