Summer 2012 Registration is Open - AMST Course Highlights

KENNESAW, Ga. (Mar 20, 2012) — Summer 2012 American Studies Course Offerings
Summer Registration: March 19-May 1
Final Registration: May 10-25, 2012

Undergraduate AMST Courses:

AMST 3740: American Popular Culture: Sports in America (Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays) 2:00-4:45 (Summer Session 1)

Dr. Elsa Nystrom Contact: enystrom@kennesaw.edu

From colonial times to the present, sport has played an important role in shaping American culture. From Puritan pleasures and horseracing in the Virginia colony to College sports, the NFL, NASCAR, and the Olympics, this class will look at the American involvement with sports and sporting events since the 17th century. The class is discussion driven with a selection of readings and films from various periods with emphasis on the late 19th and 20th century. You don’t have to be a sports buff to enjoy this class as we will be looking at the social and cultural effects of sports on Americans especially how sports culture has affected our society in the areas of race, gender and ethnicity.

AMST 3770: American Cultural Productions: Staging Gender, Place, & Identity in the USA - Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00-1:45 (Full 8-week Summer Session)

Dr. J. Barnette Contact: jbarne48@kennesaw.edu

"What does it mean to be an American? For most of us, just the phrase “I’m American” isn’t enough: we’re also defined by our jobs, our race, our religion, or politics, our sexuality, our gender, and our cultural identities. What better way to explore the different manifestations of American culture than by using theatre as a lens? In this class, we’ll read and discuss several recent plays & musicals that speak to issues of place and identity in the USA, including: August: Osage County, Detroit, Night Blooms, and The Book of Mormon." -- This course is cross-listed with GWST 4040.

Graduate AMST Courses:

AMST 7430: Identities & Social Groups: Queer Theory Ugena Whitlock – T/TH Hybrid Course – 5:00 – 8:45 p.m. (6 week session)

What is Queer Theory? It is disruptive. Queer Theory refutes and destabilizes notions of essential, normative sexuality and gender. Queer Theory suggests that sexuality and gender are fluid, unstable and incoherent. Queer Theory represents the convergence of postmodern critical theory and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cultural studies. Queer Theory embraces the position of the “queer” as offering a powerful vantage point from which to critique common (mis) perceptions concerning the place of gender and sexuality across the full range of social relations and institutions as well as cultural discourses and practices within which we participate throughout the course of our everyday lives. Queer Theory is playful and fun! Queer Theory and Sexuality is an interdisciplinary course that considers the global emergence and significance of theories and practices that 1) refute and destabilize the notion of an essential, normative sexuality and gender and 2) suggest that sexuality is fluid and varied and is constructed by social, political, and economic factors. The course explores a range of topics that might broadly be identified as: 1) practices, identities, and communities; 2) the cultural construction of gender and sexuality; 3) sexual citizenship and the nation-state. This course may be repeated for credit provided the content differs entirely from the previous offering.

AMST 7500: PRACTICUM (Internship or Applied Research Project) Rebecca Hill, Prerequisite: AMST 7000 and AMST 7100 This course requires students to apply American Studies knowledge, concepts and theory to practical issues, non-academic environments or to new research questions. The Practicum fosters the ability to: 1.Read and think critically while using diverse methods to study American cultural products and practices, 2.Communicate effective analysis of American culture both orally and in writing; and 3.Analyze and critique relationships between cultural products and social values. The practicum may be offered as an internship; applied research project; teaching practicum; or other applied experience as approved by the MAST Program Director. For more information on AMST 7500 options, see the AMST 7500 Handbook.

AMST 7900: Capstone Experience (1-6 hours Credit Hours) Rebecca Hill, Permission of the Director Required. The Capstone Experience consists of a major research project or a project using interdisciplinary methods from American Studies to investigate questions consistent with the program’s mission and the student’s professional goals. Students work with faculty advisors to develop a proposal, carry out research related to their topic or project aims, and complete a product drawing on the content of program courses and integrating it with new, individualized study.

NOTE: There are also several Global Study Abroad Opportunities available in Summer 2012.