American Studies

This course offers an overview of classic and contemporary examples of feminist ethnography. Over

the course of the semester, we will trace the development of, and debates around, feminist

ethnography from the 1970s to the contemporary period, highlighting the key questions and

dominant paradigms of the field. We will examine how feminist approaches shape the questions we

ask, how we present our research and the ethics of research. We will explore how to incorporate

collaborative and activist methods and analysis in our scholarly projects, asking: How can feminist

ethnography intensify efforts towards social justice in the current political and economic climate?

How do feminist ethnographers link their findings to broader publics through activism, advocacy, and

public policy?

Introduction to the theoretical approaches of American Studies, as well as the methods and materials used in the interdisciplinary study of American society. Through close reading of a variety of texts (e.g. novels, films, essays), we will analyze the creation, maintenance, and transmission of cultural meaning within American society.

This course is for American studies majors planning to complete senior projects in the spring. The course is designed to help students clarify their research agenda, sharpen their questions, and locate their primary and secondary sources. Through class discussions and a workshop peer review process, each member of the course will enter spring semester with a completed bibliography that will provide an excellent foundation for the work of actually writing the senior essay. The colloquium will meet every other week and is required for everyone planning to do a senior research project. Application due June 15. See American Studies website.

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

Please refer to the Center for American Studies website for course descriptions for each section. americanstudies.columbia.edu 

The course seeks to combine literary and historical approaches to investigate one of the most rapidly growing, increasingly influential, and, increasingly, critically recognized forms of American popular literature: the graphic novel. A historical overview of the medium’s development, complete with analysis of relevant broader institutional and cultural factors illuminating the development of American media culture more generally, will be complemented by study of a series of recent works illuminating the medium’s explosive maturation. Authors read include Eisner, Crumb, Spiegelman, Bechdel, Thompson, and Hernandez.

Indigenous people are often imagined in the distant past, or as living anachronisms in relation to contemporary life. Working against these assumptions, this course examines how Native peoples have survived colonialism, focusing on economic aspects of colonialism in North America, while looking to Australia and Hawai‘i. We will look at the long history of Native land struggles, and links between colonial economies and ecological destruction. Themes guiding our inquiry include: the development of wage labor, property law and economic production on Native lands, histories of political and economic dependency, "development" as defined and practiced over Native communities, and Native people's own economic choices. Our inquiry will be oriented towards deepening our ability to critically analyze the colonial situation we live in, and to see Indigenous survivals despite ongoing assaults against life and territory.

Latina/o/x populations constitute over 19% of the U.S. population as of 2020, one of the fastest

growing groups in the U.S. with a long and rich history in the U.S while maintaining transnational ties.

In this course students are invited to critically analyze the social histories of and contemporary

experiences of a diverse range of Latino/a/x populations from across the Americas. Over the course of

the semester, we will discuss how Latino/a/x populations come to reside in and transform New York

City, how Latina/o/x populations contend with everyday life and, how they shape and reshape the

communities they resettle in. Although the focus is on New York City, we will also examine the

movement of peoples from the Caribbean and Latin America. Topics include histories of migration,

labor recruitment, citizenship, coloniality and racialization, neoliberalism and the rise of

financialization in NYC, environmental racism, community formation and Latino/a/x political

activism. We will critically examine a variety of text and genres ranging from anthropological,

historical, poetry, documentary, films, media, and art to shift away from homogeneous categorization

of Latino/a/x populations to understanding populations as dynamic and complex. Students are

invited to bring their stories to class as this is a collaborative learning environment.