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Course Listing for AMERICAN STUDIES - Fall 2023 (ALL: 09/05/2023 - 12/21/2023)
Class
No.		 Course ID Title Credits Type Instructor(s) Days:Times Location Permission
Required		 Dist Qtr
3170 AMST-209-01 African-American History 1.00 LEC Marston, Steven MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: HIST-209-01
  The experiences of African-Americans from the 17th century to the present with particular emphasis on life in slavery and in the 20th-century urban North.
3191 AMST-271-01 Anthropology of Museums 1.00 LEC Guzman, Amanda TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 29 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: ANTH-271-01
  From children's movie backdrops to contemporary news headlines, museums continue to capture our public attention as cultural spaces of fantastical object storytelling and contested object ownership. What might the future of the (re)making of museum spaces tell us about the future of our relationships to social institutions and how we remember the past? We will shift between lenses of research and practice to consider issues of community engagement, digitization, and climate resiliency. We will materially trace and analyze the complex, often difficult historical legacies of these cultural institutions from a global case-study perspective. We will explore the diverse ways in which museums are being called on today to re-imagine the work that they do and the stories that they tell.
3252 AMST-285-01 Born in Blood 1.00 LEC Gac, Scott MW: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 49 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: HIST-285-01
  This course explores the formations and functions of violence in the United States from 1754 to 1900. It investigates government (federal, state, and local) and individuals-and the intersection of the government and the individual-regarding military bodies, access to weapons, and legal and extralegal violent activities. Using figures from the well-known (George Washington or Abraham Lincoln) to the lesser known (Hannah Dustan or Robert Smalls), the class questions the limits and boundaries of American violence according to race, class, and gender. In the end, students will debate whether violence belongs aside liberty, democracy, freedom, and equality in the pantheon of American political and cultural ideals.
3182 AMST-307-01 Early American Women's Lit 1.00 SEM Wyss, Hilary TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with WMGS Cross-listing: ENGL-307-01
  Although early American literature often revolves around "Founding Fathers," in this course we will examine the writing of women. Writing poetry, journals, novels, travel diaries and letters, colonial women had a lot to say about their world and were extraordinarily creative in finding ways to say it-even when the society they lived in suggested it was "improper" for them to write. Along with elite white women, Native Americans, free African Americans, slaves, and indentured servants all wrote as well. As we explore this writing, we will think about what the texts these women produced tell us about the early American experience-how people thought of their place in the world, and what role women imagined for themselves in this newly developing society. This is a research-intensive seminar. For English majors, this course satisfies the requirement of a course emphasizing literature written between 1700-1900.
3172 AMST-315-01 Abolition: A Global History 1.00 LEC Heatherton, Christina TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: HRST-315-01
  Over the past decade, a new word has emerged in the lexicon of struggle: abolition. Alongside calls to "Abolish prisons," "Abolish ICE," and "Abolish borders," organizers have challenged the horizons of political possibility. This class considers contemporary debates while situating them in a long global history. We will study how definitions of freedom, the state, and human rights have been shaped by struggles to abolish slavery in tandem with Indigenous struggles against settler colonialism. We will learn how abolition has long been defined not simply as the negation of untenable violence but as an affirmation of alternative ways of being. By engaging American Studies and Human Rights scholarship on incarceration, disability, racism, gender and sexuality, we will deepen our understanding of this language of struggle.
3174 AMST-340-01 Sports and American Society 1.00 SEM Marston, Steven MW: 10:00AM-11:15AM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: Seat reservations: 4 seats for sophomores, 4 seats for juniors, and 4 seats for AMST majors.
  This seminar addresses sports as a central thread in the American cultural fabric of the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis is placed on the sports/society intersection, with particular attention to issues of identity, capitalism, power, ethics, and globalization. Analysis is guided by a variety of cultural “texts,” from films and magazine articles to the great spectacles (Olympics, World Cup, etc.) through which sports have exerted global reach. Discussion and debate is encouraged throughout; students must grapple with the political issues that have, from the beginning to the present, pervaded the sports world
2355 AMST-357-01 Race and Urban Space 1.00 LEC Baldwin, Davarian TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: URST-357-01
  Scholars and now even the larger public have conceded that race is a social construct. However, many are just beginning to fully explore how the specific dimensions and use of space is mediated by the politics of racial difference and racial identification. Therefore, this course seeks to explore how racism and race relations shape urban spatial relations, city politics, and the built environment and how the historical development of cities has shaped racial identity as lived experience. Covering the 20th century, the course examines three critical junctures: Ghettoization (1890s-1940s); Metropolitan Formation (1940s-1990s); and Neo-Liberal Gentrification (present).
1416 AMST-399-01 Independent Study 1.00 - 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar's Office, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment.
3175 AMST-409-01 Race, Gender, Global Security 1.00 SEM Heatherton, Christina R: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 6 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: AMST-809-01, HRST-409-01
  Recent events have focused attention on questions of race, gender, social justice, and the militarization of police. This course will consider how notions of race and security that evolved in the late 20th and early 21st century U.S., have shaped political discourse, and how in turn, those ideas have circulated around the world. Through analyses of American Studies texts, documentaries, and popular culture, we will consider both emerging and prevailing definitions of security. By examining case studies in major global cities, including Los Angeles, we will explore how space has been organized around the logics of racialized threats and gendered notions of safety. For a cumulative paper, students will select a global city and offer history, context, and analysis of the production of insecure spaces.
3080 AMST-445-01 Black Women Writers 1.00 SEM Paulin, Diana T: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 5 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with WMGS Cross-listing: AMST-845-01, ENGL-845-01
  Through readings in various genres (fiction, essays, drama, poetry, memoir, etc.), this course examines how black women's literary production is informed by the experiences, conditions, identities, and histories of women of African descent in the U.S., including some who were born or have lived outside of the U.S. Among the recurring themes/issues we will discuss are the impact of class, gender, race, sexuality, ability, and geographical location on black women's writings, artistic visions, the politics and dynamics of black women's roles in families, communities, the nation, and across the globe. Writers vary each semester but may include: Maya Angelou, Octavia Butler, Roxanne Gay, Lorraine Hansberry, bell hooks, Nella Larsen, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Z.Z. Packer, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ann Petry, Tracy K. Smith, and Alice Walker.
1449 AMST-466-01 Teaching Assistantship 0.50 - 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin. (0.5 - 1 course credit)
1542 AMST-490-01 Research Assistantship 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to undertake substantial research work with a faculty member. Students need to complete a special registration form, available online, and have it signed by the supervising instructor.
1417 AMST-498-01 Senior Thesis Part 1 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: Requires completion of the Special Registration Form, available in the Office of the Registrar.
  NOTE: Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar's Office, and the approval of the thesis adviser and the director are required for enrollment. The registration form is required for each semester of this year-long thesis. (The two course credits are considered pending in Part I of the thesis; they will be awarded with the completion of Part II.)
  Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the thesis adviser and the director are required for enrollment. The registration form is required for each semester of this year-long thesis. (The two course credits are considered pending in Part I of the thesis; they will be awarded with the completion of Part II.)
2745 AMST-801-01 Approaches to American Studies 1.00 LEC Miller, Karen W: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This seminar, which is required of all American Studies graduate students, examines a variety of approaches to the field. Readings may include several “classic” texts of 18th- and 19th-century American culture and several key works of American studies scholarship from the formative period of the field after World War II, as well as more recent contributions to the study of the United States. Topics will include changing ideas about the content, production, and consumption of American culture; patterns of ethnic identification and definition; the construction of categories like “race” and “gender”; and the bearing of class, race, gender, and sexuality on individuals’ participation in American society and culture. Undergraduates who wish to enroll in this course must obtain permission of their adviser and the instructor.
3177 AMST-809-01 Race, Gender, Global Security 1.00 SEM Heatherton, Christina R: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 3 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: HRST-409-01, AMST-409-01
  Recent events have focused attention on questions of race, gender, social justice, and the militarization of police. This course will consider how notions of race and security that evolved in the late 20th and early 21st century U.S., have shaped political discourse, and how in turn, those ideas have circulated around the world. Through analyses of American Studies texts, documentaries, and popular culture, we will consider both emerging and prevailing definitions of security. By examining case studies in major global cities, including Los Angeles, we will explore how space has been organized around the logics of racialized threats and gendered notions of safety. For a cumulative paper, students will select a global city and offer history, context, and analysis of the production of insecure spaces.
3079 AMST-845-01 Black Women Writers 1.00 SEM Paulin, Diana T: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 2 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with WMGS Cross-listing: AMST-445-01, ENGL-845-01
  Through readings in various genres (fiction, essays, drama, poetry, memoir, etc.), this course examines how black women's literary production is informed by the experiences, conditions, identities, and histories of women of African descent in the U.S., including some who were born or have lived outside of the U.S. Among the recurring themes/issues we will discuss are the impact of class, gender, race, sexuality, ability, and geographical location on black women's writings, artistic visions, the politics and dynamics of black women's roles in families, communities, the nation, and across the globe. Writers vary each semester but may include: Maya Angelou, Octavia Butler, Roxanne Gay, Lorraine Hansberry, bell hooks, Nella Larsen, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Z.Z. Packer, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ann Petry, Tracy K. Smith, and Alice Walker.
1565 AMST-894-01 Museums and Communities Intern 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Matriculated American studies students have the opportunity to engage in an internship at an area museum or archive for credit toward the American studies degree. Interested students should contact the Office of Graduate Studies for more information.
1441 AMST-940-01 Independent Study 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Selected topics in special areas are available by arrangement with the instructor and written approval of the graduate adviser and program director. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies for the special approval form.
1437 AMST-953-01 Research Project 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Under the guidance of a faculty member, graduate students may do an independent research project on a topic in American studies. Written approval of the graduate adviser and the program director are required. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies for the special approval form.
1438 AMST-954-01 Thesis Part I 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  (The two course credits are considered pending in Part I of the thesis; they will be awarded with the completion of Part II.)
1440 AMST-955-01 Thesis Part II 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  (Continuation of American Studies 954.)
1439 AMST-956-01 Thesis 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  (Completion of two course credits in one semester).
3028 POLS-355-01 Urban Politics 1.00 LEC Chambers, Stefanie M: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with AMST, CLIC, URST
  NOTE: This course is Methodologically Focused
  This course will use the issues, institutions, and personalities of the metropolitan area of Hartford to study political power, who has it, and who wants it. Particular attention will be given to the forms of local government, types of communities, and the policies of urban institutions. Guest speakers will be used to assist each student in preparing a monograph on a local political system.