American Studies Descriptions
Errata
| item | Errata | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Honours units: the unit AMST4111 American Studies: Theory and Practice 12 cp has been replaced with the unit AMST4115 American Studies: Theory and Practice 6 cp. Honours students need to enrol in AMST4115. | 8/1/2018 |
American Studies
Major
A major in American Studies requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 6 credit points of 2000-level core units
(iii) 6 credit points of 2000-level selective units
(iv) 6 credit points of 3000-level core units
(v) 12 credit points of 3000-level selective units
(vi) 6 credit points of 3000-level Interdisciplinary Project units
Minor
A minor in American Studies requires 36 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 6 credit points of 2000-level core units
(iii) 6 credit points of 2000-level selective units
(iv) 6 credit points 3000-level core units
(v) 6 credit points 3000-level selective units
1000 level units of study
AMST1001 Global America
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Assessment: 2x1000wd essays (2x30%), tutorial participation (10%) and 1x1.5 hr exam (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Students intending to do a major in American Studies must complete AMST1001 and either HSTY1023 or HSTY1076
Why does America have so much influence globally? What is the nature of this influence? And what are the consequences of this influence? What are the nature and consequences of the influence of the rest of the world on America? Why given America¿s global influence, and globalisation in general, does America remain such an insular society? This unit takes an interdisciplinary approach to these questions with a focus primarily on the United States in the 21st century.
HSTY1023 Emerging Giant: The Making of America
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prohibitions: HSTY2634 Assessment: 1x500wd document assignment (15%) and 1x2000wd research paper (40%) and 1x2000wd exam (35%) and tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Touching down on the shores of the 'New World', the first European colonists imagined the creation of an earthly paradise. But their mission soon floundered in the face of internal dissenters and alien cultures pursuing their own ideals. Fierce clashes between regions, races, social groups and other nations have marked American history ever since. Exploring the origins and outcomes of these contests from first settlement onward, this unit charts America's emergence onto the world scene in the nineteenth century.
USSC1201 America and Australia: the issues compared
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Assessment: 1x 500wd Tutorial reflection exercise (10%), 1x 2hr Exam (40%), 2x 2000wd Comparison essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit we explore major American social issues by comparing them with similar issues in Australia. What makes America different? How do personal rights, from gun rights to LGBTI rights, work differently in the two countries? What differences and similarities exist on issues like race and mass incarceration? How much do we either exaggerate or downplay political differences between the United States and ourselves?
2000 level units of study
Core
AMST2601 American Foundations
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lectures/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: AMST1001 and (HSTY1076 or HSTY1023) Assessment: 3x1500wd essays (3x30%) and tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit introduces students to the contradictory richness of 'Americanness' from an interdisciplinary standpoint and prepares them for the Major in American Studies. It is divided into different modules, each addressing a core national myth. We will approach each module from a variety of angles: historiographical, literary and visual, opening lines of interrelation between historical and imaginary forms in the construction and ongoing redefinition of the United States.
AMST2701 American Dreams
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in American studies Assessment: 1x 1500 wds Reading Response (30%), 1x 10 min In-class presentation (15%), 1x 2000 wds Research Essay (40%), x Tutorial Participation notes (15%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit introduces students to the complex richness of 'Americanness' and prepares them for the Major in American Studies. Divided into historically grounded modules (Race; Religion; Gender; Politics; Region), the unit will approach each from a variety of angles: the historiographical, the literary, the cultural, the political, the cinematic. It will open lines of interrelation between historical and imaginary forms in the construction and ongoing redefinition of the United States.
Selective
AMST2606 Stand Up USA: American Comedy and Humour
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: AMST1001 and (HSTY1076 or HSTY1023) Assessment: 1x500wd Essay Proposal (20%), 1x2500wd Research Essay (40%), 1x1500wd Take-home Exercise (30%), Tutorial Participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle, this unit charts comedy's discussions of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and of party and identity politics in the form of parody and satire. Influenced by ethnic, minority, and working-class cultures, comedy challenged and transformed existing norms of American family and institutions, and American identity, sex, and gender. Through forms such as literature, television, stand-up, cinema, and new media, students will learn that comedy provided a space for resistance, profit, and community.
USSC2601 US in the World
Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive June,Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x500 word reaction paper (15%); 1x midterm exam (30%); 1x 2500 word policy report (40%); participation (15%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study introduces students to the key global transformations of the contemporary era, focusing on the role of the United States amid the challenges posed by: globalisation, free trade, the rise of Islamic extremism, nuclear proliferation, and the emergence of China and India as world powers. The unit is designed to give students the ability to look behind today's news headlines to understand the underlying forces driving them, particularly the behaviour and views of key policy makers and opinion leaders.
USSC2602 US Politics: Elections, Presidents, Laws
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x2000-2500wd major paper (45%), 1x2hr exam (45%) and participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit introduces students to US political institutions and political culture. The unit will examine the electoral system and recent presidential elections as well as presidencies from 1960 onwards. It will explore US public policies in the area of race, welfare, and criminal justice and analyse how policy ideas and proposals come into law. It will also introduce the dominant ideologies in US politics. By the end of the unit students will have a comprehensive understanding of American Domestic politics.
USSC2603 Americanism and Anti-Americanism
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x1000wd essay (30%), 1x1hr exam (20%), 1x2500wd learning journal (40%), participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The United States is regarded by many as an exceptional nation, a haven from the ¿Old World¿ constituted by ideals of liberty and democracy. Others see America as an oppressive state with a militaristic foreign policy. This unit explores the origins and development of negative and positive opinions of America around the world, and from within. It undertakes a critical analysis of American politics and foreign relations, taking the perspectives of individuals and publics. We consider a range of concrete historical and contemporary responses to the U.S., its politics, foreign policies and culture, drawing widely on historical, cultural and policy sources.
USSC2604 Sex, Race and Rock in the USA
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 junior credit points from one of the following subject area; American Studies, Anthropology, Music, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, English, European Studies, Government and International Relations, History, International and Global Studies, Media and Communications, Performance Studies, Philosophy, Political Economy or Sociology Prohibitions: HSTY2057 Assessment: Annotated bibliography (500wds) (15%) research paper proposal (1000wds) (25%) research paper (2500wds) (40%) group presentation (500wds) (10%) Class participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit explores the cultural history of and intersections between sexuality, race and rock music in the United States from Elvis to Beyonce. Influenced by black and working-class cultures, and with sexuality embedded in its form and practice, rock music challenged and transformed existing norms of family, sex and gender. Through subjects including bwomen of colour, glam rock, disco and hip hop, students will learn that rock music provided a realm for rebellion, freedom, community and profit and has transformed the United States..
USSC2605 US Studies Internship
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Minimum 140 working hours, with academic supervision (small group, face-to-face meetings with USSC staff every 2-4 weeks, dependent on actual internship hours and type of placement) Prerequisites: At least one of USSC2601, USSC2602, USSC2603, USSC2604 or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x2500wd research essay (50%), 1x1500wd reflective journal (40%), 1x500wd oral (10%) Mode of delivery: Professional practice
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: US citizens cannot be placed in an US Consulate General internship.
This unit will be taken by students accepted into the United States Studies Centre's internship program. Students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world problems through a unique internship placement in an American-based or affiliated business, government or non-government organisation located in Australia or the US. The unit provides academic support for students to discuss and refine research approaches and questions about issues arising from the placement. Assessment includes a reflective journal and research essay, based on the internship experience.
ARHT2614 Pollock to Psychedelia
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (ARHT1001 and ARHT1002) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Assessment: 1x1500wd Artworks review (40%), 1x3000wd Essay (60%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit studies the interplay between high art and popular culture in America from the 1950s onwards. Pop Art, Minimalism and Performance formed alongside emerging youth cultures of political protest, drugs and rock music. We examine the interactions of high art, youth culture and mass media.
ARHT2657 Contemporary Hollywood
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (ARHT1001 and ARHT1002) or (18 Junior credit points including ENGL1011) or ((AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Prohibitions: ARHT2057 Assessment: 1x3000wd Research essay (60%) 1x1500wd review Essay (30%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study will investigate the last two decades of the cinema of the USA, including Hollywood. Students will be introduced to the work of a number of established and emerging American filmmakers, to the work of a number of important film critics, and to issues concerning the theory and practice of film criticism. Critical and analytical focus will centre on the changing relation of subjectivity and time in independent cinema. Films that explore questions of subjectivity and that experiment with narrative structure will be featured.
ENGL2603 Imagining America
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (12 Junior credit points from English) or (6 Junior credit points from English and AMST1001) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1076 or HSTY1023)) Prohibitions: ENGL2003 Assessment: 1x500wd Oral Presentation (10%), 1x2000wd Essay (50%), 1x1500wd Take-home exercise (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This course takes as its point of departure the notion of America as fashioned by diverse and even conflicting acts of imagination. Beginning with writers in the mid-19th century and working our way to more recent imaginings of filmmakers and songwriters, we will examine the various ways in which visions of America have been put in play in the national consciousness in prose, poetry, song and film, to construct and to challenge the 'imagined community' of the United States.
ENGL2617 Postmodernism
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hour lectures Prerequisites: 12 Junior credit points in English or 6 Junior credit points in English and AMST1001 or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1076 or HSTY1023)) or 18 Junior credit points including ENGL1011 Prohibitions: ENGL2017 Assessment: 1x1500wd Essay (40%), 1x2000wd Take-home exercise (40%), 1x500wd equivalent Tutorial presentation (10%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What was postmodernism? This unit will explore the most interesting and innovative theoretical, literary and multimedia texts of the last half century to think about what aesthetic texts brought to arguments about politics, identity, truth and knowledge. We will examine the relationship between modernism and postmodernism, movements, communities and subcultures, experimentalism and activism, popular and high culture, and the rise of identity politics, the 'culture wars,' and queer theory.
ENGL2660 Reading the Nation: American Literature
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ((12 junior credit points from English) or (6 junior credit points from English and AMST1001)) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Assessment: 1x2000wd essay (45%), 1x500wd class exercise (15%), 1x1500wd take-home exercise (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit, we study a variety of American literary and visual texts to consider what it means to read "nationally". We first examine the rise of literary nationalism to look then at the ways in which exigencies of empire, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexuality, for example, have exerted pressure on the fantasy of a cohesive national culture. We will also consider the transnational turn of recent decades to understand the nation's function in a global context.
ENGL2664 Transpacific American Literature
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ((12 junior credit points from English) or (6 junior credit points from English and AMST1001)) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076) and (ENGL2617 or ENGL2660)) Assessment: 1x2hr exam (30%), 1x500wd presentation (10%), 1x1500wd essay (25%), 1x2000wd research essay (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study will consider ways in which American Literature has engaged with the opening up of Pacific space. Questions to be considered will be the nature of westward expansion, the opening up of California and it's engagement with Mexico, the relation of native peoples to U.S. Nationhood both on the mainland and Pacific Islands, and the legacy of World War Two. A representative range of poets and prose writers will be studied.
GOVT2445 American Politics and Foreign Policy
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 Junior credit points in Government and International Relations) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Prohibitions: GOVT2405 Assessment: 1x2000wd Essay (40%), 10x30wd tutorial quizzes (10%), 1x2hr exam (40%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will be an overview of the American political system and the formulation of foreign policy. It will cover the major Federal political institutions: the Presidency, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. The unit will consider how foreign policy is made through the interaction of these institutions and with other elements of civil society. Finally, it will examine the outcome of this process - US foreign policy itself - with special emphasis on the post-Cold War period. We will seek to answer two key questions: (a) what is the influence of domestic politics on US foreign policy; and (b) how does the US system cope with the apparent contradictions between its ideals and the imperatives of global power?
GCST2605 Representing Race and Gender
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Gender Studies or Cultural Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, ENGL1008, ENGL1026, PHIL1011 or PHIL1013 Assessment: Tutorial participation (10%), 1x500wd group presentation (15%), 1x400wd journal (15%), 1x1000wd midterm Essay (25%), 1x2200wd final Research essay (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit introduces students to cultural theories about race and ethnicity and uses these theories to examine representations of racial minorities across a range of media such as film, literature and performance within multiple national contexts. In particular, it interrogates the relationship between these representations and those of gender and sexuality. In so doing, it provides a complex understanding of how 'race' and 'gender' as institutional forces and lived experiences help shape perceptions of ourselves and others.
GCST2607 Bodies, Sexualities, Identities
Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive July,Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Junior credit points in Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, ENGL1008, ENGL1026, PHIL1011 or PHIL1013 Prohibitions: WMST2007 Assessment: Tutorial participation and exercises (10%), 1x1500wd Essay (40%), 1x2500wd Essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit of study we will examine the ways in which feminist and other cultural theories have used bodies and sexualities in order to theorise difference and identity. The body and sexuality have been shown to be a major site for the operation of power in our society. We will look at how bodies and sexualities have given rise to critical understandings of identity. The unit of study will be devoted to working through some of the major theories of sexuality and embodiment, and the analysis of cultural practices.
GCST2612 Youth and Youth Culture
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2,Summer Main Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Gender Studies, Cultural Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, ENGL1008, ENGL1026, PHIL1011 or PHIL1013 or 12 Senior credit points in Digital Cultures Prohibitions: WMST2012 Assessment: 1x500wd close reading exercise (10%), 1x1500wd Short Essay (30%), 1x2500wd Take-home Exercise (50%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit examines academic, public and popular ideas about youth and practices of youth culture. It will introduce students to some of the current parameters for studying the experience of youth and youth cultural forms and practices. We will pay particular attention to the ways young lives are gendered and the role gender plays in the institutions and other contexts in which young people live. Other points of focus include changing conceptions of youth, relationships between policy and youth, images of youth and youth culture, and discourses on (im)maturity, training, and identity.
GCST2630 Consumer Cultures
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2,Summer Main Classes: 1x1.5hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Gender Studies or Cultural Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, ENGL1008, ENGL1026, PHIL1011 or PHIL1013 or 12 senior credit points in Digital Cultures Prohibitions: GCST3603 Assessment: 2x500wd journal exercise (25%), 1x1500wd critical analysis (30%), 1x500wd final project outline (10%), 1x2000wd final project (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Consumerism is a contradictory cultural formation. It is a source of meaning, pleasure and identity, but also a cause of environmental degradation, social injustice and, for some, individual alienation. This unit sets out some of the ethical, environmental and social problems associated with consumerism, and examines in detail some of the creative, ingenious and determined responses to these problems.
GOVT2445 American Politics and Foreign Policy
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 Junior credit points in Government and International Relations) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Prohibitions: GOVT2405 Assessment: 1x2000wd Essay (40%), 10x30wd tutorial quizzes (10%), 1x2hr exam (40%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will be an overview of the American political system and the formulation of foreign policy. It will cover the major Federal political institutions: the Presidency, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. The unit will consider how foreign policy is made through the interaction of these institutions and with other elements of civil society. Finally, it will examine the outcome of this process - US foreign policy itself - with special emphasis on the post-Cold War period. We will seek to answer two key questions: (a) what is the influence of domestic politics on US foreign policy; and (b) how does the US system cope with the apparent contradictions between its ideals and the imperatives of global power?
HSTY2609 African-American History and Culture
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Summer Main Classes: 2x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 junior credit points of History or Ancient History Assessment: 1x500wd Essay Proposal and Bibliography (10%), 1x2500wd Research essay (45%), 1x1.5hr Exam (35%), Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
From fashion, food, and music, to speech patterns and protest methods, African-American culture has had a profound effect both on America and the wider world. In this unit, we survey race relations after the end of slavery, focusing on the emergence of black communities across the North and South; the spread of black music, literature, and film; the history of the civil rights and black power movements, and the role of race in the contemporary America.
HSTY2611 America in World Affairs: A History
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 junior credit points of History, Ancient History or Asian Studies Assessment: 1x3000wd essay (60%), 1x1500wd historiography assignment (30%) and tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study examines the ideas and ideological assumptions that have shaped America's approach to the world from the Revolution until the presidency of Barack Obama. It explores how the leading politicians and policymakers in Washington have projected power overseas, and how their decisions have played out in the public sphere. Key topics include: isolationism and internationalism; Communism and the Cold War; the challenge of unipolarity; terrorism; and the underlying historical forces shaping US policy, especially American national mythology.
HSTY2656 A House Divided: The American Civil War
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Frances Clarke Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 junior credit points in Ancient History or Asian Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Prohibitions: HSTY2056 Assessment: 1x500wd essay proposal (10%) and 1x2000wd research essay (40%) and 1x2000wd take-home exam (35%) and tutorial participation (15%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The Civil War had momentous consequences for America - realigning the nation's political culture, ending slavery and forever transforming millions of lives. This unit analyses the social, cultural and political history of the Civil War and Reconstruction. We begin by looking at combat experience, civilian mobilization and state formation, the war's effects on gender and race relations and the causes for Reconstruction's failure, and we end by focusing on how and why this war continues to resonate in American culture.
HSTY2666 American Revolutions
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Michael McDonnell Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1 hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 junior credit points in History or 12 junior credit points in Ancient History) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Prohibitions: HSTY2066 Assessment: 1x500wd tutorial paper (15%) and 1x3000wd research paper (45%) and 1x1000wd take-home exercise (30%) and tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will explore the series of rebellions, wars, independence movements and revolutions that rocked the Atlantic World between 1750 and 1825. Though we will focus on the American Revolution in particular, we will put that event in a larger Atlantic context, from the Native American resistance movements of the 1750s and 1760s, through to the Spanish American independence movements of the early nineteenth century. We will also explore connections with the Haitian and French Revolutions and slave rebellions more generally.
HSTY2670 Black Manhattan
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1hr lectures/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 junior credit points in Ancient History or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) or 12 credit points at 1000 level in History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x500wd essay outline (10%), 1x500wd essay biblography (10%), 1x2500wd essay (50%), 1x1000wd take-home exercise (20%), tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In the twentieth century Harlem was the black metropolis, the black capital of the world. This unit will explore the history of African Americans in New York City, from its beginnings as a Dutch settlement down to today. We will look at the people, images and events that defined Black Manhattan, paying particular attention to everyday life in Harlem in the twentieth century.
HSTY2671 Law and Order in Modern America
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1hr lectures/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 Junior credit points of History or Ancient History) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Assessment: 1x1000wd tutorial paper (20%), 1x250wd Essay bibliography (5%), 1x250wd Essay outline (5%), 1x2000wd Essay (40%), 1x1hr exam (20%) and Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit explores crime in the United States from Civil War to the present. It begins by examining historical approaches to crime, using murder as a case study. We look at the development of the criminal justice system, focusing on the police, the FBI, and extra-legal justice and lynching, and explore specific crimes: morals offenses; sex crimes; white-collar crime; and organized crime. Our focus is on the changing incidence, definitions and representation of crime in modern American culture and society.
HSTY2687 Alliance Anxiety: Australia-USA-Asia
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 junior credit points of History or 12 junior credit points of Ancient History) or (AMST1001 and (HSTY1023 or HSTY1076)) Assessment: 1x1000wd historiographical debate (20%), 1x250wd essay bibliography (5%), 1x250wd essay outline (5%), 1x2000wd essay (40%), 1x1hr exam (20%) and tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit examines the history of Australian-American relations in the Asia-Pacific from the early twentieth century to today. Topics covered include the respective US and Australian approaches to the region and the world, the creation of ANZUS, the West New Guinea crisis, Vietnam, and the recognition of China. Among other questions, the unit asks whether the alliance relationship has been one of simple subservience, or whether politicians and policymakers have tried to use the alliance to further Australia's own national interests.
HSTY2702 Gender and Medicine in Modern America
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies Prohibitions: HSTY2619, HSTY2697 Assessment: 1x 1.5 hours final exam (35%), 1x 500 wds essay proposal (10%), x tutorial participation (10%), 1x 2500 wds research essay (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit explores the evolution of scientific and popular ideas of female and male bodies and minds in modern America. It addresses questions such as: How did the sex binary develop? In what ways do social norms about gender inform medical understandings of health and disease? How has the female body in particular been medicalised and regulated?
MUSC2654 Popular Music
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: A/Prof Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2 hrs/week Assessment: Two critical analyses 1,000 words each (20% each); tutorial test 1000 words (20%); major essay 3,000 words (30%); class participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
How did early American blues and country music develop in tandem? How was punk different in the US, the UK and Australia? What are the origins of the DJ culture? This unit of study presents a thematic overview of a wide variety of styles, movements and spectacles. It examines major genres of popular music, their stylistic features and historical antecedents as well as modes of reception and the role of popular music in everyday life. No formal music training is necessary.
MUSC2666 Global Sound: Drum and Bass, Rhythm and Soul
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Charles Fairchild Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1 hr lecture, 1 hr tut/week Prerequisites: 18 junior credit points. Prohibitions: SSCP1002 Assessment: Critical Interpretation, 1500 words (20%), Musical analysis, 1500 words (20%), Final Project 3,000 words (30%), Participation (10%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
How did the music of enslaved and marginalised people eventually become a dominant force in contemporary popular culture? This unit will examine the local reinvention of a wide variety of African American music in communities around the world. From soul and funk in West Africa to ska and reggae in the Caribbean, we will examine how music moves around the world and within local communities to make new forms of meaning.
3000 level units of study
Core
AMST3601 American Perspectives
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week and 1x2hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Senior Credit Points of AMST including AMST2601 or 12 credit points at 2000 level in American Studies Assessment: 2x 200wd Online reading response (20%) and Essay 900wd proposal with annotated bibliography (20%) 3000wd Research Essay (50%) and Tutorial Participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This capstone unit will discuss key texts from Politics, History, English, Film Studies, and Music to critically examine the ways the United States has been idealised as exceptional - as democracy, utopia, and empire. Students will study works ranging from de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to the film Birth of a Nation with the aim of developing a critical appreciation of both classic and contemporary debates about American society. The unit will conclude with a discussion of the ways American Studies as a field deals with these long standing debates in innovative and challenging ways.
Selective
USSC3703 US Studies Internship
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 2x1hr one on one meeting with Internship Co-coordinator throughout semester, 2 days per week practical workplace placement Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x 1000 Research Project Proposal (30%), 1x 500 wd equivalent Presentation (20%), 1x 3000 wds Research Project Paper (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world problems through an internship in an American-based or affiliated business, government, or non-government organisation located in Australia or the US. Assessment includes a research project with proposal, essay and presentation tied to the internship experience.
USSC3601 Public Opinion and Voting in the U.S.
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2 hr lecture/week and 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (12 Senior credit points and USSC2602 )or 12 credit points at 2000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x2000wd research essay (30%), 1x1hr mid-term exam (40%), 1x1000wd research proposal (10%), 1x500wd project presentation (10%), tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit explores political beliefs and behaviour in the United States. Using survey studies, we explore what Americans know and believe about politics, how their attitudes are formed, and how and why they vote. We look at voting patterns in recent elections and examine how these have been affected by attitudes towards race and party identification.
ENGL3609 Mapping American Literature
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (18 Senior credit points from English or Australian Literature) or (12 Senior credit points of American Studies including AMST2601) Assessment: 1x1000wd annotated bibliography (30%), 1x2500wd Essay (50%), 1x500wd equivalent Seminar presentation (10%), Seminar participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit, we will map the places and spaces-urban, suburban, regional-of American literature as these are represented in a variety of film and literary texts from the nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. Our study will also include consideration of specific locales-Chicago and Hollywood, for example-that have given rise to important literary movements and cultural forms, as well as consideration of the ideological work that certain regions, such as the South, perform in relation to the nation.
ENGL3616 Reading Contemporary America
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (18 Senior credit points from English or Australian Literature) or (ARHT2656 and 6 credit points from (ARHT2652 or ARHT2653 or ARHT2655 or ARHT2657 or ASNS3616 or ENGL2627 or ENGL2638 or ENGL3604 or FILM2601 or HSTY2608 or ICLS2637 or MUSC2663)) Prohibitions: ENGL2035 or ENGL2635 Assessment: 4x500wd reading response exercise (30%), 1x4000wd research essay (60%), seminar particiaption (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
In this unit we will investigate the most interesting and engaging cultural work done in the US over the last decade, focusing on intellectual and aesthetic cultural engagement with cultural and political diversity. In particular we will be considering: how 'quality' televisions reconfigures the aesthetic ecology, how protests movements (Black Lives Matter, Occupy) affect the aesthetic representation of citizenship, how LGBTIQ concerns are reflected in new and familiar aesthetic domains, and what reading does to your brain.
ENGL3706 African American Literature
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level in Australian literature or 12 credit points at 2000 level in English Studies or 12 credit points at 2000 level in American Studies Assessment: 1x 1000wd Close-reading exercise (30%), 1x 500wd Essay Plan (20%), 1x 3000wd Essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
We examine a range of African American-authored texts, including films, from the 18th century to the present to consider the relationship of race and writing, and the ways African American cultural expression contributes to and interrogates American cultural history. Issues covered include enslavement and freedom, and segregation and Civil Rights.
GOVT3672 American Politics and Foreign Policy
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level in Politics OR International Relations OR American Studies OR Politics and International Relations stream Prohibitions: GOVT2405, GOVT2445 Assessment: 1x 2000wd Research essay (40%), 8x 500wd Reading quizzes (10%), 1x 2hr Final Exam (40%), x Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit provides an overview of the American political system and the formulation of foreign policy. The unit considers how foreign policy is made through the interaction of executive, legislative and judicial branches and with other elements of civil society, with a special emphasis on the post-Cold War period. It seeks to answer: (a) what is the influence of domestic politics on US foreign policy; and (b) how does the US system cope with the apparent contradictions between its ideals and the imperatives of global power?
PHIL3615 Contemporary Pragmatism
This unit of study is not available in 2018
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points in Philosophy Prohibitions: PHIL3015 Assessment: 1x1000wd Tutorial Exercise (20%), 1x1000wd Take-home Exercise (30%), 1x2500wd Essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will explore the distinctive philosophical outlook known as "Pragmatism" which many see as a third way beyond the analytic-continental divide. After a brief survey of classical American Pragmatism (C.S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey) we will consider in depth neo-pragmatism (Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam), linguistic pragmatism (Robert Brandom, Huw Price), and methodological pragmatism (David Macarthur). Key issues will include realism, empiricism, naturalism, scientism, metaphysical quietism, the fact/value distinction, and the agent point of view in philosophy.
Interdisciplinary Project unit of study
FASS3999 Interdisciplinary Impact
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1hr lecture/performance event week for 5 weeks 2hr workshop per week for 10 weeks 2hr online learning modules for 5 weeks Prerequisites: 18 credit points at 2000 level Assessment: 1x 2000 wds equivalent Mapping knowledge exercise (30%), 1x 10 minutes Collaborative Presentation (30%), 1x 2000 wds equivalent Critical reflection essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Interdisciplinarity is a key skill in fostering agility in life and work. This unit provides learning experiences that build students' skills, knowledge and understanding of the application of their disciplinary background to interdisciplinary contexts. In this unit, students will work in teams and develop interdisciplinarity skills through problem-based learning projects responding to 'real world problems'.
Honours
Honours seminar
Honours in American Studies requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 4000-level Honours seminar units
(ii) 36 credit points of 4000-level Honours thesis units
AMST4111 American Studies: Theory and Practice
Credit points: 12 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x 500 wd Essay proposal and annotated bib (15%), 1x 5500 wd Critical Review Essay (75%), Participation and progress reports (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
We will trace the intellectual evolution of American Studies since WWII. Using classic texts we examine key themes (race, gender, sexuality) and concepts (culture, empire, power) that have shaped American Studies, consider major methodological and theoretical frameworks and examine recent developments.
AMST4112 Cultural Capital: Kant to Kardashian
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 X 2hr seminar per week Assessment: 1x 4000wds Research Essay (50%), 1x 750wds Research Proposal (15%), 5x 250wds each Portfolio (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
A cornerstone myth of American Exceptionalism is that the US is a classless society, but the consumption of popular culture is a classed phenomenon. This unit interrogates the principles of American studies by analyzing US pop culture. Part intellectual history of taste, part pop bonanza, it combines the trashiest cultural exploits (B movies, pulp novels, gossip sites) with the most brilliant meditations on cultural value, exploring why people like what they like, and what it says about them.
Honours thesis
AMST4113 American Studies Honours Thesis Part 1
Credit points: 12 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit students begin a substantial, independent research project in American Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the United States Studies Centre Honours Coordinator will guide their progress. Students will develop a plan for researching and writing the thesis, submit an ethics application if appropriate, familiarise yourself with disciplinary conventions and standards, engage with relevant literature, theories and methodologies, and submit drafts at agreed times.
AMST4114 American Studies Honours Thesis Part 2
Credit points: 24 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Assessment: 1x 18-20000 wds Thesis (100%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit students complete and submit their substantial, independent research project in American Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the United States Studies Centre Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. Students will continue to submit drafts at agreed times, and develop their expertise in relevant research methods and analytical skills as well as in the subject matter of their specialist topic.