American Studies

Overview

A minor in American Students will supply students with the foundational historical, cultural, political, and religious knowledge of America’s past. The interdisciplinary approach that professors take will help students understand America’s history, not only the context of this country but other countries around the world.

Courses

Below is a list of courses that are required to earn a minor in American Studies. Take a look at the list below to help give you an idea of classes within this program. Be sure to review the official requirements in the Academic Catalog.

Note: This list is intended to give you a glimpse into the program’s academic offerings, and should not be used as a guide for course selection or academic advising.

Required Courses

ENG 431 Studies in Colonial and 19th-Century American Literature    Credit Hours: 3
This course includes topics to be chosen from the literature of the Settlement to 1900.
Prerequisite: One 200-level literature course

Choose 3 of the following classes:

HIS 360 The American Revolution     Credit Hours: 3
This course is a study of events that led to the establishment of the United States as a sovereign nation.
Prerequisite: HIS 202 or instructor approval

HIS 365 The American Civil War and Reconstruction    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a study of the forces which both divided and reunited the United States in the period from 1850-1877, with a concentration on the war (1861 – 1865) and its impact on the American nation.
Prerequisite: HIS 202 or instructor approval

HIS 375 The Native Americans    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a history of Native Americans from pre-Columbian times through the twentieth century.
Prerequisite: HIS 202 or 203

HIS 391 United States 1932 to the Present    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a study of American history from the New Deal to present times.
Prerequisite: HIS 203, 205 or instructor approval

CHR 432 Christianity in America    Credit Hours: 3
This course is a study of the history of Christianity in America from the beginning of the European settlement of North America until the present. Special emphasis will be given to identifying and analyzing major religious movements, such as the Great Awakenings, revivalism, the mission movement, liberalism, neo-orthodoxy, fundamentalism, and evangelicalism.
Prerequisite: CHR 210 or instructor approval 

Choose 1 of the following:

POL/CHR/HIS 361 Church and State in America    Credit Hours: 3 
This course explores the history of the relationship between religion and the state in the United States. It will survey the European and early American origins of the First Amendment; religion state interaction in American political history; the evolution of modern American constitutional law governing religion-state relations and the current debate over law, religion, and public life.

POL 202 American Government    Credit Hours: 3
This course is a study of the theory and practice of the American political system at the national, state, and local levels. Some emphasis is given to the recent trends in government. Questions of national security, foreign policy, and civil liberties will be examined. This course satisfies state requirements concerning the United States and Georgia Constitutions.

POL/HIS 331 American Foreign Policy    Credit Hours: 3 
This course studies institutions and procedures involved in formation and implementation of American foreign policy, with some consideration of important elements and strategies of American foreign policy from World War II to the present.
Prerequisite: POL 202

ENG 205 Survey of American Literature I    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a survey of the works of American literature from the earliest Colonial period to the end of the Civil War. Employing the critical and analytical skills acquired in college writing, the course is designed to acquaint students with our nation’s literary heritage and to provide them with a standard literature course.
Prerequisite: ENG 102

ENG 206 Survey of American Literature II    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a survey of the works of American literature from after the Civil War to the present. Employing the critical and analytical skills acquired in college writing, the course is designed to acquaint students with our nation’s literary heritage and to provide them with a standard literature course.
Prerequisite: ENG 102

ENG 319 African-American Literature    Credit Hours: 3 
This course examines significant works by African-American writers from the eighteenth century to the present.
Prerequisite: One 200-level literature course

ENG 433 Studies in 20th Century American Literature    Credit Hours: 3
This course includes topics to be chosen from the literature of 1900 to the present.
Prerequisite: One 200-level literature course

HIS 370 African-American History     Credit Hours: 3
This course is a thematic survey of the African-American experience with a special emphasis on slavery, post-civil war adjustment, the Civil Rights movement, and the place of religion in the African-American community.
Prerequisite: HIS 202 and 203

HIS 425 The American South    Credit Hours: 3 
This course is a study of the American South with emphasis on the unique aspects of the region’s
history as well as its impact on national affairs.
Prerequisite: HIS 202, 203, or 205

CJ/POL 350 Constitutional Law I: National and State Powers    Credit Hours: 3 
This course studies the Constitution as it has evolved as a basic law by means of interpretation through Supreme Court decisions. Special emphasis is placed on major cases affecting the scope of state and federal powers and individual rights.
Prerequisite: POL 202

CJ/POL 351 Constitutional Law II: Civil Rights and Liberties    Credit Hours: 3 
This course reviews development of the Bill of Rights and political and civil liberties in the American constitutional system. It includes limitations on governmental powers with emphasis on freedom of speech, press, religion, and the rights of accused. Modern theories of constitutional interpretation are surveyed.
Prerequisite: POL 202

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