Sample Course Plan - History 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 History fulfilled the requirements for the major. You may also want to see how a student with a concentration in Literature 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 |
| FREN 110: First Year French | 1.0 | FREN 110: First Year French | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 3.5 | Total Units: | 3.5 |
Sophomore Year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUM 220: Modern Humanities | 1.0 | HUM 220: Modern Humanities | 1.0 |
| FREN 210: Second Year French | 1.0 | FREN 210: Second Year French | 1.0 |
| HIST 275 Culture & Society. | 1.0 | HIST 276 Culture & Society | 1.0 |
| ENG 205: Narr. & New Americans | 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 381 Rebellion..Latin America | 1.0 | HIST 353: The French Revolution | 1.0 |
| POL 211: Political Analysis | 1.0 | POL 369 Iran and American Social Sci. | 1.0 |
| HIST 412: Junior Sem | 1.0 | ENG 343: Ralph Ellison | 1.0 |
| SOC 211: Intro to Sociology` | 1.0 | SOC 363 Sociology of Culture | 1.0 |
| Total Units: | 4.0 | Total Units: | 4.0 |
Senior Year
| First Semester Courses | Units | Second Semester Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIST 303 The Cold War | 1.0 | HIST 367 Gender & History | 1.0 |
| DANC 110: Basic Technique | 0.5 | DANC 110: Basic Technique | 0.5 |
| AMER 470: Thesis (Am. Studies) | 1.0 | AMER 470: Thesis (Am. Studies) | 1.0 |
| MUS 262: Jazz | 1.0 | HIST 361: Colonial America | 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 |
ENG 205 ENG 213 |
| Group B: History, Social Sciences (2 units in one discipline) |
2 | 1 1 |
HUM 220 HUM 220 |
| 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 |
FREN 110 FREN 110 |
Division Requirements
(same as for field of concentration--History)
3 of the following:
| Anth 211 & Anth xxx | |
| Econ 201 & Econ xxx | |
| Sociology 211 & Soc xxx | SOC 211 & SOC 363 |
| Poli Sci 211 & Poli Sci xxx | POL 211 & POL 369 |
| 2 units in History | HIST 303 & 367 |
Major Requirements
| 1. Two Units in American History | HIST 275 & 367 |
| 2. Two Units in American Subject Matter outside the area of concentration | ENG 205 & 213 |
| 3. The Departmental Requirements for the Proposed Field of Concentration (History) | |
| i. Hum 210, 220, or 230 | HUM 220 |
| ii. six semesters of History courses | HIST 303, 367, 353, 381, 276, 275 |
| iii. One History Course form Europe | HIST 353 |
| iv. One History Course from the U.S. | HIST 276 |
| v. One History Course from outside Europe, U.S., Canada | HIST 381 |
| vi. One History Course before 1800, one after | HIST 353 & HIST 276 |
| vii. Thesis | AMER 470 |
Total Units Required: 30