American Studies Concentration
Subject requirements
You can concentrate in American Studies by taking four subjects, at least one of which must be in Historical Studies and one in Literature (variances are possible).
Concentrations may be organized around periods, problems, or themes. A HASS concentration may include one subject that also counts toward the HASS Distribution. Additional concentration subjects will count as HASS electives.
Below is a partial listing of American Studies subjects. Other courses may be included in your program at the advisor’s discretion.
Humanities and the Arts
CMS.305J Rap Theory and Practice [21L.484, 21M.222], HASS-A
CMS.427J How We Got to Hamilton [21L.500, 21T.247], HASS-A
21M.215 Music of the Americas, HASS-A
21M.226 Jazz, HASS-A
21M.282 Pirate Songs and Whaling Chanteys, HASS-A
21M.283 Musicals, HASS-A
21M.284 Film Music, HASS-A
21M.295 American Popular Music, HASS-A
21T.242 Asian American Theater, HASS-A
21T.248 Contemporary American Theater, HASS-A, CI-H
21W.742J Writing about Race [WGS.231], HASS-H, CI-H
21W.788J South Asian America: Transnational Media, Culture, History [CMS.334], HASS-H
24.912J Black Matters: Introduction to Black Studies [21H.106, 21L.008, 21W.741, WGS.190], HASS-A/HASS-H, CI-H
WGS.181J Queer Cinema and Visual Culture [CMS.481], HASS-H
Historical Studies
11.013J American Urban History I [21H.217], HASS-H, CI-H
17.28J The War at Home: American Politics and Society in Wartime [21H.213], HASS-S
21G.043J From Yellow Peril to Model Minority: Asian American History to 1968 [21H.107], HASS-H
21H.101 American History to 1865, HASS-H
21H.102 American History Since 1865, HASS-H, CI-H
21H.201 The American Revolution, HASS-H
21H.203 The History of American Presidential Elections, HASS-S
21H.211 The United States in the Cold War Era, HASS-H
21H.214 War and American Society, HASS-H
21H.220J Metropolis: A Comparative History of New York City [11.150], HASS-H
21H.223 History of Work in the Modern US, HASS-H
21H.225 History of American Capitalism, HASS-H
21H.226J Riots, Strikes, and Conspiracies in American History [11.015], HASS-H, CI-H
21H.227 History of the U.S. Supreme Court, HASS-S
21H.228 American Classics, HASS-H, CI-H
21H.229 The Black Radical Tradition in America, HASS-H
21H.281 MIT and Slavery: Research, HASS-H, CI-H
21H.282 MIT and Slavery: Publication, HASS-H
21H.283 The Indigenous History of MIT, HASS-H
21H.284 South Asia, the U.S., and MIT: Transformative Connections, HASS-H
21H.315 History of Consumerism, HASS-H
21H.317 Free Expression, Pluralism, and the University, HASS-H
21H.319 Race, Crime, and Citizenship in American Law, HASS-S
21H.320J Gender and the Law in US History [WGS.161], HASS-H
21H.321J Downtown [11.026], HASS-H
21H.322 Christianity in America, HASS-H
21H.388 Global Commodities, American Dreams, HASS-H
WGS.110J Sexual and Gender Identities in the Modern United States [21H.108], HASS-H
Literature
21L.006 American Literature, HASS-H, CI-H
21L.432J/ Understanding Television [CMS.315], HASS-H
21L.501 The American Novel, HASS-H
21L.504J Race and Identity in American Literature [WGS.140], HASS-H
21L.512 American Authors, HASS-H
21L.632J North America through French Eyes [21G.354]
21L.481J HIV/AIDS in American Culture [WGS.250], HASS-H
Science, Technology, and Society
21A.406J: Anthro-Engineering: From Lab to Land: Infrastructures of Climate Justice in the Pacific Northwest, HASS-S
STS.001 Technology in American History, HASS-H, CI-H
STS.039 History of Native Science, HASS-H
STS.048 African Americans in Science, Technology, and Medicine, HASS-H
STS.049 The Long War Against Cancer, HASS-H, CI-H
STS.050 The History of MIT, HASS-H
WGS.225J The Science of Race, Sex, and Gender [21A.103, STS.046], HASS-S
Social Sciences
17.031 American Political Thought, HASS-S
24.150J Liberalism, Toleration, and Freedom of Speech [17.043], HASS-H
17.20 Introduction to the American Political Process, HASS-S, CI-H
17.251 Congress and the American Political System I, HASS-S
17.263 Electoral Politics, Public Opinion, and Democracy, HASS-S
17.265 Public Opinion and American Democracy, HASS-S
17.269 Race, Ethnicity, and American Politics, HASS-S
17.271 Mass Incarceration in the U.S., HASS-S
17.28J The War at Home: American Politics and Society in Wartime [21H.213], HASS-S
17.317 U.S. Social Policy, HASS-S
17.40 American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future, HASS-S, CI-H
17.46 U.S. National Security Policy, HASS-S
17.483 US Military Power, HASS-S
21A.120 American Dream: Exploring Class in the US, HASS-S
21A.144 Asian American Experiences: Anthropological Perspectives, HASS-S
This list is not exhaustive. Relevant subjects that are no longer offered and subjects with variable topics (such as “special subjects” or “selected topics” courses, for example) may also be counted at the discretion of the concentration advisor.
