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AMERICAN STUDIES UNDERGRADUATE
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS - SUMMER 2008
182.001 Intro to Environment, Science & Tech MTWR 6:40
– 9:10 DSH 333 Richter 1st Four Weeks
Arts & Sciences group: Social Science / Core Curriculum: Social
Science
This is an introduction to American attitudes toward nature, science,
technology and the impacts of those attitudes on built and natural
environments regionally, nationally and globally. This course covers
the period from World War II to the present, focusing on the environmental
effects of such diverse scientific and technological products as
chemical pesticides, nuclear power, and television.
More specifically, this course will consider: In this course we
will look at current environmental issues, delving into contentious
topics and passionate debates, while asking difficult questions.
How does consumerism impact the environment, and how much stuff
do we really need? Is wilderness a necessity or a luxury? Should
an endangered fish have water rights? Are pesticides giving us cancer?
We'll consider debates within the scientific community, explore
conflicts between developers and environmentalists, and look at
the promise and limitations of technological solutions.
185.001 Intro to Race/Class/Ethnicity MTWR 9:00 –
11:30 DSH 229 Mays 2nd Four Weeks
Arts & Sciences group/Core Curriculum: Social Sciences
This is an interdisciplinary introduction to the issues, and social
and cultural formation of race, class and ethnicity in American
life and society. The course is designed to foster an appreciation
of the heterogeneity of experience in American life. The course
is focused on the study of cross-cultural group relations.
More specifically, this course will consider: Who are you? For most
of us, self-description includes our race, class, and ethnicity,
but what do these terms mean? Are these terms fixed and unchanging?
This course introduces the terms, race, class and ethnicity and
offers a critical discussion of their historical meaning and their
meaning in modern society. We will pay attention to cross-cultural
and interdisciplinary themes within thee definitions.
186.001 Intro to Southwest Studies MTWR 9:00 – 11:30
DSH 333 Roybal
1st Four Weeks
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities/ Core Curriculum: Humanities
Provides both an introduction to the complex history and culture
of the southwestern United States and a demonstration of the possibilities
of the interdisciplinary study of regional American culture. It
is multicultural in content and multidisciplinary in methodology.
Examines cross-cultural relationships among the peoples of the Southwest
within the framework of their expressions and experiences in art,
culture, religion, and social and political economy.More specifically,
this course will consider: What is this place we call the Southwest?
How is it defined- geographically, politically, and culturally?
Who are the people that live there? How have their lives been transformed
by social and historical forces into the cultures we see today?
At the same time, how have these same groups retained their traditions,
customs, and beliefs in response to change? This course will explore
contemporary Southwestern cultures, their multiple voices and culture
expressions, using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from
geography, anthropology, history, literature, and the arts.
310.001 Urban Legends MTWR 11:00 – 1:30 DSH 226
Dewan
2nd Four Weeks
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities
From mice in Coke bottles to alligators in sewers, urban legends
continue to disseminate through multiple avenues in American culture.
In this course, we will examine the origins, transmissions, and
embedded meanings within contemporary urban legends, with a specific
focus on how these legends both perpetuate and reflect attitudes
toward race, gender, class, and politics.
AMERICAN STUDIES UNDERGRADUATE
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS - FALL 2008
180.001 Intro to American Studies TR 2:00 – 3:15
Staff
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities
Introduction to American Studies surveys significant social, cultural,
and political developments in United States society from the nineteenth
century to the present. This course explores the political and social
meanings of cultural conflict and national identity through close
analysis and classroom discussion of historical documents, literature,
and visual and popular culture. We will focus on how ideas about
race, gender, sexuality, class, and region have shaped legal and
political contests over the meaning of citizenship and belonging.
Central among the questions addressed by the course are: How have
social and political movements inside and outside of the United
States shaped the meaning of American culture? What do legal and
political contests over the meaning of citizenship reveal about
American culture? What has been the role of immigration and globalization
on the making of American culture? How have ideas of race, gender,
sexuality, and class shaped American culture? Students will engage
these questions through in-class discussions, lectures, and course
readings.
182.006 Intro to Environment, Science & Tech T 7:00
– 9:30 Richter
Arts & Sciences group: Social Science / Core Curriculum:
Social Science
This is an introduction to American attitudes toward nature, science,
technology and the impacts of those attitudes on built and natural
environments regionally, nationally and globally. This course covers
the period from World War II to the present, focusing on the environmental
effects of such diverse scientific and technological products as
chemical pesticides, nuclear power, and television.
More specifically, this course will consider: In this course we
will look at current environmental issues, delving into contentious
topics and passionate debates, while asking difficult questions.
How does consumerism impact the environment, and how much stuff
do we really need? Is wilderness a necessity or a luxury? Should
an endangered fish have water rights? Are pesticides giving us cancer?
We'll consider debates within the scientific community, explore
conflicts between developers and environmentalists, and look at
the promise and limitations of technological solutions.
183.002 Introduction to Gender Studies MWF 2:00 –
2:50 DSH 126 Berger
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities
This course focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the construction
of gender as a category. Readings will span cross-cultural and historical
materials, including literary, artistic, and popular representations
of masculinity and femininity in America. More specifically, this
course will consider: What does it mean to be or become a woman
or man? Is there a basic essence to femininity and masculinity,
which remains unchanged throughout time and place? Or are our concepts
of what constitutes femininity and masculinity historically and
culturally specific and mutable? What are the processes and mechanisms
by which our understandings of gender are produced, maintained,
or changed? This course addresses these questions, offering students
a stimulating, accessible introduction to the depth and breadth
of work on gender from an interdisciplinary perspective. The field
of gender studies is dynamic and diverse, full of debate, controversy,
and inquiry over issues of representation, identity, meaning, interpretation,
and politics. We will explore these issues through contemporary
writings on gender that intersect with sex, race, sexuality, and
class. As much as this course is an introduction to a body of work
– both scholarly and popular, written and visual - that focuses
on gender, it is also a course that interrogates the material. Thus
students will be working on their critical reading/ writing skills.
184.001 Intro to American Pop Culture TR 5:30 –
6:45 DSH 333 Staff
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities
Popular culture can be defined as the beliefs and practices that
characterize a particular culture, as well as the objects, narratives,
and rituals through which they are organized and that are widely
shared, enjoyed, and understood among a population. It is also generally
understood as the culture of ordinary people, as opposed to highly
educated or specialized elites. More specifically, this course will
consider: Introduction to Popular Culture examines many aspects
of popular culture, including movies, action figures and other toys,
cartoons/comics, advertising, television, and urban legends, among
others. The class involves learning how to read popular culture
as a text and as an indicator of societal norms, diversions, and
diversities.
185.002 Intro to Race/Class/Ethnicity W 7:00 – 9:30
DSH128 Montañez
Arts & Sciences group: Social Sciences/Core Curriculum: Social
Sciences
This is an interdisciplinary introduction to the issues, and social
and cultural formation of race, class and ethnicity in American
life and society. The course is designed to foster an appreciation
of the heterogeneity of experience in American life. The course
is focused on the study of cross-cultural group relations.
More specifically, this course will consider: Who are you? For most
of us, self-description includes our race, class, and ethnicity,
but what do these terms mean? Are these terms fixed and unchanging?
This course introduces the terms, race, class and ethnicity and
offers a critical discussion of their historical meaning and their
meaning in modern society. We will pay attention to cross-cultural
and interdisciplinary themes within thee definitions.
186.001 Intro to Southwest Studies MWF 11:00 – 11:50
DSH 234 Cordova
186.002 Intro to Southwest Studies TR 12:30 – 1:45
DSH 223 Hall
186.003 Intro to Southwest Studies MWF 2:00 – 2:50
Castillo
186.691 Intro to Southwest Studies TR 12:30 – 1:45
DSH 223 Hall
(Students in this section will be enrolled in the Language &
Culture Living and Learning Community, and an extra seminar is also
required.)
Arts & Sciences group: Humanities/ Core Curriculum:
Humanities
Provides both an introduction to the complex history and culture
of the southwestern United States and a demonstration of the possibilities
of the interdisciplinary study of regional American culture. It
is multicultural in content and multidisciplinary in methodology.
Examines cross-cultural relationships among the peoples of the Southwest
within the framework of their expressions and experiences in art,
culture, religion, and social and political economy. More specifically,
this course will consider: What is this place we call the Southwest?
How is it defined- geographically, politically, and culturally?
Who are the people that live there? How have their lives been transformed
by social and historical forces into the cultures we see today?
At the same time, how have these same groups retained their traditions,
customs, and beliefs in response to change? This course will explore
contemporary Southwestern cultures, their multiple voices and culture
expressions, using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from
geography, anthropology, history, literature, and the arts.
200.001 Introduction to CHMS TR 11:00 – 12:15 Mitch
107 Ramirez
Course description is available through the Chicano Studies department.
200.003 Introduction to CHMS MW 4:00 – 5:45 Mitch
212 Encinias
Course description is available through the Chicano Studies department.
200.004 Social Movements in America TR 2:00 – 3:15
Marcum
This course examines the dynamics of community activism and movements
for social change in the United States. In addition to exploring
organizational methods, tactics, and political efficacy, we will
be considering the cultural and historical aspects of social movements,
asking such questions as: how do social movements emerge and take
shape within the context of American culture and particular historical
moments? And, how are various kinds of cultural production (music,
art, film) deployed as a form of community activism? This service-learning
course will continue work begun last semester around issues of Hunger
and Poverty in New Mexico, as well as continuing are collaboration
with Albuquerque Partnership to produce media for and about youth
activism in Albuquerque, and will continue our work with residents
of Albuquerque’s Santa Barbara/Martineztown in their efforts
to build a strong and sustainable community.
200.005 Chicano Autobiography MWF 1:00 – 1:50 Perea
Course description is available through the Chicano Studies department.
285.001 American Life and Thought TR 9:30 – 10:45
DSH 334 Hall
Arts and Sciences group: Humanities
American Life and Thought: Work in America examines the history
of working people—men and women, paid and unpaid, of various
racial and ethnic groups, in diverse geographic regions of the United
States—from the late 19th-century to the present. This course
considers issues such as the historical transformations of the labor
process and production, the changing nature of working class life
and community, the evolution of organized labor movements, and the
relationship of workers and unions to the state. We will also look
at the experience and circumstances of people marginal to the traditional
employer/employee relationship. In addressing these topics, we will
devote particular attention to the ways that issues of race, gender
and ethnicity affected historical developments. (Note: this course
is required for all American Studies majors and minors).
303.002 Law in the Political Community M 7:00 –
9:30 SSCI 1111 Wright
Arts & Sciences group: Social Sciences
Course description is available through the Political Science department.
310.003 Cities, Suburbs & Social Justice W 4:00 –
6:30 Goldstein
This course looks at cities and suburbs as vital sites for struggles
over the meaning of community, the divisions between public and
private, and the social uses of space and place. New Orleans and
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will serve as one in depth example
of how the political economy of power shapes access and exclusion
in the U.S. metropolis today. Course readings and discussions will
broadly focus on the development of cities and suburbanization in
the United States, conflicts over the use and definition of urban
space, and the globalization of urban networks. Among the questions
we will explore are the following: How has the distribution of wealth
and power in the larger society influenced the economic, social,
and physical conditions of cities and metropolitan areas? What are
the causes of urban/ suburban poverty and racial segregation? How
and why did the suburbs grow, especially after World War II? In
what ways have people worked together in the name of social justice
to address and/or transform the uneven development of urban and
suburban life in the United States?
310.005 Sports in America M 7:00 – 9:30 Richter
When we talk about sports in America and around the world, our conversations
are informed by different sets of learned and assumed notions of
what sports signifies culturally, and how we view the people who
play them. The world of professional and amateur sports has been
alternately blamed for shaping negative aspects of our culture,
and for accurately reflecting our societal values, while still being
valorized as a unique means of changing individual social class.
Issues of race and gender are central to conversations about sports,
and the ways that minorities and women are manipulated through publicity
and marketing serve to mask the socioeconomic disparities on a greater
national scale. The increased commodification of culture and the
binds of globalization are also played out it the arena of sports.
For these reasons, it is important to examine sports and sports
culture under these various lenses. This class will discuss sports
within the context of US culture, but not limit our conversation
to American borders. For instance, how do baseball players “farmed”
from the Dominican Republic to play in the United States represent
a new aspect of globalization that affects both the national economy
of the D.R., but also American players in Major League Baseball?
How does the lack of professional women’s leagues in America
push American women out of the country and into foreign leagues,
thus making it seem as if there are no professional-caliber female
athletes in the United States? Throughout this course, we will synthesize
information about the various places where sport intersects our
lives, directly and indirectly. Students will be required to think
critically and to write clearly about this intriguing topic that
has become so ubiquitous that we often fail to notice its pervasiveness.
Ultimately, we will try to answer the question: “What are
we really discussing when we talk about sports?”
310.006 Genes, People and Language TR 11:00 – 12:15
Hudson
Course description is available from the Linguistics department.
313.001 American Folklore & Folklife TR 9:00 –
12:00 White
This will be the first in a four-semester course in Violin Making:
Construction, History, Culture and Performance. Through both lectures
and field trips, students will learn the history of violin making,
some aspects of performance, and be exposed to a variety of cultural
and historical materials related to the religious, ritual and folk
violin performances and dances practiced in New Mexico since the
early 17th century. Enrollment in the course must be approved by
the instructor, Dr. Peter White, who can be reached at plwhite@unm.edu.
330.004 Lesbian Culture & Politics TR 11:00 –
12:15 MVH 2131 Staff
Course description is available through the Women Studies Department.
330.009 Intro to Feminist Theory TR 12:30 – 1:45
MVH 2131 Brandzel
Course description is available through the Women Studies Department.
332.001 Sexuality & Culture TR 4:00 – 5:15 Brandzel
The politics of sex are around us everyday – in our laws,
on our televisions and radios, and aired in heated political debates.
In this course, we tackle some of the controversies associated with
“the politics of sex” by examining how sex, gender,
and sexuality have been constructed throughout U.S. history, culture
and politics. The primary purpose of this class is to study how
sexuality is racialized, classed, and gendered, with an emphasis
on challenging the ways in which certain identities and practices
are normalized and others marked as deviant or unnatural. In this
way, AMST 332 provides a survey of feminist, queer, and LGBT theories
and is, therefore, a reading intensive course.
357.001 The African World T 4:00 – 6:30 Shunkuri
Course description is available through the Africana Studies Department.
360.001 Contemporary SW Literature W 7:00 – 9:30
Aleman
Course description is available through the English Department.
360.002 Chicano Ethnographies MW 4:00 – 5:45 Trujillo
Course description is available through the Chicano Studies department.
385.001 Theo & Meth of Am Studies M 2:00 – 4:30
ORTG 313 Schreiber
This seminar offers students an introduction to interdisciplinary
approaches in the study of American culture. During the semester,
we will examine both the history of American Studies, as well as
focus on contemporary scholarship in the field. This scholarship
is organized within three general areas: “Race, Ethnicity,
Gender and National Identity”; “Media, Popular Culture,
and Cultural Studies”; and “Borderlands," which
will emphasize scholarship on the Southwest, and in particular the
borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico. The seminar will be framed around
the following questions: What is distinct about interdisciplinary
scholarship? What kinds of questions do American Studies scholars
ask? What does a comparative framework offer in terms of methods?
422.001 The Atomic Bomb W 4:00 – 6:30 DSH 333 Vizenor
Arts & Sciences group: Social Sciences
This course is structured in three interrelated sections: the first
is an analysis of the wartime political, military, and scientific
histories of the Manhattan Project; the second is a comparative
discussion of the strategic alternatives to the first use of nuclear
weapons; the third section considers the memories and literature
of the hibakusha, the survivors of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima,
Japan.
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