American Studies (AMST)Arts and Sciences

Showing 59 results.

Course descriptions provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

AMST 1115

A policy-centered approach to the study of government in the American experience.  Considers the American Founding and how it influenced the structure of government;  how national institutions operate ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 1111

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8067 AMST 1115   LEC 001

  •  8068 AMST 1115   DIS 201

  •  8069 AMST 1115   DIS 202

  •  8070 AMST 1115   DIS 203

  •  8071 AMST 1115   DIS 204

  •  8072 AMST 1115   DIS 205

  •  8073 AMST 1115   DIS 206

  •  8074 AMST 1115   DIS 207

  •  8075 AMST 1115   DIS 208

  •  8227 AMST 1115   DIS 209

  •  8402 AMST 1115   DIS 210

  •  8828 AMST 1115   DIS 211

  •  8829 AMST 1115   DIS 212

AMST 1148

This course is dedicated to two scholarly pursuits. First, we will conceptualize different forms of labor and work. Second, we will situate those modes of labor within our contemporary American media landscape. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 18158 AMST 1148   SEM 101

  • For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/

AMST 1500

This course offers an introduction to the study of Africa, the U.S., the Caribbean and other diasporas.  This course will examine, through a range of disciplines, among them literature, history, politics, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASRC 1500GOVT 1503

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  7841 AMST 1500   LEC 001

AMST 1595

Focusing on political and social history, this course surveys African-American history from Emancipation to the present. The class examines the post-Reconstruction "Nadir" of black life; the mass black ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASRC 1595HIST 1595

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8923 AMST 1595   LEC 001

AMST 1600

This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the diverse cultures, histories and contemporary situations of the Indigenous peoples of North America. Students will also be introduced to important ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: AIIS 1100ANTHR 1700

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6919 AMST 1600   LEC 001

  •  6920 AMST 1600   DIS 201

  •  6921 AMST 1600   DIS 202

  •  8530 AMST 1600   DIS 203

AMST 1802

This course seeks a fuller recounting of U.S. history by remapping what we understand as "America." We will examine traditional themes in the teaching of U.S. history—territorial expansion and empire, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 1802LATA 1802LSP 1802

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8941 AMST 1802   LEC 001

AMST 2070

"Social Problems in the U.S." introduces the causes, consequences, and possible solutions of major issues facing U.S. society today. Students learn how social problems are defined and contested in the ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: PAM 2250SOC 2070

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18107 AMST 2070   LEC 001

AMST 2225

In recent years, poverty and inequality have become increasingly common topics of public debate, as academics, journalists, and politicians attempt to come to terms with growing income inequality, with ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •  8322 AMST 2225   LEC 001

  •  8347 AMST 2225   DIS 201

  •  8348 AMST 2225   DIS 202

  •  8349 AMST 2225   DIS 203

  •  8350 AMST 2225   DIS 204

  •  8351 AMST 2225   DIS 205

  •  8352 AMST 2225   DIS 206

  •  8353 AMST 2225   DIS 207

  •  8354 AMST 2225   DIS 208

  •  8630 AMST 2225   DIS 209

  •  8631 AMST 2225   DIS 210

AMST 2280

How have different dimensions of our lives become matters of public health? Focusing on modern America, this course explores how public health has been bound up with histories of the state, the economy, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: STS 2280

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18374 AMST 2280   SEM 101

AMST 2296

This course will use digital resources to study the history of African-American resistance to and organization against slavery, Jim Crow, and mass incarceration/racialized policing from 1619 to the present. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2296

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17461 AMST 2296   SEM 101

AMST 2315

In August 1945, Japan was a devastated country; its cities burned, its people starving, its military and government in surrender. World War II was over. The occupation had begun. What sort of society emerged ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 2258HIST 2315

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 18600 AMST 2315   SEM 101

AMST 2320

Music and dance cultures have been central topics of study in the development of Chicano studies, Puerto Rican studies, and Latino studies in general. From Americo Paredes to Frances Aparicio and from ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: LSP 2320MUSIC 2320

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 17088 AMST 2320   LEC 001

AMST 2340

The course will focus on the music of the Beatles and their impact on American and British culture in the 1960s to the present day. Topics include considerations of race, gender, class, sexuality, and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: MUSIC 2340

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16211 AMST 2340   LEC 001

  • 16212 AMST 2340   DIS 201

  • 16213 AMST 2340   DIS 202

AMST 2401

From the radical manifestos of revolutionaries to the satirical plays of union organizers, from new, experimental novels to poetry, visual art, and music, this course examines Latino/a literature published ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGL 2400LSP 2400

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16349 AMST 2401   SEM 101

AMST 2405

Between 1880 and 1920, 4 million Italians moved to the United States in search of better fortunes. As a result, today there are 17 million US citizens of Italian descent, among them famed artists ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ITAL 2400

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16518 AMST 2405   SEM 101

AMST 2470

Digital technology has been a part of modern life in the U.S. since the Cold War. A growing population of users works, plays, become politically active and fight-off boredom through digital technology. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: LSP 2470STS 2470

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 17138 AMST 2470   LEC 001

AMST 2600

The production of North American Indigenous literatures began long before European colonization, and persists in a variety of printed, sung, carved, painted, written, spoken, and digital media. From oral ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AIIS 2600ENGL 2600

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16357 AMST 2600   SEM 101

AMST 2622

An introduction to Asian American performance, this course will consider both historical and contemporary examples and forms through the analytics of Asian American studies, theatre studies, and performance ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AAS 2623PMA 2621

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17625 AMST 2622   LEC 001

AMST 2640

An introductory history of Chinese, Japanese, Asian Indians, Filipinos, and Koreans in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1990s. Major themes include racism and resistance, labor ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AAS 2130HIST 2640

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8990 AMST 2640   LEC 001

AMST 2665

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the origins, character, and results of the American ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: HIST 2665

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9000 AMST 2665   LEC 001

  • Instructor will be teaching all lectures and discussions for the 150 minutes of contact required for a 4-credit course (no TA's)

  •  9003 AMST 2665   DIS 201

  •  9004 AMST 2665   DIS 202

AMST 2725

This course is an introduction to Latina/o/x Performance investigating the historical and contemporary representations of Latina/o/xs in performance and media. Throughout the semester, students will critically ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: LSP 2720PMA 2720

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 18009 AMST 2725   LEC 001

AMST 2792

In this course we will examine how we have come to narrate social, cultural, and political history in the United States, investigating the ways scholarly, curatorial, archival, and creative practices shape ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2792

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18834 AMST 2792   LEC 001

AMST 2817

Donald Trump and Barack Obama give us two visions of America and of the world: xenophobic nationalism and pragmatic cosmopolitanism.  America and the world are thus constituted by great diversity. The ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 2817

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16411 AMST 2817   LEC 001

  • 16412 AMST 2817   DIS 201

  • 16413 AMST 2817   DIS 202

  • 16414 AMST 2817   DIS 203

  • 16415 AMST 2817   DIS 204

  • 18619 AMST 2817   DIS 205

  • 18620 AMST 2817   DIS 206

AMST 2910

In her memoir Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston identified a conundrum familiar to many US-born children of Chinese immigrants when she asked: "What is Chinese tradition and what is the movies?" What ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AAS 2910ENGL 2910

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17811 AMST 2910   SEM 101

AMST 2980

Explores the history of information technology from the 1830s to the present by considering the technical and social history of telecommunications (telegraph and the telephone), radio, television, computers, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17559 AMST 2980   LEC 001

  • 17560 AMST 2980   DIS 201

AMST 3032

This course will examine the "age of democratic revolutions" in the Americas from the perspective of the Black Atlantic. During this momentous era, when European monarchies were successfully challenged ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASRC 3031HIST 3031LATA 3031

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16771 AMST 3032   LEC 001

AMST 3033

Public policies are political outcomes determined by processes that are complex, convoluted and often controversial. The aim of this course is to equip students with the conceptual tools necessary to understand ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 3032

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16475 AMST 3033   LEC 001

  • 17120 AMST 3033   DIS 201

  • 17121 AMST 3033   DIS 202

  • 17122 AMST 3033   DIS 203

  • 17123 AMST 3033   DIS 204

  • 17124 AMST 3033   DIS 205

  • 17125 AMST 3033   DIS 206

  • 17126 AMST 3033   DIS 207

AMST 3082

This course focuses on political campaigns, a central feature of American democracy. We will examine how they work and the conditions under which they affect citizens' decisions. The course looks at campaign ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 3082

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16466 AMST 3082   LEC 001

  • 16468 AMST 3082   DIS 201

  • 16469 AMST 3082   DIS 202

  • 16470 AMST 3082   DIS 203

  • 16471 AMST 3082   DIS 204

AMST 3155

Prisons are social and political institutions governed by local, state and national policies. They have a profound influence on American society, especially on our political community.  They amplify inequality ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 3152

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16528 AMST 3155   LEC 001

  • 17130 AMST 3155   DIS 201

  • 17131 AMST 3155   DIS 202

  • 17132 AMST 3155   DIS 203

  • 17133 AMST 3155   DIS 204

  • 17134 AMST 3155   DIS 205

  • 17135 AMST 3155   DIS 206

  • 18111 AMST 3155   DIS 207

  • 18112 AMST 3155   DIS 208

AMST 3161

This course will explore and seek explanations for the performance of the 20-21st century presidency, focusing on its institutional and political development, recruitment process (nominations and elections), ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: GOVT 3161

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9188 AMST 3161   LEC 001

  •  9337 AMST 3161   DIS 201

  •  9338 AMST 3161   DIS 202

AMST 3230

Surveys problems in American economic history from the first settlements to early industrialization. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ECON 3310

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7784 AMST 3230   LEC 001

AMST 3281

This course investigates the United States Supreme Court and its role in politics and government. It traces the development of constitutional doctrine, the growth of the Court's institutional power, and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 3281LAW 3281

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17473 AMST 3281   LEC 001

AMST 3330

Based on indigenous and place-based "ways of knowing," this course (1) presents a theoretical and humanistic framework from which to understand generation of ecological knowledge; (2) examines processes ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AIIS 3330NTRES 3330NTRES 6330

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  9181 AMST 3330   LEC 001

AMST 3380

This is a seminar course on urban inequality in the United States.  The first half of the semester will be dedicated to understanding the political, historical, and social determinants of inequality in ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: SOC 3380

  • 4 Credits Opt NoAud

  •  9481 AMST 3380   SEM 101

AMST 3430

A survey of the turning point of US. history: The Civil War (1861-1865) and its aftermath, Reconstruction (1865-1877). We will look at the causes, the coming, and the conduct, of the war, and the way in ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: HIST 3430

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17081 AMST 3430   LEC 001

  • 17362 AMST 3430   DIS 201

  • 17363 AMST 3430   DIS 202

  • 17364 AMST 3430   DIS 203

  • 17365 AMST 3430   DIS 204

AMST 3525

Our focus in this course will be on the vibrantly varied body of poetry produced in the United States during the 20th century. Encompassing strains of worldly celebration and prophetic rage, visionary ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGL 3525

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16372 AMST 3525   SEM 101

AMST 3533

This course will consider the history, theory and craft of feature film screenwriting. We will examine the vital elements of effective motion picture narrative (protagonist, pathos, objective, action), ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: PMA 3533

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 16293 AMST 3533   SEM 101

AMST 3560

This course explores written and visual biographies of African American and African women in the fashion industry as a launching point for thinking about beauty, race, gender and class. Some of the questions ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASRC 3550FGSS 3540

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16146 AMST 3560   SEM 101

AMST 3717

"Sitcom Jews" uses close media analysis, theoretical discussion, and student performances or media projects to examine the representation of Jews on television and on the Broadway stage from 1948-2017. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 3711PMA 3711

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17893 AMST 3717   SEM 101

AMST 3732

When an African and an African American meet, solidarity is presumed, but often friction is the result. In this course, we will consider how Africans and African Americans see each other through literature. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASRC 3742ENGL 3742

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16375 AMST 3732   SEM 101

AMST 3754

In this course, we will critically examine the production and performance of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender through literature and contemporary performance genres such as spoken word, slam poetry, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 16301 AMST 3754   LEC 001

AMST 3854

This course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of regional development and globalization. Topics vary each semester. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: CRP 3854GOVT 3494

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • Topic: Growth and Development

  •  7457 AMST 3854   LEC 080

  • Taught in Washington, DC. This is part of the Cornell in Washington program.

AMST 3911

This course reviews the changing political relations between science, technology, and the state in America from 1960 to the present. It focuses on policy choices involving science and technology in different ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 3091STS 3911

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17146 AMST 3911   LEC 001

AMST 3980

Affords opportunities for students to carry out independent research under appropriate supervision. Each student is expected to review pertinent literature, prepare a project outline, conduct the research, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  5922 AMST 3980   IND 601

    • TBA
    • Staff

Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 19114 AMST 3980   IND 604

    • TBA
    • Margulies, J

AMST 3990

Individualized readings for junior and senior students. Topics, requirements, and credit hours will be determined in consultation between the student and the supervising faculty member. view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  5923 AMST 3990   IND 601

    • TBA
    • Staff

AMST 4021

American conservative thought rests on assumptions that are strikingly different from those made by mainstream American liberals.  However, conservative thinkers are themselves committed to principles ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 4021

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  8212 AMST 4021   SEM 101

AMST 4052

This course focuses on three major and interrelated themes within Filipino/Filipino American history: war/empire, labor/migration, and culture/imaginaries. How do we account for the overwhelming number ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AAS 4050ASIAN 4452

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16986 AMST 4052   SEM 001

AMST 4283

This class will examine the history and contemporary role of Latinos as a minority group in the U.S. political system. This course is intended as an overview of the political position of Latinos y Latinas ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 4283LSP 4283

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16613 AMST 4283   SEM 101

AMST 4295

The borders that separate the United States from Canada and Mexico are among the longest in the world. The southern border with Mexico, however, receives a disproportionate amount of attention ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17320 AMST 4295   SEM 101

  • This class will run as the Rabinor Seminar in American Studies.

AMST 4519

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison received her M.A. in English at Cornell University in 1955.  To study her, in a way, is to gain a deeper understanding of how she journeyed on from her days as a student here ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 16142 AMST 4519   SEM 101

Syllabi: none
  • 18964 AMST 4519   SEM 102

AMST 4525

This course will explore a concern shared by contemporary women writers and artists. In their works, bodily visibility raises questions about sexuality, race, and mother-daughter relations. They also use ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGL 4525VISST 4525

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16346 AMST 4525   SEM 101

AMST 4640

This course examines contemporary literary and cultural memory work that mediates the emergence of nuclear energy in Asia and the Pacific after World War Two as a transpacific settler colonial and racial ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17662 AMST 4640   SEM 101

AMST 4733

How should anti-racist people respond to the new racialized white identities that have emerged recently in Europe and the United States? What alternative conceptions of whiteness are available? How can ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •  8824 AMST 4733   SEM 101

AMST 4944

This course explores the philosophical concept of biopolitics and its diverse translations and/or adaptations across multiple disciplines and across the globe (Africa, Far East, South East Asia, and the ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 16903 AMST 4944   SEM 101

AMST 4993

To graduate with honors, AMST majors must complete a senior thesis under the supervision of an AMST faculty member and defend that thesis orally before a committee. Students interested in the honors program ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  5318 AMST 4993   IND 601

    • TBA
    • Staff

AMST 6202

This course will explore the relationship between popular belief, political action, and the institutional deployment of social power. The class will be roughly divided in three parts, opening with a discussion ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 16776 AMST 6202   SEM 101

AMST 6295

The borders that separate the United States from Canada and Mexico are among the longest in the world. The southern border with Mexico, however, receives a disproportionate amount of attention ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  • 17319 AMST 6295   SEM 101

AMST 6631

This course will explore postwar US poetry through the lens of what might be called micro-periodization. Taking the decade as a privileged frame of reference, we'll ask what recognizable shifts in style, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGL 6631

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16634 AMST 6631   SEM 101

AMST 6733

How should anti-racist people respond to the new racialized white identities that have emerged recently in Europe and the United States?  What alternative conceptions of whiteness are available? How can ... view course details

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Syllabi: none
  •  8825 AMST 6733   SEM 101