"Reading" Culture
Studying American Culture
The term "culture" is a loose, baggy monster that includes every aspect of human existence and all of them happening at once. We read books and listen to music at the same time as we worry about our personal budget, decide whom we will vote for, and grow into ethical and spiritual beings. This course provides an introduction to the study of American "culture" and is, therefore, multi-disciplinary in nature and practical rather than theoretical. Over the course of the semester we will be joined by faculty from various departments who will help us develop competencies in oral history, quantitative understanding, technical fluency, and analyses of artifacts (literary and rhetorical texts, paintings and architecture, historical and sociological arguments, film and media). Students who have participated in AmCS 101 should not enroll for this course since they will have already received similar training.