Students in this concentration study the complex interrelationships among the arts, craft, design, ideas, places, and social and cultural life in America. This concentration allows for the encyclopedic study of things in their historical context, drawing on methodologies and approaches from art and design history, economic history, history of technology, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, and geography.
The curriculum combines two broad approaches: giving objects prime importance and placing objects in wider social and intellectual contexts. Some courses raise issues related to media, techniques, aesthetics, production and consumption, historiography, and theory, while others focus on the role objects and places play in people’s lives: the planning of cities, parks, and gardens; the design of buildings, interiors, and furnishings; clothing; jewelry and body adornment; the material culture of food, decoration, and ornament; illustration and the graphic arts. Students will explore the ways in which Americans have been shaped by and have shaped their physical environments, from “nature” to the urban environment.
Concentration Courses
Please note that the below list of possible courses is not exhaustive and that many courses listed under "TOPICS" headings may also count toward American Studies. Students may take an unlimited number of TOPICS courses, as long as the topic of each course is different.
Students must choose five courses from the following; however, exceptions may be granted by the Director of the American Studies Program. No more than three courses may be from any one department (AMS notwithstanding); at least three courses should be at the 300-level.
American Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICAN IDENTITIES | |
| CHICAGO HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND CULTURES | |
| AMERICAN ETHNICITIES 1800-1945 | |
| CHICAGO HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND CULTURES | |
| TOPICS IN AMERICAN MATERIAL CULTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT | |
| THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF MODERN AMERICA | |
| MATERIAL CULTURE OF EARLY AMERICA | |
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN AMERICAN MATERIAL CULTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT | |
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES IN THE U.S./AMERICAS 1 | |
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN AMERICAN STUDIES 1 | |
African and Black Diaspora Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| THE GREAT MIGRATION AND BLACK IDENTITY | |
| RECONSTRUCTION AND THE RISE OF JIM CROW | |
Anthropology
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS | |
| MATERIAL CULTURE OF MODERN AMERICA | |
| MATERIAL CULTURE AND DOMESTIC LIFE | |
| HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHICAGO | |
| ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK | |
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER | |
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD MOVEMENTS AND PRACTICES | |
| URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY | |
| URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY | |
| ARCHEOLOGY OF CITIES | |
| ANTHROPOLOGY AND MUSEUMS | |
| MUSEUM EDUCATION | |
| HERITAGE DISPLAYS AND MUSEUMS | |
Art
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| MURAL PAINTING | |
| DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY | |
Community Service Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRISON | |
| LAW AND POLITICS: PRISON POLICIES AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE | |
Environmental Science
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| NATIONAL PARKS HISTORY | |
| LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | |
| CITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT | |
Geography
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY | |
| URBANIZATION | |
| URBAN GEOGRAPHY - EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING | |
| MAPPING WORKSHOP FOR ONLINE STORYTELLING | |
| CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: THE NATURE-CULTURE INTERFACE | |
| SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT | |
| RACE, JUSTICE, AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT | |
| BOUNDARIES AND IDENTITIES | |
| INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION | |
| HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CHICAGO | |
| COMPARATIVE URBANISM | |
| GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS I: DIGITAL MAPPING | |
| GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS II: COMMUNITY GIS | |
| CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ECOLOGY | |
| KNOWLEDGE, PLACE AND POWER | |
| ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND POLITICAL TRAUMA | |
| TOPICS IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM | |
| WORLD OF WINE | |
| GEOGRAPHY, FOOD AND JUSTICE | |
| RISKS, HAZARDS AND NATURAL DISASTERS | |
History of Art and Architecture
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| INTRODUCTION TO ARTS OF THE AMERICAS | |
| MODERN LATIN AMERICAN ART | |
| AMERICAN ART | |
| HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY | |
| MODERN ARCHITECTURE | |
| COMPARATIVE URBANISM | |
| MUSEUM AND NON-PROFIT ARTS MANAGEMENT | |
| HISTORIC CATHOLIC CHURCH ARCHITECTURE OF CHICAGO | |
| CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (WORLD CITIES) | |
| THE EVOLVING MUSEUM: HISTORIES AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES | |
| MUSEUM STUDIES INTERNSHIP | |
History
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| HISTORY OF CHICAGO | |
| MUSEUMS, MATERIAL CULTURE AND MEMORY: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HISTORY | |
| U.S. HISTORICAL LANDSCAPE | |
| HISTORY OF US NATIONAL PARKS | |
| IDEAS OF NATURE IN US HISTORY | |
| MAPS IN HISTORY AND CULTURE | |
| CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM EXPERIENCE | |
| TOPICS IN PUBLIC HISTORY | |
| DOING LOCAL AND COMMUNITY HISTORY | |
| PUBLIC HISTORY INTERNSHIP | |
International Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL JUSTICE | |
| NATION STATES, NATIONALISM, EMPIRE | |
| IDENTITIES AND BOUNDARIES | |
| NATURE, SOCIETY AND POWER | |
| THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE OF OIL | |
| READING MARX'S CAPITAL | |
Media and Cinema Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| HISTORY OF TELEVISION & RADIO | |
| THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: HOLLYWOOD IN THE 1960s | |
| SEX IN THE BOX: U.S. TELEVISION, SEX, AND SEXUALITY | |
Political Science
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS | |
| URBAN POLITICS | |
Public Policy Studies
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| PUBLIC POLICY AND URBAN ISSUES | |
| ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | |
| ISSUES IN NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT | |
| URBAN POVERTY | |
| CITIES, GLOBALIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICY | |
| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | |
| NATIONAL PARKS POLICY AND GOVERNANCE | |
| GREEN CITIES | |
| ISSUES IN URBAN REDEVELOPMENT | |
| THE POLICY AND POLITICS OF URBAN HOUSING | |
| GREAT LAKES GOVERNANCE POLICY AND MANAGEMENT | |
| PUBLIC SPACES AND SOCIAL CONTROL | |
Sociology
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE CITY | |
| GLOBAL CITIES | |
| URBAN SOCIOLOGY | |
| HOMELESS IN THE CITY | |
| STREET GANGS | |
| URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY | |
| CLASS, POWER AND DECISION MAKING IN THE CITY | |
Portfolio Requirement
Students are encouraged to maintain an active record of documents from their concentration courses, including syllabi, completed written course work, collections of visuals, e.g., photo essays -- whatever is appropriate to the six courses chosen for the concentration. Students will use these documents to aid them in writing reflective essays during the initial weeks of their senior seminar. These essays might ask you to consider “What were the course’s most valuable lessons in research, analysis, writing and communication? How did this course, taken together with the other courses you have chosen for your concentration, influence/develop your understanding of the area of American culture on which you are focusing?” These essays, along with representative assignments, will form the student's American Studies "portfolio." Students turn in their portfolio on the concentration, along with a proposal for the senior seminar project, in the first weeks of the senior seminar, AMS 301. Specific directions for the portfolio can be obtained from your American Studies advisor, from the American Studies Program office, or from the American Studies Program Director.
Open Electives
Open elective credit also is required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.