USC
University of Southern California
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American Studies and Ethnicity

3740 Trousdale Parkway, WPH 303
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4033
(213) 740-2426
FAX: (213) 821-0409
Email: aseinfo@college.usc.edu
www.usc.edu/schools/college/ase

Chair: John Carlos Rowe, Ph.D.

Director, Graduate Studies: Viet Nguyen, Ph.D.*

Director, Undergraduate Studies: George J. Sánchez, Ph.D.*

Director, American Studies: John Carlos Rowe, Ph.D.

Director, African American Studies: Robin D.G. Kelley, Ph.D.

Director, Asian American Studies: Lon Kurashige, Ph.D.

Director, Chicano/Latino Studies: Laura Pulido, Ph.D.

Professors: Karen Halttunen, Ph.D. (History); Robin D.G. Kelley, Ph.D. (History); Dorinne Kondo, Ph.D. (Anthropology); Manuel Pastor, Jr., Ph.D. (Geography); Laura Pulido, Ph.D.; David Román, Ph.D.* (English); John Carlos Rowe, Ph.D. (English); George J. Sánchez, Ph.D.*

Associate Professors: Sarah Banet-Weiser, Ph.D.* (Comunication); Judith Jackson Fossett, Ph.D.* (English); Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Ph.D.; Thomas Gustafson, Ph.D.* (English); Stanley Huey, Jr., Ph.D. (Psychology); Lanita Jacobs-Huey, Ph.D.* (Anthropology); Joshua David Kun, Ph.D. (Comunication); Lon Kurashige, Ph.D. (History); Curtis Marez, Ph.D (Cinematic Arts); Teresa McKenna, Ph.D. (English); Viet Nguyen, Ph.D.* (English); Leland Saito, Ph.D. (Sociology); Francille Rusan Wilson, Ph.D.; Janelle Wong, Ph.D.* (Political Science)

Assistant Professors: Macarena Gómez-Barris, Ph.D. (Sociology); Sarah Gualtieri, Ph.D.* (History); Jane Iwamura, Ph.D.* (Religion); Kara Keeling, Ph.D. (Cinematic Arts); Roberto Lint‑Sagarena, Ph.D. (Religion); Ricardo Ramirez, Ph.D. (Political Science); Shana Redmond, Ph.D.

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

American Studies and Ethnicity integrates humanistic and social scientific perspectives and brings them to bear on an examination of the United States with a particular emphasis on comparative study of the peoples, cultures, history and social issues of the Western United States. The department offers four separate majors in American Studies and Ethnicity, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Chicano/Latino Studies; and minors in American Studies and Ethnicity, American Popular Culture and Jewish American Studies. The graduate program offers a Ph.D. for students interested in broad interdisciplinary training at an advanced level to study the peoples, cultures and institutions of the United States in courses that integrate modes of inquiry from the humanities and the social sciences.

Drawing upon the cultural resources of a cosmopolitan city on the Pacific Rim and upon the strength and diversity of its professional schools as well as departments in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, these degree programs provide a richly interdisciplinary curriculum that is unique for its constitution of American Studies and Ethnic Studies as comparative and interethnic program that takes as its focus a region – Los Angeles, California and the West – marked by challenging social and cultural changes.

Honors Program

The program offers a two-semester honors program for qualified students, first identified in AMST 350 or by the program advisor. Students spend their first semester in the program in an honors senior seminar, AMST 492, focused on developing their research and methods for the honors thesis. During the second semester, all honors students are required to take AMST 493 in which each completes a thesis project on a topic of his or her own choosing under faculty direction. Contact the program advisor for further information. To graduate with honors, program majors must successfully complete an honors thesis and have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in their major course work.