Program Overview

American Studies Certificate

Program Overview

The American Studies Certificate is an undergraduate certification program that allows students to pursue an interdisciplinary course of study, examining the culture, society, political system, and other aspects of the United States.

Program Details

• Program Type: Certificate
• Format: On Campus
• Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 semesters
• Credit Hours: 12

Program Description

The American Studies Certificate features courses that run the gamut from anthropology to art to English to history to political science to the performing arts and more. This certificate is the perfect complement to a wide variety of degree plans.

Why Earn an American Studies Certificate?

American Studies exposes students to the foundations of American history and culture with particular attention to issues of race, gender, class, and the formation of American identity.

Program Highlights

• Our faculty hail from the top graduate programs in the country, are active scholars and researchers, and are consistently recognized as some of the best teachers at UNT.
• Some of our faculty honors include the BBC International Short Story Award, a $1 million U.S. State Department grant, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.
• As an English major, you can participate in a number of student organizations, including the Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society.
• Creative writing students receive feedback from published writers, and the Visiting Writers Series provides a forum to meet accomplished authors.
• You may also help faculty members with research projects or with one of the department's journals — the American Literary Review, Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies, and Studies in the Novel.
• At all levels, our class sizes are restricted in order to provide opportunities for collaboration with other students and close interaction with professors.

Program Courses

• Studies in Contemporary American Literature (3 hrs) In-depth study of contemporary American Literature (1945–Present), including fiction, poetry, and drama, from a particular critical, cultural, historical, or philosophical perspective.
• United States Food History (3 hrs) Examines the history of American food and its relationship to identity in terms of nationality, race, gender, religion, politics, and other categories. Emphasis on the meanings Americans have assigned to food and eating over time.
• American Film History (3 hrs) A survey of film in America, from its beginnings to its contemporary manifestations, focused on its aesthetic sociocultural and industrial contexts. The class includes readings, screenings, and discussions of American “independent” films as well as mainstream Hollywood releases.
• Indigenous Peoples of North America (3 hrs) Examines the common stereotypes and media (mis)interpretations of indigenous peoples and cultures in order to see beyond such one-dimensional portrayals of the American Indian. Introduction to a number of important themes in the history of Native American peoples over the last 500 years, including colonization, culture change, and sovereignty. Students gain a sense of the richness and diversity of Native American culture and experience.
• American Culture and Society (3 hrs) Culture, cultural diversity, and multiculturalism constitute some of the most significant social issues in America today. Oriented around the core concept of culture and cultural groups; designed to introduce the student to the basic concepts of culture and cultural diversity and develop an awareness and appreciation for the full range of diversity in the American (U.S.) culture. Special time and attention devoted to the origins, development, and consequences of the diversity that plays such a central role in the lives of people in this nation-state culture.