Upcoming Courses

Spring 2025

Please connect with Stephen Brauer, American Studies Coordinator, or other AMST faculty for specifics about upcoming courses. 

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  • AMST 201 Introduction to American Studies

    TR 1:30-2:45 pm, Brauer

    What does it mean to be American? This course addresses this central question through an examination of U.S. culture and society. It introduces key concepts such as individualism, community, citizenship, and identity.
  • AMST 381 Richmond Stories at Historic Black Cemeteries

    W 3-5:30, Palmer

    This community-based learning course will examine how conventional history was fashioned in part by distorting and excluding African American stories and how we can reclaim some of these through the sustained study of historic Black cemeteries. We’ll look at parallel narratives of Richmond life, the one produced by white newspapers such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and another created by the Richmond Planet. Examination of primary sources, from headstones to death certificates, as well as interviews with descendants, will help us challenge conventional history and build a truer and more inclusive narrative.
  • AMST 391 Fossil Fueled

    TR Noon-1:15 pm, Sackley

    This course examines how the United States became dependent on coal and oil and the ways in which that dependence has impacted the environment, social movements, geopolitics, and everyday life since the early 19th century.  We will also explore representations of "carbon culture" in film and media. From the cult of the automobile to US interventions in the Middle East, this is a story about power, empire, and hegemonic culture. But, it also about resistance--from the “coal wars” of the 20th century to the pipeline and anti-fracking protests of today. 
  • AMST 391 Borders & Migration

    TR Noon-1:15 pm, Dorsey

    This experiential learning course looks at borders and the migration experience from a comparative ethnographic perspective.  More specifically, we will focus on the poles of intimacy and violence as they are mediated through sex, class, and technologies of surveillance.
  • AMST 398 Data and Society

    3 Sections:  MW 9-10:15, Noon-1:15 or 3:00-4:15 pm, Ogden


    This course will introduce you to thinking deeply and critically about how we create, apply, and analyze data, as well as how these processes affect our daily lives, and even how data affect society at large.  In this course, we will develop our analytical abilities to identify and assess data and its social impact.
  • Electives

    To view a complete list of electives, click here. You should see detailed document with course information and any prerequisites noted.

  • AMST 388 AMST Internships

    Internships for 0.5 or 1.0 unit credits are possible.  Please confer with Stephen Brauer, AMST Program Coordinator, for details. 

  • AMST 399 AMST Independent Study
    An Independent Study for 0.5 or 1.0 unit credits is possible.  Please confer with Stephen Brauer, AMST Program Coordinator, for details.