Overview

To be read in conjunction with the program of study requirements of the course in which you are enrolled.

Student guidance

Program of study overview
Program of study notes

Program of study
36 Units

Level 1 - Core4.5 Units
Level 1 - Option4.5 Units
Level 2 - Option9 Units
Level 3 - Option9 Units
Level 2 and 3 Option9 Units

Aims

The major in American Studies is designed to introduce students to the study of the United States as a large, complex society able to generate massive economic and military power in the modern world, while maintaining a relatively open social and political system based on the rule of law.

The investigation of that society will include its social fabric, its institutional forms, its internal tensions and conflicts, aspects of its cultural life, and its global impact.

The methods used to develop insights into the workings of American society will include structured reading programmes, group discussions, and the submission of reports and papers on specific issues. Both the skills and the understandings generated during this process will have continued relevance to the students' careers and their life-long learning.

Learning outcomes

On completion students will be able to:
1.
Understand the major elements in the historical formation of the United States as a nation, and the continuing impact of past experience on contemporary notions of national identity
2.
Understand the extent to which the United States as a nation is a construct based on explicit and codified political values
3.
Understand the tensions involved in reconciling those values with the realities of social and economic change in a massive and evolving industrial system
4.
Understand the nature of the political and social instiutions that provide a framework within which those tensions can interact productively and reshape values and within the American community
5.
Understand the cultural manifestations of the experience of the varied intellectural, racial, ethnic, religious and regional sub-cultures within American society, and the projection of American cultural values onto the global community
6.
Understand the nature and the extent of the impact of the Unitied States at the global level, in terms of its economic and military power, and its technological and scientific expertise
7.
Be proficient in the research skills that are required to reach an Honours level of understanding, and possess an enhanced capacity to deploy them in their later lives
8.
Define issues for investigation
9.
Locate sources of information and opinion, both printed and electronics
10.
Appreciate the value of social data and both locate and use if effectively
11.
Critically assess the reliability of that information and opinion
12.
Develop and shape conceptual frameworks, and test them by discussion
13.
Present their ideas effectively in both oral and written formats
14.
Work collaboratively with their peers
15.
Demonstrate a commitment to ethical behaviour and academic best practice
16.
Connect across boundaries, both within the University and at a broader social level

Available in courses

Bachelor of Education Studies, Bachelor of Arts - Exit Only