American Studies Courses
CASAM 200 A1 | Introduction to American Studies
Tu/Th 9:30am – 10:45am
Prof. Battenfeld
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. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Research and Information Literacy.
CASAM 202 A1 | What’s Boston?
Tues 12:30pm – 3:15pm
Prof. Battenfeld
What’s Boston? explores Boston’s complex urban and natural world. University faculty share cutting-edge research, focusing on Boston as a PLACE and a guiding IDEA, introducing the perspectives of disparate scholarly disciplines. Discover where you stand and where you might go! This course fulfills one unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
CASAM 220 A1 | Native American and Indigenous Studies
Tu/Th 9:30-10:45
Prof. Hunziker
Examines diverse cultural expressions of Native peoples, from oral traditions to modern fiction, and their historic and political contexts. Employs interdisciplinary perspectives from Native American and Indigenous Studies to ask critical questions about the arts, identity, community, and creativity. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation.
CASAM 502 C1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
Topic for Spring 2026: The Literature of Revolution: Franklin, Wheatley, Wollstonecraft, Louverture,
Tues 12:30pm – 3:15 pm
Prof. Rezek
Timed for the 250th anniversary of the American War for Independence, this course considers literature that shaped the Age of Revolution and its legacy. We will begin with a look at the iconic texts of 1776 (including Tom Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration) and then focus on four truly revolutionary writers from North America, Haiti, and the British Empire: Benjamin Franklin, Phillis Wheatley, Toussaint Louverture, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy. It can also serve as a capstone course for American Studies Majors and Minors.
CASAM 525 A1 | American Cultural Landscape Studies
Tue/Thu 12:30 – 1:45pm
Prof. Moore
This seminar provides an introduction to analyzing and interpreting American cultural landscapes and acquaints students with the historiography of interdisciplinary study of the built environment. Also offered as CAS AH 525.
CASAM 567 A1 | Topics in American Material Culture
Topic for Spring 2026: Placing Public History: Memory, Monumentalization, and the Built Environment.
Tue 3:30 – 6:15pm
Prof. LaForge
The semiquincentennial of the American Revolutionary War presents new opportunities to decenter 1776 and recenter longstanding histories of resistance to settler colonialism, slavery, and militarization as revolutionary history. This course turns to the landscape of Boston and beyond to consider how history is produced, memorialized, and remembered through material culture.
Preservation Studies Courses
CAS AM 502 A1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
Topic for Spring 2026: Preservation and the Vernacular Environment
Fri 11:15am-2:00pm
Prof. Stevenson
This seminar explores the unique challenges and solutions for preserving the vernacular environment—broadly construed as “everyday” buildings and landscapes—that many established preservation tools are ill-equipped to serve. From triple-deckers to rural farmsteads to postwar suburbs to fieldstone dams, this course demonstrates the importance of the mundane in the built environment and how to save ensure its survival.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy. It can also serve as a capstone course for American Studies Majors and Minors.
CASAM 502 B1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
Topic for Spring 2026: Futures in Preservation
Thur 12:30pm – 3:15 pm
Prof. White
This course prepares students for the experience as a professional in the field of preservation. Students will build skills of communication to the public, investigate numerous career pathways, and develop C.V.s, resumés, and portfolios to use as they pursue their professional goals. Mts w CASAR 595 Futures in Archaeology. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy.
CASAM 554 A1 | Preservation Planning
Thu 3:30 – 6:15pm
Prof. Wermiel
Introduces students to local, state, and national government policies and practices intended to protect historically and aesthetically significant structures. In addition, the course covers planning approaches aimed at managing redevelopment in established neighborhoods, to create livable and sustainable communities.
Affiliated Departments
This is only a sampling of courses. Please refer to individual department websites and the University Class Schedule for complete course offerings.