American Studies

Faculty

Melissa Dabakis
Associate Director, Professor of Art History

John M. Elliott
Professor of Political Science

Kirk Emmert
Professor of Political Science

Judith C. Fagan
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

Lewis Hyde
Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing

David H. Lynn
Associate Professor of English

Kim A. McMullen
Associate Professor of English

Peter Rutkoff
Chair, Professor of American Studies

Howard L. Sacks
Professor of Sociology; Associate Provost

William B. Scott
Professor of History

Ric S. Sheffield
Associate Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies

Judy R. Smith
Professor of English

Gregory P. Spaid
Acting Provost; Professor of Studio Art

American studies provides a framework for the exploration of the people, places, society, and culture of the United States, accomplishing this in part by appropriating ideas and methodologies from one field and applying them to another, and by transcending established boundaries among disciplines to create a new structure that combines traditional values and new visions.

Requirements for the Major

The major in American studies consists of 6 units:

• AMST 108 The Introduction to American Studies (1/2 unit)
• Four diversification courses (2 units)
• Five courses of elective study (2 1/2 units)
• The Senior Seminar (1 unit)

AMST 108 Introduction to American Studies (1/2 unit). This course is normally taken during the first or second year at Kenyon.

Diversification courses (2 units). See the list of courses below. One unit must be from A. History and Politics, and one unit from B. Culture and Society. Some courses may have prerequisites in the home department; others may have limited enrollment. Students majoring in American studies should work closely with their advisors to ensure their acceptance.

A. History and Politics. Two courses (1 unit) from the following:

HIST 101 U.S. History, 1492-1865
HIST 102 U.S. History, 1865-Present
HIST 175 African-American History: Slavery to Emancipation
HIST 176 Contemporary African-American History
HIST 205/PSCI 309 Liberalism, Conservatism, and Radicalism in U.S. Political History
PSCI 200 Liberal Democracy in America
PSCI 301 The American Presidency
PSCI 331 American Political Thought

B. Culture and Society. Two courses (1 unit) from the following:

AMST 109 American Art and Culture
ARHS 227 American Art to 1900
ENGL 270 American Fiction
ENGL 280 American Modernist Literature
MUSC 302 The History of Jazz
RELN 230 Religion in American Culture
RELN 332 African-American Religions
SOCY 111 Identity and American Society
SOCY 246 American Folk Music

Elective study (2 1/2 units). Five courses from a single area, discipline, or set of disciplines that form a coherent program in American studies. Examples of such areas would be: writing and literature, race and ethnicity, history and society, politics and economics, African-American studies, women’s studies, law and society, landscape and the environment, or another category of student and faculty agreement. The elective-study program undertaken by the student requires approval of the chair of the American Studies Program. At least one unit (2 courses) must be at the 300 or 400 level.

Senior Seminar (1 unit). A two-semester sequence taken during the senior year. The Senior Seminar will typically entail collaborative research and public presentation.

Honors

The Honors program in American studies entails a two-semester (1 unit) sequence of independent work integral to the elective-study program in the major, taken during the senior year. The program will result in an Honors project which may take a variety of forms but which shall include a written component and a public presentation or performance. Honors work will be evaluated by an external examiner. Students with an overall GPA of 3.20 and a GPA of 3.5 in the major may, during the second semester of their third year, apply for admission to the Honors program. The application, a formal proposal containing a statement of intent, a tentative bibliography, and a project outline, should be sent to the project advisor and the chair of American studies for approval by April 1. Exceptions to the GPA requirements may occasionally be granted by petition.

The Senior Exercise

The Senior Exercise in American studies may take several forms. But it must draw on the elective-study component of the major, identifying and then developing, through original research, a major theme that the student has identified as central to his or her work in American studies. By the final Friday in October, majors in American studies will present their plans for the Senior Exercise to their advisors and to the program chair.

The exercise itself will have two parts: 1) a presentation (visual, oral, electronic) to selected majors and faculty in American studies; and 2) a written analysis or documentation of the work presented. The Senior Exercise will be presented on the last Friday in April in the spring semester.

The Concentration in American Studies

The concentration in American studies, encompassing 3 units of work, consists of three components: a one-semester introductory course, AMST 108 (1/2 unit); three semester courses in curricular options (1 1/2 units); and a two-semester senior seminar (1 unit). Students may choose among several pathways that will fulfill the curricular-options requirement. To obtain a list of specific courses that fall under these categories, students should consult the chair of the American Studies Program. Courses required for a student’s major cannot count toward completion of the American studies course requirements. Coursework undertaken for American studies must be over and above work required by a major department.

Students who are considering the concentration should consult with Peter Rutkoff, chair of American studies, before enrolling in classes.

Note: the symbol designates a course particularly appropriate for first-year students or upperclass students new to the American studies curriculum.

Year Course

North by South: The Great African-American Migration, 1900-1960
AMST 381-382 (1 unit)
Rutkoff, Scott

North by South will examine the diverse urban African-American culture that emerged in the twentieth century in the wake of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural South to cities, first in the South and then in the North and West. The seminar will be organized around two one-week, on-site workshops. The 2002-03 seminar will visit New Orleans, Louisiana, during the last week of winter break and Chicago, Illinois, during the second week of spring break. In preparation for the on-site workshops, the seminar will meet as a regularly scheduled colloquium at Kenyon to read and discuss scholarship of the Great Migration. Students will look at art and learn about artists, listen to and analyze music, read the work of writers and intellectuals, and examine the black communities in New Orleans and Chicago. Each year’s seminar will create a collaborative public presentation of its work and discoveries. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Enrollment limited. This course is cross-listed in the history department as HIST 402-403. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.)

Second-Semester Course

Introduction to American Studies
AMST 108 (1/2 unit)
Rutkoff

This course examines American culture in the 1960s, the civil rights movement, the student movement, the women’s movement, and the Vietnam War. Guest lectures and presentations will complement the course, and students will be asked to engage actively in its development as well as to attend weekly evening film screenings. No prerequisites. Enrollment limited.

The following courses, offered in 2002-03, may be taken for credit toward the major or concentration in American studies:

(Other courses may apply as well. Please consult with program chair Peter Rutkoff.)

Additional courses available another year include:

AMST 109 American Art and Culture
AMST 382 Baseball and American Culture