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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
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American StudiesChair: Lauren RabinovitzProfessors: Susan Birrell (Health and Sport Studies/Women's Studies/American Studies), Horace A. Porter (F. Wendell Miller Professor of English and American Studies), Lauren Rabinovitz (American Studies/Cinema and Comparative Literature), John Raeburn (American Studies/English) Professors emeriti: Richard P. Horwitz, Albert E. Stone (American Studies/English) Associate professors: Lafayette Adams (English/American Studies), Robert Latham (English/American Studies), Kim Marra (Theatre Arts/American Studies), Laura Rigal (English/American Studies) Assistant professors: Deborah Whaley, Nicholas Yablon Undergraduate degree: B.A. in American Studies Undergraduate nondegree program: Minor in American Studies Graduate degrees: M.A., Ph.D. in American Studies Web site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~amstud The Department of American Studies provides an interdisciplinary introduction to American culture, past and present. It helps students acquire a broad familiarity with the dynamics of cultural experience and explore aspects of life in the United States, such as popular and fine arts, institutions, values, gender and ethnic relations, artifacts, and the everyday life of a diverse citizenry. Undergraduate ProgramsThe department offers a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in American studies.Bachelor of ArtsThe Bachelor of Arts in American studies requires a minimum of 36 s.h. in the major. At least 24 s.h. of work toward the major must be earned at The University of Iowa.The major in American studies stresses broad training in cultural analysis and communication. Although it offers no explicit vocational training, the program provides preparation for careers in business, education, government, journalism, or social service; for advanced study in the humanities, the social sciences, theology, or business; or for professional study in law or medicine. Internships can be arranged, through the University's Pomerantz Career Center. A distinctive feature of the American studies major is the opportunity to develop broad training in cultural analysis as well as emphasis of particular interests within the study of American culture. With the help of their American studies advisors, students may elect to pursue one of three focus areas within American studies, or they may create an individual plan of study. Each focus area allows students to group courses in American studies and other departments around a specific interdisciplinary theme, topic, or set of social issues. Focus areas are described below. Shortly after declaring a major, a student should meet with his or her faculty advisor to explore the range of course work available and to begin shaping an individual plan of study. By the student's second term in the major, the student and advisor should have agreed upon a plan of study and focus area for completing the major requirements. The major in American Studies usually requires the following 12 courses. American studies courses must include 045:020 Sources for American Studies and 045:090 Seminar in American Cultural Studies. Requirements are as follows.
American Studies Focus AreasStudents should consult regularly with the Department of American Studies about courses offered by American studies and other departments that count toward each focus area. No more than two courses from a single department outside American studies may be applied toward any one focus area.ETHNIC STUDIES, DIVERSITY, AND DIFFERENCESStudents choose this focus to develop interdisciplinary understanding of an individual ethnic and/or racial group (e.g., Latino/a studies, Jewish-American studies) or to examine broadly gender, race, sexuality, social class, region, national origins, and age in the United States. Emphasis is on the historic emergence of categories of social difference, especially as revealed in cultural practices and artifacts, geography and cityscapes, leisure, and popular expression.AMERICAN ARTS, LITERATURE, AND POPULAR CULTUREStudents who choose this focus examine artistic creations to discover how they are shaped by cultural preconceptions, norms, and standards, and how in turn these expressive forms affect ongoing developments in cultural life. Emphasis is on skills in the formal analysis of artistic artifacts, historical inquiry, and cultural contextualization.AMERICAN SOCIETY, POLITICS, AND EVERYDAY LIFEStudents who choose this focus consider the dynamics of social change, the emergence and fate of political movements, and the forms and practice of everyday life in America. The area encompasses the tradition of revolution in America, the effects of technological and economic change, and the roles of the family, workplace, and community from the colonial era to the digital age.INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED FOCUS AREAIndividually designed focus areas may concentrate on an interdisciplinary topic, theme, group of people, or time period. Students who wish to design their own interdisciplinary focus area should consult with their American studies advisor for appropriate courses.Four-Year Graduation PlanThe following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the University's Four-Year Graduation Plan. (Courses in the major are those required to complete the major; they may be offered by departments other than the major department.)Before the third semester begins: at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation Before the fifth semester begins: declaration of the major, discussion of a plan of study with an American Studies advisor, and at least one-half of the semester hours required for graduation Before the seventh semester begins: at least six courses from the plan of study and at least three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation Before the eighth semester begins: at least nine courses from the plan of study During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major, all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate HonorsThe American studies honors program offers students the opportunity to pursue special interests in individual, in-depth research. Honors candidates must be members of the University of Iowa Honors Program, which requires that students maintain a cumulative University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.33 (contact the University of Iowa Honors Program for more information).Under the guidance of the undergraduate honors advisor, honors candidates define a research project. Project proposals ideally are made by the end of the junior year. Each candidate completes the project under the guidance of a supervising faculty member and may register for up to 6 s.h. in 045:095 Honors Project. Results of the research project are presented in a senior essay to a committee of three faculty members, including the supervising faculty member, the honors advisor, and a third faculty member of the student's choice. (When the honors advisor is the supervising faculty member, the candidate may select the other two faculty members.) The candidate's committee may choose to hear an oral defense of the final project, usually in the 12th week of the last semester. MinorStudents interested in a minor in American studies should consult American studies faculty members. The minor requires a minimum of 15 s.h. in American studies with a g.p.a. of at least 2.00. At least 12 of the 15 s.h. must be taken at The University of Iowa in advanced courses. All core courses numbered above 045:001 are considered advanced for the minor.Graduate ProgramsThe department offers a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in American studies.Master of ArtsThe M.A. in American studies requires a minimum of 36 s.h. of graduate credit. It may be a terminal degree or preliminary to a Ph.D. in American studies or another discipline. The following courses are required.
M.A. students also select from five to eight additional courses relevant to a topic or period of cultural history. These courses may be grouped to address more than one topic and must be chosen from more than one discipline; they usually include at least two courses in American history and courses focusing on American diversity. Master's degree candidates must perform satisfactorily in 045:400 Masters Preparation (3 s.h.), which includes a comprehensive examination on course work and basic concepts. The M.A. also may be taken with thesis, for credit up to 6 s.h. Students should consult the program chair for details. Joint M.A./J.D.A joint program leading to an M.A. in American studies and a J.D. from the College of Law provides a broad cultural context for the study and practice of law. Similar joint programs can be arranged in other professional fields, such as journalism and social work.Doctor of PhilosophyThe Ph.D. program in American studies requires a minimum of 72 s.h. of graduate credit, which includes a core of American studies courses in interdisciplinary methods and substantial course work in two major fields. Course requirements are as follows.
Although American studies Ph.D. students are permitted considerable flexibility in planning a program, they must meet certain basic requirements. The introductory seminars 045:200-045:201 Theory and Practice in American Studies I-II should be taken as early as possible, one during each of the first two years in residence. The additional American Studies graduate courses provide further models for interdisciplinary inquiry. The two major fields may be defined to correspond with the student's strongest intellectual interests, but they must be interdisciplinary in concept and multidisciplinary in scope. Each must include course work from more than one of the University's departments and programs. They also should be designed to emphasize a generous but well-defined period of American cultural history; therefore, historical knowledge is essential to all doctoral plans of study. The two major fields may, and usually should, have an intellectual relationship with each other. The program expects doctoral students to address the cultural diversity of American life in their course work and reading. ADMISSION TO PH.D. CANDIDACYAdvising is important. Each doctoral student and his or her faculty advisor map out a coherent plan of study that reflects the student's particular interests in American cultural studies. The plan of study usually has been formulated tentatively by the end of the first year in residence. During the first semester of the second year, the student submits the plan to the entire faculty, which reviews it and meets with the student to discuss it. When the faculty accepts the plan of study, the student is admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. In the next three or four semesters, the candidate completes the established plan and begins to prepare for comprehensive examinations.COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONSThe comprehensive exam comprises three written portions and an oral examination.The position paper is always written in advance of the rest of the exam and under the supervision of an American studies faculty member. In it, the candidate lays out his or her general approach to American cultural studies and provides an exemplification of that approach. The remaining two written exams explore the candidate's major fields; these are at least four hours long, but may be given on a take-home basis at the examiner's discretion. The oral examination covers material from the position paper and the two written exams. THESISThe final requirement for the Ph.D. in American studies is presentation of an acceptable thesis on an interdisciplinary topic whose investigation involves more than one field or discipline.InternshipsQualified graduate students in American studies can arrange internships with a number of local agencies, including the State Historical Society of Iowa, the Division of Historic Preservation, the University of Iowa Museum of Art, the Iowa Humanities Board, Brucemore, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, and the Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science. With special permission, candidates conducting research during such on-the-job training may receive academic credit through 045:320 Independent Study or 045:350 Material Culture Internship. Other internships with social agencies, government, or business also may be arranged.Courses
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