Class Schedules

The readings and assignments in this course are designed to help students understand how social policies and programs contribute to Americans' lived experiences.  We will examine various theoretical justifications for the policies that constitute the American welfare state, then confront and dissect major strands of the American social safety net to better understand how political institutions and policy mechanisms contribute to both diversity and inequality in individuals' social, economic and political outcomes (based in race, class, gender, dis/ability, region, political jurisdiction, etc.).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines Native American history since 1871. We begin with an introduction to indigenous history before 1871, characterized by centuries of Euro-American attempts to colonize and Christianize, to assimilate Native bodies and allot Native lands. We will then analyze the ways in which Native Americans have continualy fought to sustain their cultures, languages, and religions, as well as their political and socio-economic structures, throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Focusing on themes such as Native resistance to the development of U.S. federal policies and the proliferation of Native culture, we will also consider the shifting nature of Native American sovereignty and the importance of indigenous identity in regards to the experiences of Native Americans.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

From notions of the "pure self" to teenage ganguro ("face-blackening"), Japanese culture is rife with instances of ideology and performance that reflect a deep complexity in its engagement with issues of identity and foreignness. This course traces the roots of this complexity back to Japan's beginnings as a modern nation and examines its cultural development into the present day. Works of fiction will be paired with readings in history and criticism to explore the meanings of identity, race, and ethnicity as they are expressed and contested in Japanese culture. The course will cover the literature of Korea and Taiwan, the experience of domestic minorities, and the contemporary cultures of cos-play ("costume-play") and hip-hop. No prior knowledge of Japanese required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The Critical Hmong Studies course will engage students in a critical analysis of the changing nature of Hmong culture and Hmong identity worldwide. The course traces Hmong origin from China, and historical events to current time, including Hmong involvement in the Vietnam War, Hmong migration throughout the world, and Hmong life in host societies. Students will explore debates surrounding cultural identity, intergenerational conflict, changing traditions and cultural practices in host societies. In addition, students will examine gender issues, acculturation, the portrayal of Hmong in media, Hmong in education, and racism among others.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course situates Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X within the larger context of the black freedom struggle. While focusing on them as individuals, the bulk of the course addresses historical contexts, organizations, events, and individuals which are obscured by King's and X's celebrity. The black freedom struggle has always been national in scope with international implications. In addition to the "southern theater," we explore of the black freedom struggle in the Western, Midwestern, and Northern regions of the country. We also explore the relation between historical expressions of the black freedom struggle such as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and contemporary movements such as Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name. A major theme of the course is the role of religion and the larger category of spirituality as a kind of connective tissue among the various dimensions of the black freedom struggle.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will explore whether or not the election of the nation’s first Black president changed the face of African- American leadership and activism since the height of the civil rights and Black power movements. We will study African Americans in the political system from a historical context. The running themes of the course are crafted to consider the following questions: What are the historical dynamics that have shaped and continue to shape the relationship between African Americans and the American political system? Under what conditions have Black people been able to exert influence in the political system? What exactly are Black political interests? Finally, we will analyze the strategies of electoral politics versus social activism, and analyze the way in which Barack Obama fits into the larger picture of Black politics in the United States.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The great African American writer Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is best known as the poet laureate of the Harlem Renaissance. But his career was vaster still. He was a Soviet screenwriter, Spanish Civil War journalist, African literary anthologist, humorist, playwright, translator, social critic, writer of over 10,000 letters, and much more. This course engages Hughes's full career, bridging race and global issues, politics and art, and makes use of little-known archival materials. This course fulfills the U.S. writers of color requirement for the English major.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The American West is central to the construction of America's identity and popular culture.  The mythology of the American West, built on a narrow foundation of Euro-American settlement and conquest, is critical to understanding the role of the West in the national narrative of American history. Using a variety of materials, including films, art and photography, literature, and historical sources, this course will examine how writers, artists, actors, settlers, and government officials, among others, shaped the creation of the mythic West.  This course will investigate what - and who - is and is not considered part of this mythology, as well as the ways in which these constructs attempted to make sense of the diverse populations converging in the West.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This discussion-based course is entirely focused on Bruce Lee, the actor and leading martial arts icon of the 20th century. Using American Studies and Critical Race Studies frames to examine the construction of racialized and gendered bodies, we will discuss Bruce Lee in terms of his biography, identities, politics, philosophy, and filmography. We will take time to appreciate the entertainment value and athleticism that Bruce Lee brought to his work, but we will also learn to distinguish the commercialized, commodified Bruce Lee (from t-shirts to posters to action figures) from the serious historical figure who symbolized the spirit of cultural independence and political sovereignty around the world. Among the required books and movies: The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and "Way of the Dragon" (1972).

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Beginning with the 19th Amendment and ending with the emergence of Covid-19, this social history course will apply four essential themes--fear, anxiety, safety, and security--to examine the history of social resistance to structural racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia that has defined much of the past century. A survey in the broadest sense of the word, we will investigate these themes as they relate to major historical events and chart the impact these events had not only on communities across the country, but on the national psyche of the United States. A bonus will be the participation of Aisling Quigley, Digital Liberal Arts Postdoctoral Fellow, who will teach and oversee the integration of digital humanities methods and tools that have developed in response to, or parallel with, the four themes we address. The class will culminate with students creating digital humanities projects on relevant historical themes of their choosing.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is designed to introduce students to the histories of Mexican-descent people prior to the Spanish colonization of the Americas to the present century. Specifically, this course will provide an overview of culture, religion, education, economics, immigration and civil rights through a Chicana feminist framework. We will begin with a general presentation of terminology and identification categories. Then move towards a general reading on the pre-colonial histories of the Olmecas, Aztecas, and Tolteca cultures and politics. We will follow with a study of Chicana women’s labor struggles in the U.S. along with the emergence of labor movements. In addition, students will explore how and why the field of Chicana/o Studies emerges at the height of the Civil Rights and the Chicana/o movement of the 1960s and 1970s. We will delve into U.S. constructions of immigration, citizenship and nation to understand contemporary debates on issues affecting the Chicana/o-Mexicana/o- Latinx communities. This includes topics like DACA, U.S. deportation laws, the child migration crisis and much more. By the end of the semester, students will be able to articulate the experiences of Chicanas/os at the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality, among other considerations.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course examines and recounts the origins, history, and the regional, national, and global reach of the Hip Hop culture. This phenomenal culture change was born in the neighborhoods of Kingston, South Bronx, and Los Angeles, among many others. In this course, we will explore the five elements of Hip Hop history: b-boy/b-girl dance, graffiti, DJ-ing, MC (writing), and Knowledge. During the module, local artists will visit, sharing skills like beatboxing and classic scratching (within COVID-19 guidelines). At the end of the module, students will create and perform their own original work.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course provides an interdisciplinary discussion of the Latino experience in the United States with a focus on Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban- Americans. Using fiction, poetry, films and critical essays, we will examine issues of race and ethnicity, language, identity, gender and sexuality, politics, and immigration. This course satisfies the Area 2 requirement for the Spanish major. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 305 .

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course connects students with urban social geography, which studies the social and spatial dimensions of city life. In this course, we will explore some of the ways in which urban society is organized geographically. We will also consider how the spatial patterns of urban life influence public policy issues in a North American context. Topics covered in this course include causes of racial segregation, debates about gentrification, sustainable suburban development, the transition to shared governance in cities, and the delivery of urban services that affect the welfare of urban populations. Students will learn current research, engage debates about critical urban issues, and learn techniques useful for analyzing spatial patterns in the urban landscape. Prerequisite(s): GEOG 241 or GEOG 261 or GEOG 262 or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the diversity of twentieth century visual culture of the United States, within the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which it is created. It will analyze the intersection and the social dynamics of race and ethnicity, along with gender and class, and how these shaped the experience of American artists and their audiences at various historical moments during the last century. Studying the work of Native American, African-American, Asian-American, and Latino-American artists in response to the mainstream US art and culture, will provide students with broad and complex understanding of concepts of race, ethnicity, class, and gender as reflected in artistic production of this marginalized artists and art groups. Prerequisite(s): At least one course in Art History, WGSS or AMST or permission of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In the United States, the field of ethnic studies evolved out of student activism. Most disciplines began in the Academy and have stayed in the Academy. Ethnic Studies is different. The Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s and early 1970s, contributed to growing self-awareness and radicalization of people of color such as African-Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Indigenous People. Ethnic studies departments were established on college campuses across the country and have grown to encompass African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies, and Native American Studies. What is the history of Ethnic Studies at Macalester College? Also how does this knowledge transpire in communiversities in the Twin Cities, such as Nu Skool? This course will teach students how student and community activism have led to the creation of ethnic studies departments on college campuses; and will provide students an opportunity to explore the tools and strategies utilized in these movements.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

After a brief but essential global history of drugs, this course will focus primarily on the 20th century to the present. We will examine histories of substance use and abuse, temperance and prohibition, the "War on Drugs," the shifting concept of addiction as a moral failing to addiction as a treatable disease, as well as study the history of the recovery movement and harm reduction. This course is not intended to be an exhaustive, comprehensive history of the subject-but it will provide you with a solid base from which to explore other aspects of this fascinating and contentious aspect of human history.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In this course we will discuss today's social justice movements in the light of the Vietnam antiwar and countercultural movements of the 1960s and 70s. Giving voice to the experience of Black, Indigenous, Southeast Asian refugee, and immigrant communities--in St. Paul and elsewhere--will ground the course in multicultural, anti-racist, life-affirming language and ideas. Activities and events will build intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue with people outside of the course. Key sources will include Aaron Sorkin's film "Trial of the Chicago 7," my co-edited book "The People Make the Peace: Lessons from the Vietnam Antiwar Movement" and Adrienne Maree Brown's book "Pleasure Activism."

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The course examines the post-World War II Civil Rights Movement led by African Americans in the United States.  In the class, students will analyze key people, issues, events, and debates within movement history, including, but not limited to, gender and leadership; struggles for civil rights in the south, west, and urban north; the impact of the Cold War on race relations; student activism; movement strategies; and the emergence of Black Power.  Throughout the semester, students will read a wide variety of primary and secondary texts to illuminate the activities and life stories of individual participants as well as the broad historical forces that characterized this long era of insurgency.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In Motion is an introduction to modern African American History from slavery to contemporary times. In Motion emphasizes the idea that both African Americans and the stories of their lives in the United States are fluid, varied and continually being reinterpreted. Rather than a strict chronological survey, this course is organized thematically. Some of the important themes include movement/mobility/migration; work/labor; resistance to systems of oppression; gender/sexuality/culture/performance; politics/citizenship; and sites of (re)memory. While the course is geographically situated in the United States, we will also consider African American life, culture, thought and resistance in global perspectives. In this course, students will read important historical texts, both primary and secondary, engage in discussion, and write essays that ask them to critically engage the history of African Americans in the US. Cross-listed with History 219. 4 credits.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The history of American Indians is wonderfully complex, but this history is simultaneously fraught with misconceptions and misinterpretations. European (and, later, Euro-Americans) alternated among fascination, fear, and frustration toward American Indians, while American Indians sought to maintain tribal sovereignty and control over their lands, cultures, religions, politics, and lifestyles amidst continuing encroachment and settlement. This course examines American Indian history to 1871 - the year that Congress stopped making treaties with Native nations - by considering the complicated and multifaceted history of the nation's indigenous people. By looking at American Indian interactions with Spanish, French, British, and American explorers, settlers, missionaries, militaries, and government officials, this courses argues that the history of American Indians is essential to understanding past as well as present issues. Furthermore, this course looks to move beyond the notion that American Indian history is one of inevitable decline by creating a more nuanced understanding of the American Indian experience from pre-contact toward the twentieth century.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This survey course will explore history, policy, and pedagogy as they relate to race, ethnicity, and culture as education. K-12 public education will be the primary focus with topics including desegregation, standardized testing, multi-cultural and ethnocentric pedagogy, the teacher's role and experience, and significant historical events in education. The course will culminate by analyzing current trends and future expectations in education.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores James Baldwin's life and work as a writer and activist. Baldwin was a black queer man in an antiblack and heteronormative world. His queer imagination and spirituality are part of the same cloth. Deeply scared by the black church, Baldwin's spirituality and art were, nevertheless, profoundly shaped by the spirit and language of black church religiosity. Through a heterogenous body of writing and the life he lived, Baldwin explored the souls of black folks (including queer blackness) and the nature of American identity.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will address the tradition of public intellectuals in numerous Black communities. We will expand the definition of "politics" to include theater, literature, and film. We will interrogate the concept of who chooses the scholarly leaders for Black communities. We will examine numerous topics such as Communism, The American Dream, Incarceration, Feminism, and Ebony Voices in the Ivory Tower.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

After a brief but essential global history of drugs, this course will focus primarily on the 20th century to the present. We will examine histories of substance use and abuse, temperance and prohibition, the "War on Drugs," the shifting concept of addiction as a moral failing to addiction as a treatable disease, as well as study the history of the recovery movement and harm reduction. This course is not intended to be an exhaustive, comprehensive history of the subject-but it will provide you with a solid base from which to explore other aspects of this fascinating and contentious aspect of human history.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Join us in Fall 2021 as we explore the roots and routes of Native Cultural Studies through photography, film, television, print and media. How have Indigenous people been represented in visual culture? And what can Indigenous visual artists or film theory teach us about the past, present and future in the United States? No previous coursework required.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

With the global COVID pandemic, racist violence and police brutality still ongoing, we are living in a pivotal and confusing world-historical moment. Now more than ever, Critical Prison Studies rings a bell. Through a lens informed by anti-racist and abolitionist movements and legacies, we will light the way for discussions of systemic racism, carceralization, and social death. Scholarly texts, videos and film, podcasts, music, poetry, and art will organize and direct our focus on the key public policies and core cultural narratives of freedom, containment, criminality, and good citizenship in the contemporary United States. Many of these narratives have become stock morality tales that we need to examine closely—so we can reconsider their merit and value in our lives. This course is required for majors (juniors) in American Studies; during Fall 2021 non-majors are also invited to enroll. Previous coursework in American Studies is helpful but not required. Internships and small-group projects will be optional and encouraged.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course provides an interdisciplinary discussion of the Latino experience in the United States with a focus on Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban- Americans. Using fiction, poetry, films and critical essays, we will examine issues of race and ethnicity, language, identity, gender and sexuality, politics, and immigration. This course satisfies the Area 2 requirement for the Spanish major. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 305 .

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In Fall 2021, let's learn about contemporary social movements through water law and politics across Native North America and Oceania. How is access to clean water determined? Who owns water? And how have water rights and law shaped American society and culture? Students will engage in participation action based research through case studies and audio storytelling techniques. No previous coursework required.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The Senior Capstone is required of all majors. Majors who meet college criteria are encouraged to conduct an honors project in conjunction with their Senior Capstone.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials