Description
Developed as a course to introduce students to modern American society, increase cultural competency, and prepare students to be global citizens as well as successful college students, American Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining life in the United States. The course begins by familiarizing students with the nature of American democracy by examining the history of the American Founding, before turning to an analysis of the governmental, political, and economic systems that make the U.S. distinct. Students will inquire into the intersection of immigration to the United States, the American Dream, and what it means to live in the contemporary U.S. Students read and discuss the stories of Americans whose families come from all over the world, and of people who have come to the U.S. to study or do business. Texts recently used in the course include Balancing Two Worlds: Asian-American College Students Tell Their Life Stories, A Chinaman’s Change: One Family’s Journey and the Chinese American Dream, and Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man. The course is structured around thematic project-based units that respond to essential questions like:
- What is my story?
- How does American history impact modern Americans and immigrants?
- What is American Identity?
- What is the American Dream?
- What is the Asian-American story?
This course connects people, ideas, and cultures to advance knowledge, create solutions, and enhance meaning through the development of a dynamic and vital community of inquiry in which students actively participate in a process of collaborative questioning and investigation.
