Social Structure and Institutions: one course.
Students in American Studies must have an understanding of material or institutional components of experiences in the Untied States. Courses that fulfill this requirement deal with such issues through either the introduction of theoretical models, or through the exploration of concrete examples. Students may take courses that focus on social institutions such as race, class, or gender. In addition, they may take courses addressing political institutions and political processes. Typically, many courses approved by the major advisor from the following departments would fulfill this requirement: Anthropology, Economics, Environmental Studies, History, Political Science, and Sociology.

Representation: two courses, one in U.S. literature.
Students must take two courses that focus on the construction and representation of cultural meanings, one of which must be a course in the literature of the United States. The other course must focus on visual, aural, literary or other representational texts of the United States, either alone or in a comparative perspective. Typically, courses approved by the major advisor from the following departments would fulfill this requirement: American Studies, Anthropology, Dramatic Arts, English, Art History, Music, Philosophy, Religion and Women's Studies.

Fieldwork: One course in one of the following:
American Studies 302, History 301 (Oral History), Sociology 240 (Qualitative Methods) or another with approval.

Thematic Concentration : At least three courses with no more than two of these three to be taken in one department.
Courses for the thematic concentration are to be chosen in close consultation with the American studies adviser to illuminate a topic of the student's choice. Although each topic will dictate a different selection of courses, the American Studies Program has approved a list of American context courses offered by other departments and programs. These courses represent a partial listing of the many courses offered at Dickinson that might be of special interest to American studies majors . Thematic concentrations and the courses which comprise them must be approved by the student's advisor.

American Studies 401: Research and Methods in American Studies

American Studies 402: Topics: American Lives or Writing in American Studies 403: Workshop/ Group Project