amst.fullerton.eduDepartment of American Studies - American Studies | CSUF

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Skip Navigation California State University, Fullerton Site Menu College of Humanities and Social Sciences American Studies Main Navigation Academics Show Extended Undergraduate Program Graduate Program Credential Program Courses Students Show Extended Student Association The American Papers Careers Advising Faculty Show Extended Faculty Books Alumni Show Extended Alumni Profiles Books by Alumni Community College Board Scholarships Show Extended Napolin APC Undergraduate Scholarship David Jon Vaca Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Mike and Lucy Steiner Study Abroad Scholarship Academic Achievement Award Outstanding Reentry Student Award Susan Flinkingshelt Student Association Service Award Earl James Weaver Graduate Essay Prize Community Show Extended California American Studies Association News and Events Contact Department of American Studies American Studies at Cal State Fullerton is an independent department which takes as its primary subject American culture in its historical development. Our courses examine American cultural life in the past and present, always with the aim of helping students better understand their experiences and their society. We study how Americans have thought about and experienced such matters as gender, ethnic, racial, and regional identities, humor, religion, crime and violence, childhood, family, the built environment, community, mental health and sickness, cultural ideals, and cultural criticism. We are a department of engaged, energetic professors from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. In an American Studies class you will encounter a wide range of cultural sources for study. You may read one or more novels or autobiographies, examine movies and television as cultural documents, consider the visual arts and music, or view examples of the built environment. You will also be exposed to the most recent scholarship in the rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of American culture studies. Critical thinking and writing skills are the warp and woof of all our courses. All exams in American Studies are essay exams. All classes emphasize discussion and classroom dialogue rather than pure lecture. Students regularly write response papers in which they critically evaluate and synthesize what they have read and discussed. Students regularly conduct library and ethnographic research and write up the results of that research in ways which integrate their own findings with ideas and evidence presented in the classroom. In our General Education courses , you will study the broader dimensions of American culture, as it developed in the past and as it exists in the present. Our upper-division electives are open to all students with an interest or background in the specific topic. These courses reflect the research or interest specialty of the faculty giving the course, so you will receive the benefit of both the professor's specialized knowledge and his or her enthusiasm for the topic. To learn more about our department: Watch a video of our students talking about their experiences in AMST. Learn more about an American Studies degree. Visit the American Studies section of the University catalog. Read the Department of American Studies Student Learning Goals and Outcomes. Read about what you can do with a major in American Studies. Why Choose American Studies? Or contact us directly by phone or email. News & Headlines The AMST Department is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this Spring! All alumni and current students are welcome to attend. Please see the News and Events page for more information. Congratulation to Professor Golub and former MA student Ashley Loup on the publication of their article "Engaging Fan Cultures: What Students Learn When They Study Fans" in the current edition of Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies . Read the AMST Department's Statement on Hate Speech Incidents . Congratulation to Professor Woo on the publication of her book Framed by War: Korean Children and Women at the Crossroads of Empire by NYU Press! Congratulations to Professor Ibson on the publication of his new book Men without Maps ! You can watch a video of his book signing at Book Soup taken by former graduate student Jose Zamora on YouTube . Professor Terri Snyder was featured as the keynote speaker at "Untamed: Women and the Law," a special symposium held in conjunction with the Jamestown Settlement's year-long exhibit, "Tenacity: Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia" in commeration of the 400 year anniversary of the beginnings of slavery in North America. Check out the volunteer work done by AMST students on a study abroad trip to Denmark led by Professor Lane over the summer! The department is excited to welcome Kristin Rowe and Eric Gonzaba as new full time faculty members! Check out their webpages and stay tuned for more information about their research and teaching. Check out the latest edition of The American Papers featuring some of the best papers written in AMST courses during the previous year! We are saddened to l earn of the recent death of Professor Emeritus David Pivar, the founder and first chair of our department. Nearly 50 years later, we remain indebted to his vision, determination, and guidance. Congratulations to Dr. Ibson on the publishing of his new boo k, The Mourning After: Loss and Longing Among Midcentury American Men by the University of Chicago Press! Congratulations to Dr. Adam Golub on his promotion to Full Professor and for winning an HSS Legacy Award for innovations in teaching! Check out coverage of the study abroad trip to Denmark run by Professor Lane! The American Studies Department is saddened to learn of the death of its former MA student Ian Barraza. Winner of the Giles T. Brown Outstanding Thesis Award, Ian was a model student, powerful advocate for the Deaf Community, , and a devoted father. Please read the department's tribute to Barraza. Check out a new article on zombies and the blues by Professor Golub. Congratulations to him as well for taking first runner-up honors in Pulp Literature’s Raven Short Story Contest for his short story “The Pool Guy.” Check out the OC Register article about Professor Woo's research on "invisible" Korean War adoptees . Congratulations to Professor Snyder for being elected to the Council of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture ! Congratulations to Professor Woo for winning the W oodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation's Malkiel Scholars award for fostering inclusive campus communities! Check out Professer Lane's article on the "gig economy" at the Harvard Business Review . Listen to Professor Terri Snyder discuss her book The Power to Die on Ben Franklin's World: A Podcast About Early American History . Congratulations to Professor Adam Golub on the publication of his new edited volume Monsters in the Classroom ! Congratulations to Professor Carrie Lane for the publication of her new edited volume, Anthropologies of Work: New Perspectives on Work and Its Absence ! We are saddened to share the news of the passing of our recent graduate, Courtney Brown. Courtney was an exceptional student and invaluable member of our community. AMST graduate student Amy Kremer won the CSUF Giles T. Brown Award for Outstanding M.A. Thesis of the Year with "Woods, Wolves, and Falcons: The Nature Writing of Jean Craighead George." Read about the many books our alumni have published in this OC Register article ! This site is maintained by Department of American Studies . Last Published 1/25/20 To report problems or comments with this site, please contact dabnet@fullerton.edu . © California State University, Fullerton. All Rights Reserved. Web Accessibility CSUF is committed to ensuring equal accessibility to our users. Let us know about any accessibility problems you encounter using this website. We'll do our best to improve th...