University of Maryland, Spring 1999
section 0601, TU/TH 11:00-12:15 TLF 1103
section 0901, TU/TH 12:30-1:45 TLF 1101
Debra DeRuyver, 2135 Taliaferro.
Office Hours: FR 1-4 & by appointment.

The best way to reach me is via email.
E-mail address: dd131@umail.umd.edu
Best Phone Number: 1-301-305-0788
Note: do not leave me a message on any
number other than the above. I will not get it.
Note: my mailbox is in 2125 Taliaferro.

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce students to a number of important issues, significant works, and interpretive methods of American Studies. It is not intended as a comprehensive survey of American experience. During the semester you will be examining some of the values, patterns of behavior, and cultural productions that we usually take for granted. A goal of the course is to develop a greater understanding of the "culture concept," the dynamics of intercultural relations, the nature of interpretation, minstrelsy as a mechanism in the formation of cultural identities, and the performance of gendered and ethnic identities in contemporary texts like music videos. We will consider what cultures are, how they react dynamically with one another, and how we in American Studies know what we know about American cultures. You will learn about different modes of analysis used in American Studies, become familiar with the various forms of evidence we use in our interpretations and uncover the assumptions that shape the questions we ask and the approaches we take. Your goal in the course is to learn close reading, and critical thinking and writing skills that will enable you to be thoughtful investigators of American cultures.

All sections of American Studies 201 share these general objectives.

All sections of American Studies 201 satisfy the Core Distributive Studies requirement of a Humanities Other (HO) course.

Required Course Materials:

Readings: A course packet of readings will be available at B.S.O.S. copy center on campus, 1105 Tydings Hall. NOTE: B.S.O.S. is only open M-F: 8:30am-12:30pm, and 1:00pm-4:30pm and, they do not take credit cards or Terrapin Express. I will announce in class when the course packet is done.

A number of our readings will only be available online. If you do not have access to the Web from home, you will want to establish a print account so you can access these pages in the computer center and print them out. After the first week of class, this syllabus will be mounted online with hotlinks to these readings.

Videos: Ethnic Notions, Dreamworlds II, Truth or Dare, and Style Wars. These videos are all available through Hornbake's 4th floor media center and can be viewed at your convenience prior to the day they are to be discussed in class. For each video, I will also arrange one group screening opportunity at Hornbake in one of the large viewing rooms for those of you who wish to attend. Group screening will typically be on the Sunday evening prior to the week they are to be discussed.

Assignments:

This course offers you an opportunity to develop critical reading, writing and analytical skills. An important aim of the course is to help you read not only for comprehension of content, but also to understand the underlying assumptions and modes of analysis various authors use. The following course requirements will require you to synthesize ideas and information from the readings. You will be expected to use this material to come to your own conclusions and to be able to support them with intellectual integrity. The readings, lectures, films, papers, and discussions are an essential part of your work this semester, but alone they are not enough. You will be expected to work with what you learn. While you must do the assigned readings and writing this semester, regurgitation is not education. You are expected, therefore, to be mindful that it is necessary for you to reflect on the materials and ideas which are presented to you.

When a cultural perspective is lived but not known it is projected as human nature; its limitations cannot be realized. An important step in the study of American cultures is the achievement of some distance between ourselves and our cultural viewpoints. When this has been done, we may entertain ideas of which we were formerly not aware. Developing your awareness as well as your intellect will be essential this semester. Remember, in studying American cultures, the laboratory is all around you at school, home, work, and during leisure activities. During the course of this semester the ideas of our authors will challenge you to reflect deeply about yourself and your society.

Your performance in this course will be evaluated through the assignment of grades in the following areas. The percentages indicate how each grade will be weighted when determining your final course grade.

Quizzes & Homework: 20%
Discussion: 20%
Midterm Response paper (8-10 pages): 25%
Final Paper (8-10 pages): 20%
Web Site Evaluation Paper (3 pages): 5%
Class Presentations: 10%

The grading scale is as follows: A+ = 14, A =13, A- = 12, B+ = 11 etc.

NOTE: An F can range from 0-2. Failure to complete work will result in a 0 for that assignment. Also, while late papers are accepted, they will be penalized one whole letter grade per any part of each 24 hour period. Late papers must be time and date stamped by one of the secretaries in 2125 prior to placement in my mailbox. Or, you may simply give them to me in person. Excuses like broken printers, etc. will not be accepted. This campus has excellent 24/7 computing facilities. Please become acquainted with them prior to one hour before your papers are due.

Quizzes and Homework:

In lieu of formal exams, 20% of your grade will reflect your performance on daily, in-class quizzes. Quizzes will cover the readings and/or films assigned for each day. Quiz questions will be based on reading questions handed out in class during the previous meeting. This portion of your grade will also cover any additional homework that I may assign. At the end of the semester each student will be allowed to drop his or her two lowest quiz scores.

Discussion:

20% of your grade will be based on your discussion of issues in-class. You may also use the class' e-mail list to continue or begin new discussions. A central assumption of this course is that active participation and interchange in class is the most effective and stimulating form of learning. Therefore, we will use a seminar format. This means that class meetings will stress analysis and discussion of assigned readings; lectures will be kept to a minimum. Each day we will give fairly intense consideration to the assigned readings and films while moving outward to broader questions of interpretation. You must bring your texts to class each day. As the instructor, I will provide some contexts for the topics under study and offer interpretations of my own for you to consider. I will also play devil's advocate on many occasions. The essence of the class should be discussion. And, discussions are collective enterprises which, to function successfully, demand every member's preparation, attendance, and participation. While students will vary in their conversational styles, learning to participate in discussion involves social and intellectual skills that are an essential part of education. These skills include: listening to others and learning to absorb and synthesize their remarks; learning to respond constructively and analytically to others' ideas; learning to develop and articulate positions of one's own; responding to criticism; and learning to modify or discard an argument as one comes to see another, more satisfactory one. You should come to class eager to exchange ideas about the topics under study, ready to speculate and to question and also to ask for explanations when you feel confused. Please be forewarned: While attendance certainly affects your ABILITY to participate, it does not EQUAL participation.

E-mail Participation: E-mail exchanges may also be used as a form of class participation. E-mail participation may take various forms: continuation of a class discussion, further thoughts on a reading/video, application of the class material to current events, response to another student's email post, or response to a question I pose over email. As with face to face participation, successful emails will thoughtfully expand upon (or raise new) ideas. There is no minimum e-mail requirement for this class however, each student must have an email account either through wam or an isp of your choice (e.g. mindspring) and should plan to check his or her email several times per week. I will periodically post important information to you via email regarding class assignments and readings. I will set up an e-mail reflector towards the end of the second week of class. There will be one reflector for both of my sections of AMST 201. For those of you unfamiliar with e-mail reflectors they provide a simple way of communicating with a group of people. Every time a message is sent to the reflector it will be automatically redistributed to every member of the class. Please provide me with your preferred e-mail address by Thursday, February 4 th.

Midterm:

25% of your grade will be in the form of a midterm response paper due on Tuesday, March 16th. Response papers ask you to synthesize the readings in answer to one or two central questions. Detailed instructions on this midterm will be passed out approximately two weeks prior to the due date.

Final:

20% of your grade will be in the form of a final response paper due during the week of May 17th, exam week. Detailed instructions on the final will be passed out approximately two weeks prior to the due date.

Web Site Evaluation:

5% of your grade will be in the form of a short paper that analyzes and critiques a Web site using the readings from the class. This paper will be due on March 30th. Detailed instructions will be passes out on March 18 th, the meeting prior to Spring Break.

Class Presentations:

10% of your grade will be in the form of class presentations. Currently there are two presentations scheduled. The first, due April 13th, will ask you to work in small groups to locate and critique a Web site pertaining to American History. The second, due the last day of class, will ask you to memorize a short piece of dialogue from Anna Deveare Smith's play Twilight Los Angeles. This play contains the actual words culled from over two hundred interviews Smith conducted with people involved in the "uprising" which occurred in Los Angeles immediately following the release of the verdicts in the Rodney King trial. Again, detailed instructions on each of these will be handed out in class approximately two weeks prior to their due dates. If I decide to assign additional class presentations they will also fall within this percent of your grade.

Attendance and Other Policies:

Due to the emphasis placed on learning through discussion in this course, I could make attendance mandatory and penalize students who fail to attend or who are tardy. However, rather than utilize a formal system where absences in excess of two equals a mandatory lowering of your final grade, unexcused absences and tardies will instead be reflected in missed quizzes and missed opportunities to earn your discussion grade. I will consider unexcused absences greater than two excessive. Please familiarize yourself with the differences between unexcused absences (for which work may not be made up) and excused absences (for which work may be made up). Unexcused absences include absences taken for the common cold, flu, allergies, hangovers, flat tires and other personal emergencies, family commitments, or appointments (including appointments at the Health Center) you cannot schedule at another time. Anticipate these circumstances and plan accordingly. Excused absences are granted for religious observance, severe illness, and representing the University at particular events. For an absence to be considered "excused" it must be documented and discussed with me as soon as possible, preferably prior to the absence.

Regardless of the reason for your absence, you are responsible for contacting another student in this section to find out the assignments you missed and for an explanation of the material covered that day.

Any student with a registered disability that requires an accommodation on my part should inform me as soon as possible. If you have a disability and have not yet registered with Disability Support Services in the Shoemaker Building, you should do so promptly.

Please familiarize yourself with the University's code of academic integrity. Ignorance is not an excuse for academic dishonesty and plagiarism. I will not tolerate acts of academic dishonesty. I will immediately turn over any evidence or information regarding academic dishonesty to the Student Honor Council. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that may result in suspension or expulsion from the University. The Code of Academic Integrity is reprinted in full in the Undergraduate catalog. For further information contact the Student Honor Council, 2118 Mitchell Building (314- 8204). You may view the code through the online version of this syllabus.

This syllabus is subject to change throughout the semester.

Course Schedule & Readings:

For more information contact Debra DeRuyver.
This page was last updated on Jan. 29, 1999.
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