American Studies 502: Readings in American Studies II
U.S. Imperialism at Home and Abroad
Fall Semester 2006
Wednesdays, 3:00-6:00pm
CUE 218
Course Description:
This graduate course is the second part of “Readings in American Studies” sequence. Unlike the first course that examined the early American period, this course examines major trends in American Studies from 1865 to the present. One of these trends is “U.S. Imperialism” and “Empire” that has become a major topic of study in American Studies. My aim is to use a historical, multidisciplinary, comparative, and transnational approach toward the study of U.S. imperialism. First we will begin by reading and discussing key essays and presidential addresses that explore old issues and new directions in the field of American Studies. Then we will discuss readings from two key anthologies that examine cultures of U.S. imperialism and the intimacies of empire. While most studies focus on U.S. intervention in foreign countries, we will also focus on the domestic implications of U.S. imperialism particularly in the American southwest and U.S.-Mexico border. Then we will examine relationship between U.S. Imperialism and Immigration Policy and its longstanding impact on Asian and Latin American immigrants. Because of the global power of the U.S. media it is important that we focus on how films, news reports, and popular culture have shaped U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East. The remaining weeks will be spent on examining the various forms of resistance to U.S. imperialism. First we will look at the global dimensions of the Black Freedom struggle from the New Deal era to the 1970s. Lastly, we will examine the artistic, musical, and cultural expressions of social movements from the civil rights era to the anti-globalization movement. Throughout the semester we will explore exciting new research in American Studies, as well as ethnic studies, gender studies, media studies, cultural studies, transnational and postcolonial studies that seek to contest and de-center “American” nationalism and U.S. imperialism at home and around the world.