American Studies Major, B.A.–American Indian and Indigenous Studies Concentration

The American Indian and indigenous studies concentration provides a meaningful grounding in the histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences of peoples indigenous to North America, as well as their encounters with settler states. The curriculum increasingly provides opportunities for students to gain a hemispheric perspective that includes the histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. 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.

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

In addition to the program requirements, students must

  • earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
  • complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
  • take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

The concentration in American Indian and indigenous studies consists of nine courses.

Core Requirements
AMST/HIST 110IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the Cultures and Histories of Native North America3
Select eight additional courses from the list below, with at least four numbered 200 or higher.24
Total Hours27

Electives

AMST FYSFirst-Year Seminar 13
AMST/ANTH 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Approaches to American Indian Studies3
AMST/HIST 231IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native American History: The East3
AMST/HIST 233Native American History: The West3
AMST/ANTH/HIST 234IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native American Tribal Studies H3
AMST/HIST 235IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native America in the 20th Century3
AMST 246Indigenous Storytelling: Oral, Written, and Visual Literatures of Native America3
AMST 336Native Americans in Film3
AMST 337IDEAs in Action General Education logo American Indian Activism since 1887: Beyond Red Power3
AMST 338IDEAs in Action General Education logo American Indian Novel3
AMST 339IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Long 1960s in Native America3
AMST 340American Indian Art and Material Culture through Interdisciplinary Perspectives3
AMST 341IDEAs in Action General Education logo Digital Native America3
AMST 345Issues in the Indigenous World3
AMST 439Meaning and Makers: Indigenous Artists and the Marketplace3
AMST 510IDEAs in Action General Education logo Federal Indian Law and Policy3
AMST 511IDEAs in Action General Education logo American Indians and American Law3
ANTH 121IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient Cities of the Americas3
ANTH 206American Indian Societies3
ANTH 231IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Inca and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Andean South America3
ANTH 232IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancestral Maya Civilizations H3
ANTH 250IDEAs in Action General Education logo Archaeology of North America H3
ANTH 252IDEAs in Action General Education logo Archaeology of Food3
ANTH 406IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native Writers3
ANTH 451IDEAs in Action General Education logo Field School in North American Archaeology H6
ANTH 550IDEAs in Action General Education logo Archaeology of the American South3
ARTH 160IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the Art and Architecture of Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica H3
CHER 101Elementary Cherokee Language I3
CHER 102Elementary Cherokee Language II3
CHER 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Intermediate Cherokee Language I3
CHER 204Intermediate Cherokee Language II3
HIST 142IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin America under Colonial Rule3
HIST 145IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin American Indigenous Peoples3
HIST 240IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Mexico: A Nation in Four Revolutions3
HIST 315IDEAs in Action General Education logo Nation-Building in Latin America H3
HIST 526History of the Andes3
HIST/WGST 576The Ethnohistory of Native American Women3
LING 558IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient Mayan Hieroglyphs3
LING 560Mesoamerican Languages and Linguistics3
LING 561Native Languages of the Americas3
MAYA 401Introduction to Yucatec Maya3
RELI 448IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native and Christian: Indigenous Engagements with Christianity3
SPAN 344Latin@ American Cultural Topics3
SPAN 374Mesoamerica through Its Native Literatures3
SPAN 625Indigenous Literatures and Cultures of the Américas3
SPAN 683Guaraní Linguistics3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

1

With permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, one AMST First-Year Seminar course with relevant American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) content can count as an elective for the major.

Special Opportunities in American Studies

Honors in American Studies

The American Studies major offers students the opportunity to pursue research projects under the direction of outstanding faculty and to engage in a small, specially designated seminar with peers who are also writing theses. Students propose their thesis and contract with a faculty advisor during the semester prior to the beginning of their senior year. During their senior year, majors register for a thesis research seminar (AMST 691H) in the fall and enroll in an AMST 692H independent study seminar course with their faculty advisor in the spring. For each semester of honors work, thesis students must submit a signed learning contract to the Department of American Studies during the registration period. 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. Students can receive American studies major credit for selected study abroad programs and are encouraged to make study abroad part of their academic plans. 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. The Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote Prize is awarded annually for the outstanding senior honors thesis.

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.

Department of American Studies

Visit Program Website

204 Greenlaw Hall, CB# 3520

(919) 962-5481

Chair

Patricia Sawin

sawin@unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Tim Marr

amstdus@unc.edu