AMS 4935: Senior Seminar in American Studies

Domesticity

This course will examine both the myth and the reality of American domestic life from the early nineteenth century to the present. Topics will include: the emergence of the "cult of domesticity," trends in domestic architecture and furnishings, housework and the home economics movement, marriage and divorce, and the portrayal of domestic life in advertising, film and television.

Popular Culture

This course examines what Americans do in their leisure time for pleasure and recreation. Starting in the nineteenth century, the course will explore the emergence of cultural hierarchy (elite, mass, and folk cultures) and diversions (travel, theme parks, show business, etc.) from such perspectives as time periods, technology, race, class, gender and regions.