Visions of America (201-0-1)

Instructors

Kathleen Belew
847/467-2305
Harris Hall 242

Meeting Info

Block Pick-Laudati Auditorium: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

This course introduces students to the recent history and culture of the United States using the interdisciplinary methodology of American Studies. We will engage present-day and recent cultural production (books, art, movies, graphic novels, photographs, memes, and more) as well as recent history (focused on the application of historical thinking to ongoing social problems such as war, racism, border policy, pollution, religion, politics, and media).

The focus of this course will vary depending upon the instructor's field of study, and may delve more deeply into History, English, or affiliated disciplines. But all versions of the class will explore the evolution of American Studies through the combination of major humanistic and social science fields, and its reshaping by Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Latina and Latino Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Journalism, Sociology, Legal Studies, and Environmental Studies. Students from these majors will find relevant content and approaches in this course.

Learning Objectives

Students will..
• Engage scholarship on historical and contemporary structures, processes, and practices of power, resistance, justice, inequality, and more, with a focus on the United States
• Explore the social, political, environmental, and cultural bases of these relationships, structures, processes, and practices, and examine how they constitute individuals and groups
• Understand the interplay between individuals and society, politics, and culture, and the interrelation between these categories

Class Notes

Overlay: US Perspectives: Power, Justice, and Equity
Foundational Disciplines: Historical Studies

These short quizzes will measure simply whether or not a student has completed and comprehended the week's materials.

This course offers an intensive on how to be a productive member of a seminar-style class. We will teach specific skills including preparation, oral argument, alternate forms of participation, Socratic method, structured debate, and more. The participation grade will come from each student's proficiency in these specific skills as evaluated by the course instructor, and from the student's progress over the course of the quarter.

The oral is a structured assignment that will be discussed at length in class and in office hours, and workshopped in section. It may take the form of an oral exam, a debate, or a small-group discussion observed by the course instructor.

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for American Studies Majors until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone.

Associated Classes

DIS - Harris Hall 107: Wed 4:00PM - 4:50PM

DIS - Harris Hall 107: Wed 5:00PM - 5:50PM

DIS - TBA: Wed 6:00PM - 6:50PM

DIS - Lutkin Hall: Thurs 9:00AM - 9:50AM

DIS - Lutkin Hall: Thurs 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - University Library 3370: Thurs 11:00AM - 11:50AM