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US Studies with tracks in American History, American Literature, Political Science, and Public Policy


The United States of America is a nation of paradoxes best understood through seeing its place in the world. Born in the era of transatlantic revolutions beginning in the late eighteenth century, the US was founded on ideals of individual liberty, yet has had to grapple with its other undemocratic foundation in African slavery and Indigenous dispossession. As a nation that, on principle, has eschewed and isolated itself from the empire-building practices of other great powers, the US sometimes implicated itself, in those very same practices, eventually becoming itself a global power. The world’s most powerful, and dynamic economy, indeed a driver of the global market system, the US has been subject to the turbulent ebbs and flows of that economy, and has experienced numerous financial crises, and many forms of economic inequality throughout its history. In the realm of culture and literature, America is sometimes stereotyped for its anti-intellectualism and cultural provincialism, yet has produced many of the world’s finest intellectuals, artists, and writers, not to mention a popular culture consumed worldwide. With its complex mix of democratic political institutions, diversity in culture and religion, its intense social conflicts, economic and military power, understanding American society is an intricate but rewarding endeavor that necessarily requires understanding the world as a whole.


US Studies Majors will investigate deeply the particularities of America, its many paradoxes, and its place in the world through History, Literature, Public Policy, and Political Science tracks. Particular emphasis will be places on comparative and transnational approaches in order to understand the ways the US shapes and is shaped by international or global currents. 


Major Requirements

(Not every course listed is offered every term, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2023-2024.)

US Studies / American History

Divisional Foundation Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

SOSC 101

Foundational Questions in Social Science

4

ARHU 101

The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts

4

Interdisciplinary Courses 

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

LIT 106

American Otherness and Otherness in America

4

POLSCI 207

Democratic Institutions in America

4

POLSCI 310

America in the World

4

USSTUD 490

Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics

4

And choose one of the following two courses

POLSCI 205[1]

American Ideas and Global Receptions

4

LIT 215

Self-Making and the American Imagination

4

Disciplinary Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

HIST 104

American History to 1876

4

HIST 105

American History from Reconstruction to the Present

4

HIST 201

History Methods and Research

4

And choose 4 additional courses from the elective list below: at least two courses from “American History” and at least two courses from “Non-American or World History”.

Electives

Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year.  (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

American History

HIST 203

America in Asia, Asians in America

4

POLSCI 204

The U.S. Constitution and its Critics

4

POLSCI 221

US/China Relations

4

SOSC 301

Religion and Community in America

4

SOCIOL 301

Race, Ethnicity, and Citizenship

4

POLSCI 305

American Capitalism in the World

4

HIST 306

The United States and China in War and Revolution

4

HIST 307

Cold War America

4

POLSCI 315

American Politics in Comparative Perspective

4

POLSCI 315

American Politics in Comparative Perspective

 4

Non-American or World History

HIST 112

History of the Indian Ocean World

4

HIST 113

People’s and Cultures of Ancient South Asia

4

HIST 114

Conflicts and Resolutions in Modern South Asia

4

GCHINA 201

From Empire to Nation

4

HIST 202

World History and Global Interactions

4

HIST 204

Asia in World History

4

CULANTH 209

Globalizations and Alternative Globalizations

4

POLSCI 214/ CULANTH 214

Authoritarianism and the Struggle for Democracy in Latin America

4

GCHINA 301/ POLECON 302

China’s Economic Transition

4

GCULS 302

Gender in Global Perspective

4

HIST 313

Southeast Asia from the Age of Imperialism to the Global Cold War

4

POLSCI 315

American Politics in Comparative Perspective

4

HIST 317

The Global First World War

4

POLSCI 317/ SOSC 317

Politics of Organization

4

HIST 413

The Color Line: a Worldwide History of White Supremacy

4

HIST 414

The Age of Revolutions: 1640-1865

4

HIST 415

The Origins of Capitalism: 1500-1900

4

US Studies / American Literature

Divisional Foundation Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

SOSC 101

Foundational Questions in Social Science

4

ARHU 101

The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts

4

Interdisciplinary Courses 

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

LIT 106

American Otherness and Otherness in America

4

POLSCI 207

Democratic Institutions in America

4

POLSCI 310

America in the World

4

USSTUD 490

Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics

4

And choose one of the following two courses

POLSCI 205[2]

American Ideas and Global Receptions

4

LIT 215

Self-Making and the American Imagination

4

Disciplinary Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

LIT 105

The Epic of America (the Novel)

4

LIT 205

American Lyric Across Borders (Poetry)

4

LIT 214

Introduction to Literary Research Writ Large

4

And choose 4 additional courses from the elective list below: at least two courses from the 200-level or above from “American Literature;” one course at the 200-level or above from “Global/Non-American or Literature”; and one course from “Creative Writing and Translation.”

Electives

Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year.  (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

American Literature

LIT 201

Asian-American Arts and Letters

4

LIT 202

African American Literature and Culture

4

POLSCI 203

American Ideas and Global Receptions

4

POLSCI 204

The U.S. Constitution and its Critics

4

LIT 207

The American Renaissance and Its Rivals

4

HIST 208

America Fractured

4

USTUD 210

American Musicals

4

LIT 215

Self-Making and the American Imagination

4

USTUD 301

The Western Across Boundaries

4

LIT 303

The Literary Arts of the Cold War

4

LIT 308

American Icons (rhetoric and performance—pulpit /address /theater/ music)

4

LIT 309

What’s the Fuss? The Art and Power of Banned Literature

4

Global/Non-American Literature

GCULS 201/CULANTH 202/MEDIA 202

Culture and Industry 

4

LIT 203

Reading Empire

4

LIT 204 / MEDIA 204

Online Novels and the Chinese Public Sphere

4

LIT 208 / ARTS 208

From Cool Japan to the Korean Wave: Popular Culture from East Asia

4

LIT 209

Critical Inter-Asia: Rethinking Local and Global Connections

4

LIT 210

Robots and Monsters: Unruly Human Creations in World Literature

4

LIT 211 / POLSCI 211

Politics and Literature

4

LIT 212

Extinctionism: Representing the Survival of the Fittest in Literature and Culture

4

LIT 213

Literature and Global Citizenship

4

GCULS 301

Religion and Sexuality

4

GCULS 302

Gender in Global Perspective

4

GCULS 303

Chinatowns: A Cultural History

4

GCULS 304

Chinese Culture and Ideology in the 20th Century and Now

4

LIT 306

Melodrama East and West

4

LIT 307

Digital Storytelling

4

HIST 314

Writing the History of War

4

GCULS 401

Games and Culture: Politics, Pleasure and Pedagogy

4

GCULS 402

Digital Tribes

4

Creative Writing and Translation

MEDIART 110[3]

Audio Documentary and the Podcast 

4

LIT 216

Introduction to Creative Writing and Translation

4

MEDIART 207[4]

Elements of Story: Introduction to Narrative Structure

4

LIT 307

Digital Storytelling

4

MEDIART 310

Screenwriting

4

US Studies / Political Science

Divisional Foundation Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

SOSC 101

Foundational Questions in Social Science

4

ARHU 101

The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts

4

STATS 101

Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods

4

Interdisciplinary Courses

 

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

LIT 106

American Otherness and Otherness in America

4

POLSCI 207

Democratic Institutions in America

4

POLSCI 310

America in the World

4

USSTUD 490

Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics

4

Choose one of the following two courses

POLSCI 205[5]

American Ideas and Global Receptions

4

LIT 215

Self-Making and the American Imagination

4

Disciplinary Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

POLSCI 101

International Politics

4

POLSCI 104[6]

Comparative Politics and Institutions

4

ETHLDR 203

Conceptions of Democracy and Meritocracy

4

POLSCI 221

US/China Relations

4

POLSCI 302

Public Opinion

4

Electives

Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year.  (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

POLSCI 202

U.S. Citizenship: History, Meaning and Conflict

4

POLSCI 203

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

4

POLSCI 204

The U.S. Constitution and its Critics

4

HIST 208

America Fractured

4

POLSCI 211/    LIT 211

Politics and Literature

4

POLSCI 212

Pathologies of Modern Society: Foundational Ideas

4

PUBPOL 212

Immigrant Dreams, U.S. Realities: Immigration Policy History

4

POLSCI 219/ PUBPOL 219

The U.S. Legal System: Lawyers, Judges, Lawmakers, & Bureaucrats

4

POLSCI 304

Revolutions and Foundings: A Comparative Perspective

4

POLSCI 305

American Capitalism in the World

4

POLSCI 310

America in the World

4

POLSCI 313/ PSYCH 313

Political Psychology

4

PUBPOL 316/ HIST 316

The Modern Regulatory State

4

POLSCI 317/ SOSC 317

Politics of Organization

4

SOSC 320

Data in the World: Applied Social Statistics

4

US Studies / Public Policy

Divisional Foundation Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

SOSC 101

Foundational Questions in Social Science

4

ARHU 101

The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts

4

SOSC 102

Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods

4

 

Interdisciplinary Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

LIT 106

American Otherness and Otherness in America

4

POLSCI 207

Democratic Institutions in America

4

POLSCI 310

America in the World

4

USSTUD 490

Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics

4

And choose one of the following two courses

POLSCI 205[7]

American Ideas and Global Receptions

4

LIT 215

Self-Making and the American Imagination

4

Disciplinary Courses

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

STATS 101

Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods

4

PUBPOL 101

Introduction to Policy Analysis

4

PUBPOL 301

Political Analysis for Public Policy

4

PUBPOL 303

Policy Choice as Value Conflict 

4

Choose one course from the following two courses

ECON 201

Intermediate Microeconomics I

4

PUBPOL 205[8]

Microeconomic Policy Tools

4

Electives

Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year.  (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)

Course Code

Course Name

Course Credit

PUBPOL 102

Introduction to the United States Health Care System

4

POLSCI 204

US Constitution and its Critics

4

PUBPOL 212

Immigrant Dreams, U.S. Realities: Immigration Policy History

4

PUBPOL 216

Civic Participation and Public Policy

4

PUBPOL 219/ POLSCI 219

The US Legal System

4

POLSCI 305

American Capitalism in the World

4

PUBPOL 306

International Development and Poverty

4

POLSCI 314

Refugees and the Biopolitics of Citizenship

4

POLSCI 315

American Politics in Comparative Perspective

4

POLSCI 317/ SOSC 317

Politics of Organization

4

HIST 316/PUBPOL 316

The Modern Regulatory State

4

SOSC 320

Data in the World: Applied Social Statistics

4

[1] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 103 American Ideas and the Idea of America prior to fall term 2022.

[2] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 103 American Ideas and the Idea of America prior to fall term 2022.

[3] This course was named MEDIART 110 Audio Documentary and Storytelling prior to fall term 2023.

[4] This course was named MEDIART 207 Creative Writing and the Elements of Story prior to fall term 2023.

[5] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 103 American Ideas and the Idea of America prior to fall term 2022.

[6] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 201 Political Institutions and Processes prior to fall term 2022.

[7] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 103 American Ideas and the Idea of America prior to fall term 2022.

[8] This course was numbered PUBPOL 304 prior to fall term 2022.