How do I get started?

In fact, you may have already started. That is, you may have already enrolled in one or more courses which you might be able to “grandfather” into the minor. See the list under Courses. We now offer an interdisciplinary "Introduction to American Studies" course (EN 277), taught by Carlo Rotella. This is not a required course for the minor, but it is highly recommended for minors and prospective minors.

To officially register for the minor, either email the Program Director at carlo.rotella@bc.edu or call 617-552-3191.

The Overall Plan

Like other minors, American studies consists of six courses, the one required course being a senior seminar taken in the fall of your senior year. Five of these six courses from the minor must come from departments outside your major, and from at least two different departments. Three of your five other courses leading up to the senior seminar must be clustered around a common theme (see below), while the other two courses just must qualify for cross listing in American Studies. The courses listed in these sheets are merely a sample of offerings; in any given year there will be other courses offered by various departments that may qualify. Check with Professor Rotella.

Note: Only one “core” course (that is, one that satisfies the core requirement) can be counted for the minor; in addition, if the senior seminar for your final year is offered by your major department, it can nevertheless be counted for your minor, but not for your major as well.

Areas of Concentration

By your junior year, at the latest, you should start to select three courses from your total that can be clustered around a common theme, your area of concentration. Usually it means choosing one or two courses you’ve already taken, and then adding one or two to make a thematic concentration. These are the most common themes, which conform to the program's strengths:

• Race and Ethnicity
• Gender, Sexuality and culture
• Cultures of Cities
• Society and Subcultures
• Popular Culture and Media
• Law, Politics and Culture
• America and the World

Many other themes are possible. If you want to pursue one that's not on the list above, you'll need to have it approved by Professor Rotella.

THE SENIOR SEMINAR

In the fall of your senior year, as your sixth course, you must enroll in the course designated as the American Studies Senior Seminar. The topic of the seminar, an interdisciplinary course housed in one of the major cooperating departments, varies every year. For Fall 2011, the seminar will be taught by Cynthia Young of the English Department. The course is required for completion of the minor; admissions will be by permission of the instructor or the director of the American Studies Program.

EN 626 American Studies Senior Seminar: Popular Culture, Literature and Life During Wartime. This course investigates the ways in which U.S. life has been shaped by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 9 years. How does a society narrate its own identity, that of the "enemy" and the nature of the threat to the nation? How have U.S. notions of race and nation shifted under the pressure of ongoing, though distant wars? How is an amorphous "war on terror" different from earlier, more easily defined wars with clear "enemies"? What is the nature of victimhood? What are the limits of heroism? How does war act to reveal and/or submerge the dark side of U.S. society? Course materials will include journalistic accounts, writing (including blogs) by military personnel, novels, films, and television.

RECOMMENDED COURSE: EN 277 INTRO TO AMERICAN STUDIES

Introduction to American Studies (EN 277) offers an introduction to topics, approaches, and methods in the field of American Studies. It will be offered again in Spring '12. If you're minoring in American Studies (especially if you will be a sophomore or junior in 2011-2012) or just considering the minor, you are strongly urged to take it. Some seats will be set aside for American Studies minors; if you can't get into the course by registering online, you can secure them by permission of the instructor.