Sample Course Plan - Literature Concentration
Over the years a number of Reed students have asked what are standard courses that American Studies Majors take? The easy answer to this is that there is no typical course plan--the major is designed to be flexible enough to allow students to take courses in American culture from the disciplines that interest them. Moreover, the courses offered in American Culture often change from year to year. This does not mean, however, that there are not some trends: most often students who major in American Studies have their area of concentration in History or Literature. Other popular fields include Spanish, Political Science, Art and Anthropology.
Since the American Studies committee views the diversity of the major to be one its strengths, the below sample schedule is in no way meant to be prescriptive. Instead it is intended to give students a sense of how they might fulfill the requirements for the major. Students who are considering a majoring in American Studies should consult the Requirements for the Major and discuss their options with a member of the American Studies Committee. Students will also find it helpful to plan their course of study using the Reed College Requirements Advising Worksheet to insure that their proposed plan will satisfy all requirements.
This is an example of how one student who majored in American Studies with a concentration in Literature fulfilled the requirements for the major. You may also want to see how a student with a concentration in History completed the major.
Freshman year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUM 110 West Humanities: Greece | 1.5 | HUM 110 West Humanities: Rome | 1.5 |
| BIO 101: Intro Bio | 1.0 | BIO 101: Intro Bio | 1.0 |
| SPAN 210: Second Year Spanish | 1.0 | SPAN 210: Second Year Spanish | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 3.5 | Total Units: | 3.5 |
Sophomore Year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUM 210: Early Modern Europe | 1.0 | HUM 210: Early Modern Europe | 1.0 |
| SPAN 321: Theory & Practice | 1.0 | SPAN 321: Theory & Practice | 1.0 |
| MUS 262: Jazz | 1.0 | ANTH 211: Intro to Anthropology | 1.0 |
| ENG 203: Gender & the American Novel | 1.0 | ENG 213: Ethnic American Poetry | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 4.0 | Total Units: | 4.0 |
Junior Year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIST 275: Culture & Society in 19th C America | 1.0 | HIST 367: Gender & History | 1.0 |
| ENG 341: American Literature | 1.0 | ENG 302: Junior Seminar | 1.0 |
| ENG 242: Intro to Drama (Shakesp) | 1.0 | ENG 343: Ralph Ellison | 1.0 |
| ENG 348: Cont. American Poetry | 1.0 | ANTH 348: Languages of the Americas | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 4.0 | Total Units: | 4.0 |
Senior Year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANTH 372: Indians & N. Amer. | 1.0 | MUS 275: Contemp. Issues in Arts | 1.0 |
| ENG 322: Slavery & the Lit. Imagin. | 0.5 | REL 152: Introduction to Judaism | 0.5 |
| AMER 470: Thesis (Am. Studies) | 1.0 | AMER 470: Thesis (Am. Studies) | 1.0 |
| HUM 411: Senior Symposium | 1.0 | ART 161: Intro to Drawing | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 3.5 | Total Units: | 3.5 |
Group Requirements
| Required Units | Units Taken | Classes Applied to Group Requirements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanities | 3 | 3 | HUM 110 |
| Group A: Literature, Philosophy, Religion, The Arts (2 units in one discipline, excluding applied) |
2 | 1 1 |
MUS 275 MUS 262 |
| Group B: History, Social Sciences (2 units in one discipline) |
2 | 1 1 |
HUM 210 HUM 210 |
| Group C: Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) (2 units in either biological or physical sciences) |
2 | 1 1 |
BIO 110 BIO 110 |
| Group D: Mathematics, Logic, Linguistics, Foreign Language (2 units in one discipline or language) |
2 | 1 1 |
SPAN 210 SPAN 210 |
Division Requirements
| 1. One Unit in Arts | MUS 275 |
| 2. Two Units in Foreign Lang. (not translation) | SPAN 380 & 321 |
Major Requirements
| 1. Two Units in American History | HIST 275 & 367 |
| 2. Two Units in American Subject Matter outside the area of concentration | ANTH 348 & 372 |
| 3. The Departmental Requirements for the Proposed Field of Concentration (English) | |
| i. two 200-level English courses in different genres | ENG 203 & 213 |
| ii. one semester Junior Sem | ENG 302 |
| iii. three 300 level English courses | ENG 343, 384, 322 |
| iv. one English course prior to 1800 | ENG 242 |
| vii. Thesis | AMER 470 |
Total Units Required: 30