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2024-2025 Academic Year

Fall 2024

AMST 201 Intro to American Studies
Introduces students to basic theories and methods used for the interdisciplinary analysis of United States and hemispheric cultural materials and to the multiplicity of texts used for cultural analysis (mass media, music, film, fiction and memoir, sports, advertising, and popular rituals and practices). Particular attention is paid to the interplay between systems of representation and social, political, and economic institutions, and to the production, dissemination, and reception of cultural materials. Students will explore the shaping power of culture as well as the possibilities of human agency.

AMST 303 Hyper-Objects
Hyper-Objects: Climate, Capitalism, and Culture" is an advanced course designed for upper-level American Studies undergraduates and students from related fields. This course explores the intersections of environmental theory, economic critique, and cultural dynamics through the concept of "hyper-objects," as introduced by philosopher Timothy Morton. Hyper-objects, vast in time and space, challenge our traditional understandings and compel us to think beyond human-centric views, engaging with the non-human elements that significantly shape our culture and environment. Students will engage with object-oriented ontology (OOO), a fresh perspective in cultural analysis that pushes beyond the theories of Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Walter Benjamin, and Stuart Hall. This course encourages a deep dive into how hyper-objects influence our society, culture, and the environment, offering a critical examination of contemporary culture's complexities. This vibrant and intellectually stimulating course invites students to critically analyze and rethink the role of climate change, global capitalism, and non-human actors in shaping cultural narratives and societal structures. It's an opportunity to expand theoretical horizons and contribute to meaningful discussions on the pressing issues of our time.

Spring 2025

AMST 200 Indigenous Futurism
In the field of what scholar Grace Dillon calls "Indigenous Futurism," Native artists from the visual to the literary have found a profoundly ripe stage for the exploration of Indigenous representation and artistic exploration. Following historically on other alternative-futurist projects such as Afrofuturism and Queer Futurism, Indigenous Futurism shares certain sensibilities with these related aesthetic forms, perhaps most strikingly as a strategy of decolonial clapback against the white-washing tendencies of the majority of popular speculative art throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. Nevertheless, Indigenous Futurism marshals the field of SF/Futurism in critically different ways unique to the history and relationship of Native America to popular culture. Indeed, this emerging field has a particular strategic advantage due to its temporal and pop-cultural orientation, allowing such art to function as a laboratory of resistance to the colonial project. This course examines Native authors, filmmakers, and visual/multimedia artists in order to evolve an understanding of the character of the field of Indigenous Futurism and why it operates as a critical strategic negotiation site for the representation of Native people in contemporary American culture.

AMST 301 American Futures
This course explores the profound relationship between digital technologies and the multifaceted visions of the future they inspire, particularly as they have evolved in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will delve deep into the digital cultures birthed by these technologies, examining how they shape and are shaped by anticipations of cultural, national, and individual identities. In doing so, we'll uncover the intricate interplay and antagonisms between various projections of the future. These imagined futures not only mirror but also question established notions about the roles of race, gender, and class in the times ahead. The visions of the future that a society or culture champions, and importantly, who is given the authority to craft and steer these visions, reveal the complex role "the future" plays in American ideology, socioeconomics, and representational politics. Our exploration will be both analytical and reflective, probing the nexus between thought, representation, political/cultural institutions, and the pressing issues of class, race, gender, and ideology across diverse mediums like art, literature, and advertising. We'll chart the genesis and evolution of digital-cultural spaces and communities, recognizing their roots in "real-life" culture while also examining their growth beyond "IRL." By emphasizing the interplay between race/gender and future representations, we will dissect these forward-looking imaginings to discern the cultural underpinnings from which they spring. What, for instance, do the speculative narratives of Indigenous Futurism reveal about the intricate dynamics of race and gender in the contemporary United States? Throughout this course, we will delve deeply into diverse digital domains, examining how they either contest, validate, or transform dominant narratives surrounding America's prospective future. By analyzing these forward-looking visions, we will gain insights into the prevailing mood and spirit of our current era. Moreover, these digital projections serve as a mirror, reflecting our collective hopes, anxieties, and aspirations for the unfolding chapters of our shared future. In essence, by understanding how we imagine tomorrow through today's digital lens, we can better comprehend the underlying currents shaping our contemporary society and its trajectory.

AMST 402 Writing in American Studies
Students research and write a substantial research project, normally drawing on their work in 401. Prerequisite: 303, 401.