American Studies 130.01, Spring 2002
American Beliefs and Cultural Values

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this class we shall critically confront the question of what America is and what America represents: “America” as a documented historical and political reality and “America” as an idea, image, or myth.  In doing so we will attempt to track down some of those elusive creatures commonly called “American beliefs” and “American values”; we shall consider them up close and from different angles, as they reveal themselves in facts, expressions and traditions of various kinds. 

That thing which we ordinarily call “America” is an amalgam and a conundrum, with many elements contained inside it.  As many of you are citizens of this nation, which is arguably the most powerful political entity in the history of the planet, you are obliged to confront its claims about itself, the realities of its history as well as its contradictions, and the implications of these for people living both within and outside its borders.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1) To identify and examine central American values and beliefs.
2) To approach American culture from an interdisciplinary perspective.
2) To explore crucial questions or race, class and gender as they are manifested in various documents
3) To write critically and imaginatively about American history and culture

READING AND PARTICIPATION

You are expected to read the material before coming to class, and to actively participate in class discussions.  As students in this class you will be expected to behave as responsible citizens.  In other words, listen before you disagree.  You will periodically be asked to write short reaction papers concerning issues raised in class and to participate in group research projects and internet-based discussion forums.  These assignments will not be graded, but will be counted towards your participation grade.  Details will be given on these assignments as the semester progresses.  Each student will also be required to watch and comment on at least one scheduled film.

PROJECTS

In addition to reaction papers and group work, you will be completing two projects in the course of the semester, a Mythology Project and an Autobiography Project.  These will be discussed in more detail in class:

1) Mythology: Allegorical narratives or stories concerning the collective fate or history of a people, often containing figures of legendary stature and expressing orienting values or beliefs.

In this project, you will be deconstructing a story, a cultural object, or an icon associated with the United States of America, its history or its image, using methods and ideas discussed in class.

2) Autobiography: The act of telling one’s own story, often for purposes of instruction or emulation.

In this project, you will be examining the story of a particular individual or group, in such a manner as to reveal lessons, truths or lies about the American experience.  You will be using other autobiographies (from inside or outside of class) as a model and standard of comparison.  Oral history may also be used as a method.

GRADES

Grades will be based on several factors: your participation in class and regular assignments, your performance on exams, and your completion of two imaginative research projects.  The assignments, which will be made on a near-weekly basis, will ask you to reflect upon American history and your own experience in relation to what you read in the assigned texts.  These will not be graded but will be counted toward your participation grade in the class.  The scale is as follows:

PARTICIPATION (discussion forums, assigned writings, small groups, etc): 25%
Mid-Term Exam: 25%
Mythology Project : 25%
Autobiography Project : 25%

REQUIRED TEXTS

Loewen, James.  Lies My Teacher Told Me.
Blaisdell, Bob. Great Speeches by Native Americans.
Cooper, James Fenimore.  The Last of the Mohicans.
De Tocqueville, Alexis.  Democracy in America.
Douglass, Frederick.  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo.  Self-Reliance and Other Essays.
Equiano, Olaudah.  The Life of Olaudah Equiano.
Franklin, Benjamin.  The Autobiography. 
Haley, Alex and Malcolm X.  The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  Young Goodman Brown.
Melville, Herman.  Bartleby and Benito Cereno.
Thoreau, Henry David.  Civil Disobedience and Other Essays.
Truth, Sojourner.  Narrative of Sojourner Truth.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins.  Herland.
Terkel, Studs.  American Dreams: Lost and Found.
Gold, Michael.  Jews Without Money.
Mukherjee, Bharati.  The Middleman and Other Stories.

ADDITIONAL READINGS (available on reserve or as hand-outs)

Document 1.  “October 2, 1942.”  From The Journal of Christopher Columbus.
Document 2. “The Full Extreme of Hospitality.”  Amerigo Vespucci.
Document 5.  “Captain John Smith.”
Lawrence, D.H.  “The Spirit of Place.”
Standing Bear, Luther.  “What the Indian Means to America.”
Winthrop, John.  “A City on a Hill.”
Bradford, William.  “Of Plymouth Plantation.”
Mather, Cotton.  “A Discourse on Witchcraft.”
Good, Sarah.  “Warrant Vs. Sarah Good.”
Edwards, Jonathan.  “Personal Narrative.”
Crevecouer, Hector St. John de.  “What is an American?” and “Letter from Charles-Town.”
Slotkin, Richard.  “The American Myth of Regeneration Through Violence.”
Hine, Robert and John Mack Faragher, “The Myth of the West” (reserve)
Momaday, N. Scott.  “The American West and the Burden of Belief” (reserve)
Jewett, Robert and John  Lawrence.  “The American Monomyth” (reserve)
Thelen, David.  “History-Making in America: A Populist Perspective.”
Algren, Nelson.  “The Buffalo Border.”  From America Eats (reserve).
LeSueur, Meridel, “The Ancient People and the Newly Come” (reserve).

SCHEDULE OF READINGS, ASSIGNMENTS, DISCUSSIONS  (may change at any time)

*AUTOBIOGRAPHY PROJECT DUE *

Have a great summer.

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