American Studies

231 Oakes College
(831)459-4658
http://humwww.ucsc.edu

Lower-Division Courses

1. America and Americans. W,S
An introductory course to basic theories in American studies, including the U.S. in historical and transnational perspectives, social and cultural diversity and conflict in American life, and debates over concepts of national culture and citizenship. Satisfies American History and Institutions Requirement. (General Education Code(s): IH, E.) (S) A. Huginnie, (W) M. Cowan

2. California and Californians. F
Interdisciplinary examination of past and present California and its diverse peoples, with attention to regional, national, and global contexts. Addresses social, political, and cultural issues and considers representation of California life in literature and film. Satisfies American History and Institutions Requirement. (General Education Code(s): IH, E.) F. Robinson

42. Student-Directed Seminar. F,W,S
Seminars taught by upper-division students under faculty supervision. (See course 192.). The Staff

80E. U.S. Racial and Ethnic Histories and Formations. F,W
Introduces key concepts and debates in study of race and ethnicity in U.S. by focusing on a particular ethnoracial group (e.g., Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans) or by developing a comparative perspective. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): T5-Humanities and Arts or Social Sciences, E.) (F) C. Ramirez, (W) R. Ramirez

80F. Introduction to U.S. Popular Cultures. W
Introduces key concepts and debates in popular culture and media studies and discusses their importance in relation to American studies. Addresses these issues by examining films, television programs, musical recordings, fashion, and so on and the ways in which they are produced, distributed, marketed, and consumed. (General Education Code(s): T5-Humanities and Arts or Social Sciences.) E. Porter

80G. Introduction to U.S. Political Cultures. S
Introduces key concepts and debates around topics such as political economy, nationalism, globalization, citizenship, class, and social movements and addresses their importance to American studies. Examines these issues through attention to political theory, social transformations, and cultural representations. (General Education Code(s): T5-Humanities and Arts or Social Sciences.) G. Lipsitz

93. Field Study. F,W,S
Various topics to be arranged. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

99. Tutorial. F,W,S
Various topics to be arranged. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

Upper-Division Courses

100. Key Concepts in American Studies. W
Introduction to key American studies concepts, featuring the close scrutiny of a small selection of representative American studies texts, lectures by several American studies faculty, and careful attention to analytical writing. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Subject A and Composition requirements. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): W.) C. Ramirez

101. Race and Ethnicity. *
A critical examination of sociological and historical literature on race/ethnic formations and relations in U.S. society within the socioeconomic and political contexts of capitalism and colonization. Concepts and theories are applied to contemporary issues of race and ethnic relations. Course 1 recommended as preparation. Enrollment restricted to American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 24. (General Education Code(s): E.) A. Huginnie

102A. Gender and U.S. Society. *
Introduction to the gendered analysis of U.S. society and culture from theoretical and historical perspectives. Particular attention given to the ways in which gender intersects with racial, ethnic, and class differences, focusing on the themes of work, politics, and sexuality. Course 1 is recommended prior to taking this course. C. Ramirez

102B. Sexuality and Culture. *
Examines how aspects of sexuality (such as sexual identities, preferences, roles, and desires) are fundamentally shaped by social-cultural and psychological factors. Topics include gender formation, the social construction of sexuality, and the historical emergence of the modern “gay” and “lesbian” identity of the U.S. Recommended for senior American studies majors. The Staff

104A. U.S. Labor and the Working-Class History, Colonial Period to 1919. W
Explores the history of work, working-class people, and the labor movement in the U.S., with attention to race and gender dynamics and to social and cultural development of the working class, as well as to the development of organized labor. (Also offered as History 104A. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Satisfies American History and Institutions Requirement. A. Huginnie

104B. U.S. Labor and the Working-Class History, 1919 to the Present. F
Explores the history of work, working-class people, and the labor movement in the U.S. in global perspective with attention to race and gender dynamics and to social and cultural development of the working class and political-economic changes. (Also offered as History 104B. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Satisfies American History and Institutions Requirement.
D. Frank

105A. Oral History. *
Study and application of the theories, methods, and ethical issues involved in the practice of oral history. Critical readings and writing exercises will culminate in a 20-page oral history project. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Subject A and Composition requirements. Enrollment restricted to American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 24. (General Education Code(s): W.) The Staff

105B. Understanding “America” through Ethnography. S
Examines ethics and politics of ethnographic research and various methodologies. Students collect their own ethnographic data to be analyzed with relevant theory in a final capstone project. (Formerly course 190A.). Enrollment restricted to senior American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 20. R. Ramirez

107A. U.S. Popular Culture: 1800–1918. *
A survey of major popular cultural forms and texts in the pre-WWI era including Minstrelsy, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, P.T. Barnum, Ramona, The Wizard of Oz, and Birth of a Nation, with attention to historical context and theory.
F. Robinson

107B. U.S. Popular Culture: 1920–Present. *
Major popular cultural forms from the 1920s to the present. Topics include early “race” recordings; Depression radicalism; WWII entertainments; the Cold War; popular film genres; the 1970s and 1980s contemporary music (conjunto, jazz, rock, and rap). Particular attention to multicultural issues. Course 107A recommended.
E. Porter

109A. Technology and American Culture. *
Assesses political conditions under which the U.S. became committed to certain technologies, discusses merits of recent accounts of “crisis” in our politics and environment, and examines alternatives to mainstream politics and technology. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The Staff

109B. Science Fiction in Multicultural America. F
Science fiction by authors and artists of diverse cultural backgrounds, contextualized within the political and economic conditions of the U.S. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. C. Ramirez

111A. The West in American Culture. *
Features texts with Western settings and with representative casts of Western characters. The often contradictory patterns that emerge from this regional literature and the qualities that attach to its familiar hero are explored.
F. Robinson

112. Immigration and Assimilation. F
Examines immigration to U.S. from colonial era to present with special emphasis on issues of citizenship, social identities, and social membership. G. Lipsitz

113A. Imagining America. S
Examination of varied and often conflicting ways the ambiguous entity conventionally labeled “America” has been imagined, both positively and negatively, in political speeches, painting, fiction, film, television, music, drama, advertising, parades, and other modes of expression.
M. Cowan

114A. Politics and American Culture. *
Examination of major conceptions of citizenship in the context of American society and culture, with particular attention both to the sources of these conceptions in Western political thought and to their elaboration and testing in specific historical situations. Enrollment restricted to juniors and seniors. The Staff

114B. Marxist Thought in American Culture. *
Explores history of Marxist thought and activism in the U.S. with special emphasis on uses and effects of Marxism within aggrieved communities of color. Prerequisite(s): Satisfaction of the Subject A and Composition requirements. (General Education Code(s): W.) G. Lipsitz

118A. American Musical Theater. *
An examination of representative works of the American musical theater in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with attention to ways in which they illustrate significant aspects of American life and address problems of politics, class, race, and gender. (Also offered as Cowell College 118A. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment limited to 40. The Staff

121C. Mixed Race in America. *
Examines what it means to be of mixed race in America along historical, social, political, and cinematic lines. Theories on racial and identity formation applied to understanding multiracial experiences of various racial groups in the U.S. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

123. Native American Studies.

123F. Native American Women. S
Introduces students to the history of Native North American women’s lives. Topics include the impact of colonization and Christianization on Native women, political activism, the role of Native women in tribal politics, and contemporary artistic production. (General Education Code(s): E.) R. Ramirez

123H. Native Americans: Decolonization, Identity, and Resistance. *
This course examines how Native Americans are constructed by the dominant discourse on race, culture, and gender and how they subvert these negative representations through autobiography, novels, and humor. (General Education Code(s): E.) R. Ramirez

123T. Inventing the Savage. *
Examines how colonialism is at the root cause of cultural trauma in Native American communities; how colonialism affects both the colonizer and the colonized; how Native American scholars have theorized cultural trauma; and using novels, how Native Americans create strategies to heal from the negative effects of colonialism. (General Education Code(s): E.)
R. Ramirez

125. African American Studies.

125A. Aspects of African American Culture. *
A seminar examining the dominant and defining characteristics of African American culture, covering such areas as folklore, religion, politics, music, verbal arts, and social ritual, as well as more “everyday” manifestations of the culture. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

125E. Jazz Cultures. F
Explores the meaning of jazz in American culture, particularly the social and cultural forces that have produced different jazz styles and the various ways that social conflicts and ideals have been displaced onto jazz. A prior familiarity with the music itself will be helpful but is not required. (General Education Code(s): E.) E. Porter

125G. African American Life in the City. S
Examines social and cultural history of three black urban communities: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Focusing primarily on the mid-to-late twentieth century; considers black life through sociological, musical, literary, and historical sources. (General Education Code(s): E.) T. Rose

125X. Hip Hop Music Culture. F
Examines hip hop music and culture since its inception and addresses the contexts for its emergence in U.S. cities: sampling, cultural crossings, market forces, aesthetics, popular culture debates, race, culture, gender, sexuality, and class. (General Education Code(s): E.) T. Rose

126. Chicano Studies.

126B. Chicana/o Music. *
Examines Chicana/o music. Topics include corridos and border rebellion, music and social movements, Chicano radio and record industries, Chicanas/os and the emergence of rock and roll, Latin American/Latino music, and contemporary Chicana/o music. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

127. Asian American Studies.

127A. Aspects of Asian American Culture. F
Selected topics on Asian American culture, religion, music, foodways, literature, theater, film, and/or art. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

127D. Filipino Americans: History and Culture. *
Examines the history and culture of Filipinos in the U.S. from 1763 to present day within the context of colonial and postcolonial relations between the Philippines and the U.S. Topics include immigration, labor, community, identity, politics, and contemporary issues. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

127E. Asian American Women. *
Examines the intersectionality of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the history and lives of Asian American women from a woman-centered perspective. Topics include immigration, work, family, identities, sexploitation, and political and social activism. Students cannot receive credit for this course and History 189. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

127F. Chinese Americans: History and Culture. *
Examines the history, culture, and politics of Chinese Americans from the California Gold Rush to present day within the context of socioeconomic and political developments in China and the U.S. Topics include immigration and labor patterns; race, gender, and class dynamics; family and community development; identity politics; and cultural expressions. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

127K. South Asian Americans. *
Examines South Asian migration to the U.S., with specific attention to historical and political contexts of immigration and to (re)configurations of culture, politics, and identity in the South Asian American diaspora. (General Education Code(s): E.) The Staff

141. The Great Book of America. *
The course will feature texts that were conceived as, or have been widely received as, expressions of themes and values that are especially or essentially American. Moby Dick, Walden, Leaves of Grass, and Huckleberry Finn are such books. F. Robinson

145. Mark Twain and American Culture. W
A survey of Mark Twain’s major writings with special attention to biography and historical content. The writer’s status as a leading cultural spokesperson is also explored. Satisfies literature major requirement. Students cannot receive credit for this course and American Literature 120B. F. Robinson

157. Sexual Identities and Communities. *
Examines how gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people negotiate the intersections of their sexual and gender identities with their racial, ethnic, and class identities in the contemporary U.S. Considers the ramifications of these intersections for notions of “gay issues” and “queer communities.” The Staff

188. 9/11. S
Considers the events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent changes in U.S. society and in the country’s role across the globe. Focuses on three arenas where these transformations have occurred: politics, culture, popular culture, and racial and ethnic relations. E. Porter

190. Senior Seminars.
Capstone seminars enable American studies seniors to apply their overall training in interdisciplinary research and analysis to major problems in the field. Topics vary from year to year. Satisfies American studies senior comprehensive requirement.

190C. Debating American Culture. *
Examines major debates about national culture in the U.S., considered in the context of ethnic, class, gendered, and other subnational and transnational cultural formations and of relevant social, political, and cultural theory. Enrollment restricted to senior American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 20. M. Cowan

190D. American Studies and Cultural Studies. W
Examines the history and state of the field of American studies. Investigates current debates in the field, with a focus on recent calls for a “post-nationalist” American studies, and begins to chart some of the directions in which the field is moving. Encourages students to reflect on their education in American studies at UCSC. (Formerly New Directions in American Studies. ). Enrollment restricted to senior American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 20. G. Lipsitz

190E. Rethinking American Studies. W
As a culminating experience in the major, the seminar intends to encourage seniors to meditate critically on what American studies is and what it will be in the future. Focuses much attention on recent calls for a “post-nationalist” American studies, considers the possibilities/problems such imperatives bring, and analyzes recent work in this direction. Enrollment limited to 20. E. Porter

190H. Race, Politics, and Region. S
Examines race relations in western U.S. with particular emphasis upon California since 1945. Students examine the experiences of African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans and how class and gender politics shape and, at times, become the language for race relations. Enrollment restricted to senior American studies majors. Enrollment limited to 20. (General Education Code(s): E.) A. Huginnie

192. Directed Student Teaching. F,W,S
Teaching of a lower-division seminar under faculty supervision. (See course 42.) For students with upper-division standing who have submitted a proposal supported by a faculty member willing to supervise. The Staff

193. Field Study. F,W,S
Individual studies program undertaken off campus. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

194. Group Tutorial. F,W,S
Provides a means for a small group of students to study a particular topic in consultation with a faculty sponsor. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

195A. Senior Project. F,W,S
For students continuing work on their senior thesis. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

195B. Senior Project. F,W,S
For students continuing work on their senior thesis. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

198. Independent Field Study. F,W,S
Individual study program off campus for which faculty supervision is not in person (e.g., supervision is by correspondence). Up to three such courses may be taken for credit in any one quarter. Approval of student’s adviser and certification of adequate preparation required. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199. Tutorial. F,W,S
Various topics to be arranged. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199F. Tutorial (2 credits). F,W,S
Various topics to be arranged. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

Graduate Courses

205. Theorizing American Culture. *
A selective examination of theoretical and methodological issues central to American studies, of the history of attempts to consider the U.S. as manifesting a cultural system, and of contemporary critiques that problematize the focusing of cultural analysis on a nation-state. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. M. Cowan

207. Politics of Popular Music. *
Engages a number of the critical theoretical and methodological issues raised in contemporary studies of popular music. Explores these issues while reading case studies that range across scholarly disciplines and musical genres. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10. E. Porter

208. Readings in the History of the U.S. West. *
Explores recent trends in historical scholarship on the U.S. West, including the use of Western resources, the relationship between urban and rural places in the West, and the diversity of Western peoples. In order to reflect on the variety of ways in which scholars communicate their understandings of history, students also read a variety of academic books. Enrollment limited to 20. A. Huginnie

210. Studies in Early American Nationality. *
Examines the relationship of the attempts to legitimize U.S. nationhood in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the construction during this period of the concept of a national culture. Particular stress is given to the ideological functions served by the developing conception of American nation as both polity and culture. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 8. M. Cowan

211. Nativity, Culture, Race, and Space. *
This seminar examines the concept of “nativity” (of being or claiming to be native to a particular location) and how it functions in historical and contemporary conflicts, ranging from historical settler colonialism to contemporary gentrification of urban areas. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10. A. Huginnie

222. Tradition and Modernity in Black Culture. *
Examines the interplay of past and present in expressive culture by, for, and about African Americans, especially in respect to artistic and social innovations and their relationships to history, collective memory, and tradition. Upper-division students may enroll via permission code from instructor. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15. G. Lipsitz

223. Cultural Citizenship. *
Seminar examines the right to be different and belong in a participatory, democratic sense. Explores vernacular definitions of what confers political and cultural entitlement, taking into consideration factors ranging from the economic to notions of dignity and respect. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
R. Ramirez

225. Black Feminist Thought and Practice. *
Explores the development of African American feminist thought and its articulations in writing, music, literature, and practice in the twentieth-century U.S. Black women’s sexuality a major theme, especially motherhood, politics of reproduction, and sexual narratives. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
T. Rose

295. Directed Reading. F,W,S
Directed reading which does not involve a term paper. Designed for graduate students. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

296. Special Student Seminar. F,W,S
A seminar study group for graduate students arranged between students and faculty member. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

297. Independent Study. F,W,S
Independent study for graduate students who need to establish a research area for their thesis. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

299. Thesis Research. F,W,S
Independent thesis research for graduate students. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

*Not offered in 2004-05