Courses

• CAS AH 596: Seminar: Contemporary Art
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AH 111 and CAS AH 112; and two courses at the 200-level or higher, or consent of the instructor.
  Rotating topics in art, criticism and theory since 1960. Examines major themes such as formalism, minimalism, conceptual art, the neo-avant-garde, art and politics, postmodernism and globalization in their social and political contexts. Topic for Fall 2010: Contemporary Art and Globalization.
• CAS AM 200: Introduction to American Studies
  An exploration of the multi-faceted themes of American society and culture in selected historical periods using a variety of approaches to interpret such topics as American art, literature, politics, material culture, and the mass media. Required of majors and minors. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS AM 250: American Arts and Society
  Investigates key issues and themes in American arts and letters. Topic for Spring 2014: Modes of Communication: An Introduction to Digital Humanities for the Americanist. Explores the intersection of traditional humanities scholarship and new media. Readings reflect key developments in the field of Digital Humanities. Students investigate American Studies research that makes extensive use of digital technologies while constructing their own projects.
• CAS AM 301: Perspectives on the American Experience
  American history and society as viewed by those who made it. Topic for Fall 2013: The American Way of Eating. Course explores the cultural history and meaning of food in America. Through case studies and close readings of sources including cookbooks, recipes, film, literature, art, and artifacts, the course considers the historical, political, and cultural implications of the American way of eating.
• CAS AM 363: Surfing and American Culture
  The history of the sport of surfing, tracing the cultural, technological, and economic aspects of its transformation from a Polynesian folkway to a global multi-billion dollar economic force. Thematic emphasis on questions of American diversity and identity.
• CAS AM 367: Material Culture
  Introduction to the theory and practice of the interdisciplinary study of material culture, which includes everything we make and use, from food and clothing to art and buildings. Topic for Fall 2013: American Folk Art. Course will explore the range of objects, created from the seventeenth century to the present, known as American Folk Art. Also offered as CAS AH 367.
• CAS AM 401: Senior Independent Work
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of College Honors Committee.
  
• CAS AM 402: Senior Independent Work
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of College Honors Committee.
  
• CAS AM 491: Directed Study
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of director of undergraduate studies.
  
• CAS AM 492: Directed Study
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of director of undergraduate studies.
  
• CAS AM 501: Special Topics in American Studies
  Topic for Fall 2013: Transnational American Studies. Drawing on examples from literature, history, art, photography, and architecture, this course explores the global origins of American culture. Topics include the immigrant experience; tourism; internationalism; and cultural crossings between Japan and the US in the late nineteenth century. Also offered as CAS EN 572.
• CAS AM 502: Special Topics in American Studies
  Topic for Spring 2014: The American Cultural Landscape. This interdisciplinary research seminar challenges students to interpret the built environment as evidence of human activity. Buildings, landscapes, transportation networks, and religious compounds are examined as carriers of historical and cultural meaning. The field's historiography is also addressed.
• CAS AM 524: New England Cultural Landscapes
  Examines the historic forces that have shaped the distinctive regional landscapes of New England and catalogues the changing forms that make up those landscapes. Also offered as CAS AH 525.
• CAS AM 546: Historic Preservation
  An introduction to the American preservation movement, including current issues and modern practice. Considers key aspects of the history, theory, and philosophy of historic preservation, and introduces students to key figures in preservation agencies and organizations in this region.
• CAS AM 553: Documenting Historic Buildings and Landscapes
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor.
  A seminar designed to train students in architectural research techniques through supervised reading, fieldwork, and writing. Students are introduced to the skills needed to conduct research on both individual resources and groups of resources, clustered within an area or scattered throughout a community. Also offered as CAS AH 553.
• CAS AN 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
  An introduction to the basic concepts, principles, and problems of cultural anthropology, emphasizing study of both traditional and complex societies. Special attention to the evolution of human societies and culture; the changing organization and meaning of religion, economic life, kinship, and political order; and the problem of cultural variation in the modern world. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS AN 102: Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution
  Biology relevant to the behavioral sciences. Introduces basic principles of evolutionary biology, animal social behavior, primate adaptions, human origins, genetic/hormonal/neural bases of behavior, and issues of human socioecology and adaptions. Discussions highlight nature-vs-nurture issues. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS.
• CAS AN 210: Medical Anthropology
  Examines the influence of culture on health care beliefs, practices, and institutions. Special topics include cross-cultural approaches to birth, aging, and death; drug use and abuse; health care in developing countries; and socialist models of health-care service.
• CAS AN 220: Urban Anthropology
  Survey of urban phenomena in evolutionary perspective using illustrative materials from records of the past and from current description in all world areas; contrasting social processes under different historical, geographical, political, and economic circumstances.
• CAS AN 240: Legal Anthropology
  An introduction to the anthropologist's approaches to law. Investigation of the relationship among society, culture, and law focuses on how different societies generate and structure competition and conflict. Examines the range of social and symbolic mechanisms for regulating dispute. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.