|
Skip to a Specific Term's Descriptions:
|
|
|
|
This page was created at 2:41 PM on
Mon, Aug 14, 2000.
Spring Half-Term Courses
Take me to the Spring
Half-Term '00 Time Schedule for American Culture.
To see what has been added or changed in American Culture
this week go to What's
New This Week.
Search the LS&A Spring Half-Term Course
Guide
(Advanced Search Page)
Unless otherwise stated, the permission required for the repetition
for credit of specifically designated courses is that of the
student's concentration or BGS advisor.
Amer. Cult. 201. American
Values.
Section 101.
Instructor(s): Kristin Hass (kah@umich.edu)
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (HU).
Credits: (4; 3 in the half-term).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
This course is designed to explore a set of linked but distinct
core "American Values," those ideas that have acted
as foundational notions and that continue to be reflected in
emergent ideas of what "America" and "Americans"
are about. It does this by examining the various ways Americans
of different races, ethnicities, classes, genders, and religions,
living in different time periods and regions, and under specific
historical conditions, have formulated, understood, championed,
transformed, and contested these values. Drawing on interdisciplinary
sources and methods and framed by multicultural and feminist
theoretical approaches, the course will offer students the opportunities
to explore their own relationships to these historically-core
American values and will encourage them to articulate their own
understandings of them through a variety of in-class and take-home
group and individual assignments. As a 200-level survey, it is
intended to offer students a broad-based understanding of the
place of these core values in American society and to help them
understand historical relationships between them, rather than
focusing in depth on any one set of values, only one time period,
or only one approach. The materials for the course encompass
a wide range of primary and secondary sources from every period
in American history and from across a number of textual, visual,
and audio genres.
Amer. Cult. 206. Themes
in American Culture.
Section 101 – The Cultural Politics of Play: Leisure
in American Culture.
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS).
Laboratory fee required. May be repeated for credit with permission
of concentration advisor.
Credits: (3).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
What do you and your friends do for fun? How do you spend
your free time? Is recreation just play, or does it tell us more
about the society and culture in which we live? In this course
we will critically examine historical and contemporary leisure
sites and practices, including sports, tourism, fairs, television,
video games, movies, amusement parks, malls, and museums. We
will explore the ways in which American leisure practices have
stayed the same and changed throughout the twentieth century.
We will consider the social and political consequences of leisure
experiences, and to this end, we will think about how participating
in particular leisure activities teaches us certain cultural
lessons on a variety of topics, including how to be a "proper"
citizen, man, woman, or worker. The course reading list is interdisciplinary,
drawing from cultural history, anthropology, and communication
studies, and we will primarily deploy a cultural studies framework
to guide our inquiry. This means that we will, first, pay particular
attention to issues of race, class, and gender as they intersect
with cultural practices. Second, it means we will think about
how certain leisure activities serve as a means of maintaining
or legitimating power differences as well as how they might serve
as a means of contesting or challenging those power differences.
At least one field trip-to Henry Ford Museum-is scheduled and,
depending upon time and budgetary constraints, we may also be
able to "research" other leisure activities as a class
throughout the term. Required texts will include John Kasson,
Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century;
Kathy Peiss, Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure
in Turn-of-the-Century New York; Justine Cassell and Henry
Jenkins, From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer
Games; Susan Davis, Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture
and the Sea World Experience; and a course pack of articles.
Course assignments include a midterm, final, and quizzes. This
is a combination lecture and discussion class, so students will
also be graded on attendance and participation.
Amer. Cult. 206. Themes
in American Culture.
Section 102 – Detroit – The Engine of the American
Dream.
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS).
Laboratory fee required. May be repeated for credit with permission
of concentration advisor.
Credits: (3).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Never the financial, political, or artistic capital of the
U.S., Detroit has become the Rodney Dangerfield of American cities
– ever struggling, ever discounted. But as the Motor City,
the automobile capital of the world, Detroit and its central
industry have changed the world in ways far beyond what Henry
Ford and his competitors could have envisioned at the beginning
of the 20th century. From the start, the manufacture, marketing
and mass ownership of the automobile have depended on and reinforced
three major American ideals: individualism, consumerism, and
their corollary, continual self-invention. In this half-semester
seminar, we will examine a few of the ways by which the automobile
has transformed American society, from suburban sprawl and central
city decline to the automotive fantasies of advertising, movies,
and popular music, keeping Detroit as the constant point of reference.
Course material will include readings in history, journalism,
urban and cultural studies, fiction and poetry, and the movies
and music of the road. In addition to a course pack, required
texts may include a book or two, perhaps AfterCulture by
Jerry Herron, and Redevelopment and Race by June Manning
Thomas; reading requirements will average 60 pages per week.
The class will also make at least one non-traditional tour of
the city, hence the lab fee. Students will keep a weekly journal
of assigned topics (e.g., an automotive autobiography),
take a mid-term exam, and write several short response papers.
Amer. Cult. 214. Introduction
to Asian American Studies – Social Science.
Section 101 – Asian Americans in Popular Culture.
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS).
(R&E).
Credits: (3).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Enter the Dragon. Mississippi Masala. Wu Tang Clan. The
Cheat. How have media images of Asians and Asian Americans
changed over the last century? This course focuses on popular
representations by and about Asian Americans in film, television,
advertisements, magazines, news coverage and music. Looking at
an eclectic set of materials ranging from kung fu films to sports
figures, this course looks at the construction of Asian American
identities through the media and the impact of popular images
of Asia on American culture. By exploring a number of key themes,
the course will examine how stereotypes are reinforced and/or
resisted in different media sites. The course will also engage
several broader questions: What role does popular culture play
in mediating racial identities? What is the relationship between
popular culture and politics? What links can be made between
media portrayals of Asian Americans and other U.S. minority groups?
Themes the class will engage include the influence of martial
arts and Hong Kong imagery, differences between mainstream and
alternative media, Hong Kong imagery, differences between mainstream
and alternative media, racial representation in advertising,
the model minority myth, interethnic representations, and war-time
images. We will be investigating films such as Enter the
Dragon, Yellow, Mississippi Masala, Rush Hour and The
Cheat; music by Wu Tang Clan, Foxy Brown, the Mountain Brothers
and others; documentaries such as History and Memory, I'm
on a Mission from Buddha and The Bhangra Wrap; selections
from alternative presses such as Yolk, A. Magazine, and
Flip; and articles from leading media scholars. Class
time will be divided between lecture, discussion, and the viewing
of films, documentaries and visual images. Students need not
have a background in media or ethnic studies.
Amer. Cult. 301. Topics
in American Culture.
Section 101 – Bodies in Science Fiction & Popular
Culture 1950-2050: The Future of the Human. (3 credits). Meets
with History of Art 394.102.
Instructor(s): Sandra Seekins
Prerequisites & Distribution: (1-3).
(Excl). Laboratory fee required. May be repeated for credit with
permission.
Credits: (1-3).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
See
History of Art 394.012.
Amer. Cult. 301. Topics
in American Culture.
Section 102 – Migrant Workers. (2 credits). Spring
Term Enrollment Required for Participation. Meets with American
Culture 601.101, RC 205, 305, 405.025. Must Have Knowledge of
Spanish or P/I.
Instructor(s): Maria Rodriguez (mrodri@umich.edu)
Prerequisites & Distribution: (1-3).
(Excl). Laboratory fee required. May be repeated for credit with
permission.
Credits: (1-3).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
This course provides a unique opportunity for students to
explore the issues affecting the migrant community and to experience
the reality of life in a linguistic and ethnic minority setting.
It will enhance student understanding of the lives of migrant
farmworkers and their families, with an emphasis on health issues,
as well as cultural and community strengths. The subject matter
will be approached interactively as students read, discuss and
listen to invited speakers during the seminars.
Amer. Cult. 309. Learning
through Community Practice.
Section 101 – Practicum in the Multicultural Community.
Meets with Psych. 305.101. (3 credits).
Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission
of instructor. (1-4). (Excl). (EXPERIENTIAL).
Credits: (1-4).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
This course is an experiential field course involving two
visits per week to an African-American, Arab-American, or Latino
community in Detroit. Students will be assigned to work with
community-based organizations on projects to improve the well
being of children and families. Projects involve such activities
as tutoring, developing outreach activities, assisting in child
care settings, and working in community education projects. Internships
will be supervised by the instructor and program staff. Transportation
will be provided. Students will also attend a seminar meeting
once a week to integrate theory with practice.
Amer. Cult. 309. Learning
through Community Practice.
Section 102 – Working with Women in Prison and their
Children. (3-4 Credits?). Meets with Psychology 305.103.
Instructor(s): Christina Jose-Kampfner (carino@umich.edu)
Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission
of instructor. (1-4). (Excl). (EXPERIENTIAL).
Credits: (1-4).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
See
Psychology 305.103.
Amer. Cult. 340/CAAS 340.
A History of Blacks in American Film.
Section 101 – The African American Cinematic Experience.
Instructor(s): Melba Boyd
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (Excl).
Laboratory fee ($15) required.
Credits: (3).
Lab Fee: Laboratory fee ($15) required.
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
See
Afroamerican and African Studies 340.101.
Amer. Cult. 342/Hist. 368/WS
360. History of the Family in the U.S.
Section 101.
Instructor(s): Regina Morantz-Sanchez (reginann@umich.edu)
Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS).
Credits: (4; 3 in the half-term).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
See
History 368.101.
Amer. Cult. 383. Junior
Honors Reading and Thesis.
Instructor(s):
Prerequisites & Distribution: Junior
standing and grade point average of at least 3.0. (2). (Excl).
(INDEPENDENT).
Credits: (3; 2 in the half-term).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Reading of selected works on American Culture. Conferences,
written reports, and term papers.
Amer. Cult. 388. Field
Study.
Instructor(s):
Prerequisites & Distribution: Sophomore
standing. (1-4). (Excl). Offered mandatory credit/no credit.
(EXPERIENTIAL). May be repeated for credit with permission.
Credits: (1-4).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Field experience in organizations, institutions, and service
agencies under such University of Michigan programs as the Washington
and New York Internship Program and Project Community. Students
must make individual arrangements with these programs.
Amer. Cult. 389. Reading
Course in American Culture.
Instructor(s):
Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission
of instructor. (1-4). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated
for credit with permission.
Credits: (1-4).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
An independent study course available to undergraduates who
are interested in designing a reading list for the purpose of
exploring new areas in the field of American studies. Each student
makes individual arrangements with a faculty member in the student's
area of interest.
Amer. Cult. 493. Honors
Readings and Thesis.
Instructor(s):
Prerequisites & Distribution: Senior
standing and a grade point average of at least 3.5 in Honors
concentration. (1-3). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated
for a total of six credits.
Credits: (1-3).
Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.
Independent interdisciplinary study supervised by two or more
tutors leading to an original paper. This is a two-term course
with 3 hours of credit each term; a grade is not posted until
the end of the second term.
Spring/Summer Term Courses
Take me to the Spring/Summer
Term '00 Time Schedule for American Culture.
|