American Studies Major, B.A.–Southern Studies Concentration
Sharon Holland, Chair
Gabrielle Berlinger, Director of Undergraduate Studies
The Southern studies concentration focuses critical attention on the history, society, culture, and expression of the American South with its regional, state, and local distinctiveness. It allows students to examine the American South from many disciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, art, architecture, communication studies, cultural tourism, ecology, environment, folklife, foodways, geography, history, journalism, language, law, literature, material culture, myth and manners, music, oral history, politics, public health, religion, values, and more. Students may petition the director of undergraduate studies to have courses not listed approved to fulfill major or minor requirements; such courses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Department Programs
Majors
- American Studies Major, B.A.
- American Studies Major, B.A.–American Indian and Indigenous Studies Concentration
- American Studies Major, B.A.–Folklore Concentration
- American Studies Major, B.A.–Global American Studies Concentration
- American Studies Major, B.A.–Southern Studies Concentration
Minors
- American Studies Minor
- American Indian and Indigenous Studies Minor
- Folklore Minor
- Global American Studies Minor
- Southern Studies Minor
Graduate Programs
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the American studies program, students should be able to:
- Apply critical skills of analysis to a variety of primary historical sources and/or cultural expressions
- Exercise advanced writing skills that demonstrate clear articulation of ideas and effective expression of understanding
- Assess the value of interdisciplinary learning by engaging with a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the study of America within their major elective courses
- Interpret national traditions and ideals from different local, regional, transnational, and/or global situations and from diverse ideological and/or ethnic perspectives
- Report satisfaction with the American studies major and its value for their postgraduate academic and professional careers
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- attain a final cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major course requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum of 18 hours of C or better in the major core requirements (some majors require 21 hours).
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
The concentration in Southern studies consists of nine courses. Courses listed more than once can be counted for only one category. At least one course must be at the 300 level or above.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Introduction: | ||
| AMST 210 | Approaches to Southern Studies: A Historical Analysis of the American South | 3 |
| or AMST 211 | Approaches to Southern Studies: The Literary and Cultural Worlds of the American South | |
| One AMST course AMST 101 or above other than those that count in the categories below. | 3 | |
| Core content courses (at least two from the list below) | 6 | |
| Thematic courses (at least five other courses; choose at least two from each of the following two lists) | 15 | |
History and Social Sciences | ||
Art and Expressive Culture | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
American Studies (AMST) course descriptions.
Core Content Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 210 | Approaches to Southern Studies: A Historical Analysis of the American South | 3 |
| AMST 211 | Approaches to Southern Studies: The Literary and Cultural Worlds of the American South | 3 |
| AMST 283 | American Home | 3 |
| AMST 410 | Senior Seminar in Southern Studies | 3 |
| FOLK 560 | Southern Literature and the Oral Tradition | 3 |
| FOLK 587 | Folklore in the South | 3 |
| FOLK/ANTH 340 | Southern Styles, Southern Cultures | 4 |
| FOLK/HIST 571 | Southern Music | 3 |
| COMM 374 | The Southern Experience in Rhetoric | 3 |
| ENGL 373 | Southern American Literature H | 3 |
| GEOG 261 | The South | 3 |
| HIST 357 | The U.S. South to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 358 | The New South | 3 |
| MEJO 458 | Southern Politics: Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
| PLCY 349 | Immigration Policy in the 21st Century | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Thematic Courses
History and Social Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 259 | Tobacco and America | 3 |
| AMST 283 | American Home | 3 |
| AMST 350 | Main Street Carolina: A Cultural History of North Carolina Downtowns H | 3 |
| AMST 394 | The University in American Life: The University of North Carolina | 3 |
| AMST 398 | Service Learning in America | 3 |
| AMST 475 | Documenting Communities H | 3 |
| AMST/JWST 486 | Shalom Y'all: The Jewish Experience in the American South | 3 |
| AMST/HIST 671 | Introduction to Public History | 3 |
| AAAD 130 | Introduction to African American and Diaspora Studies | 3 |
| AAAD 159 | The History of the Black Church and Social Change | 3 |
| AAAD 254 | African Americans in North Carolina | 3 |
| AAAD 258 | The Civil Rights Movement | 3 |
| AAAD 385 | Emancipation in the New World | 3 |
| AAAD 430 | African American Intellectual History | 3 |
| ANTH 121 | Ancient Cities of the Americas | 3 |
| ANTH 250 | Archaeology of North America H | 3 |
| ANTH 451 | Field School in North American Archaeology H | 6 |
| ANTH 454 | The Archaeology of African Diasporas | 3 |
| ANTH 538 | Disease and Discrimination in Colonial Atlantic America | 3 |
| ANTH 550 | Archaeology of the American South | 3 |
| GEOG 261 | The South | 3 |
| GEOG 262 | Geography of North Carolina | 3 |
| HIST 278 | The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade H | 3 |
| HIST 357 | The U.S. South to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 358 | The New South | 3 |
| HIST 366 | North Carolina History before 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 367 | North Carolina History since 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 376 | History of African Americans to 1865 | 3 |
| HIST 377 | History of African Americans, 1865 to Present H | 3 |
| HIST 382 | The History of the Civil Rights Movement H | 3 |
| HIST 385/WGST 382 | African American Women's History | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 565 | Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-1900 | 3 |
| HIST/WGST 568 | Women in the South | 3 |
| HIST/FOLK 670 | Introduction to Oral History | 3 |
| MEJO 458 | Southern Politics: Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
| PLCY 349 | Immigration Policy in the 21st Century | 3 |
| POLI 419 | Race and Politics in the Contemporary United States H | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Art and Expressive Culture
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FOLK 560 | Southern Literature and the Oral Tradition | 3 |
| FOLK 587 | Folklore in the South | 3 |
| FOLK/AAAD 480 | Vernacular Traditions in African American Music | 4 |
| FOLK/ANTH 340 | Southern Styles, Southern Cultures | 4 |
| FOLK/HIST 571 | Southern Music | 3 |
| FOLK/ANTH/ENGL 202 | Introduction to Folklore | 3 |
| FOLK/ANTH/RELI 342 | African-American Religious Experience | 3 |
| AAAD 237/ARTH 287 | African American Art Survey | 3 |
| AAAD 330/ARTH 387 | 20th-Century African American Art | 3 |
| COMM 374 | The Southern Experience in Rhetoric | 3 |
| ENGL 367 | African American Literature to 1930 H | 3 |
| ENGL 368 | African American Literature, 1930-1970 H | 3 |
| ENGL 371 | The Place of Asian Americans in Southern Literature H | 3 |
| ENGL 373 | Southern American Literature H | 3 |
| ENGL/WGST 374 | Southern Women Writers | 3 |
| ENGL 475 | Southern Literature--Contemporary Issues | 3 |
| MUSC 144 | Introduction to Country Music | 3 |
| MUSC 145 | Introduction to Jazz | 3 |
| RELI 141 | African American Religions H | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Special Opportunities in American Studies
Honors in American Studies
The American studies major offers a two-course honors program: AMST 691H in the fall semester and AMST 692H in the spring semester. Students must propose their thesis and contract with a faculty advisor during the semester prior to the beginning of their senior year. For each semester of honors work, thesis students must submit a signed learning contract to the Department of American Studies during the registration period. During the two semesters devoted to honors work, students conduct individual research and prepare an honors thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Students also will attend a weekly seminar at the discretion of the advisor. Students must maintain a 3.3 cumulative grade point average to be eligible. With the approval of the associate or the assistant dean for honors, students with a slightly lower average who have a reasonable expectation of meeting the requirement within one more semester may embark upon the honors thesis, understanding that if they do not attain the 3.3 standard they may continue the research project as independent study but are not eligible to graduate with honors or highest honors.
Experiential Education
The Department of American Studies offers a seminar on Service Learning in America (AMST 398) and offers credits for approved internship projects (AMST 493). Students have learned about American studies by serving the community in museums, schools, social agencies, and other cultural institutions. Many courses in the folklore program also offer experiential education credit through ethnographic training and fieldwork opportunities.
Study Abroad
The Department of American Studies encourages students to consider a semester or more of study abroad and has developed close relations with several American studies programs in different countries. Studying American experience in international contexts is an integral part of understanding the place and influence of the United States in the world. Student learning is enhanced by the perspectives gained by examining how American subjects are taught in universities around the globe as well as by encountering the international students who enroll in American studies courses in Chapel Hill. Study abroad offers students of folklore the opportunity to understand the rich vernacular and traditional cultures of other parts of the world from both a local and a comparative perspective. Students can receive American studies major credit for selected study abroad programs and are encouraged to make study abroad part of their academic plans. Study abroad courses can count toward the global American studies major or minor. Students interested in this experience should consult with the director of undergraduate studies or with the Study Abroad Office about international exchange programs sponsored by UNC–Chapel Hill. Furthermore, American studies majors and minors may apply for the Julia Preston Brumley Travel Scholarship, which is only available to American studies students, to help fund their study abroad.
Undergraduate Awards
The department awards Julia Preston Brumley Travel Scholarships to help fund international travel and study abroad. The Peter C. Baxter Memorial Prize is awarded annually to the outstanding senior majoring in American studies.
Undergraduate Research
The department offers credit for AMST 396 and FOLK 495. Majors can develop a two-semester honors thesis project (AMST 691H and AMST 692H) in consultation with an advisor. Students have received summer undergraduate research fellowships, earned research support and travel awards, and presented their work at the Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research each spring.
