Race and ethnicity have shaped the experiences of diverse peoples in the Americas from the past up through the present. This concentration offers History majors the opportunity to focus on race and ethnicity in the Americas and to explore the social constructions and cultural determinants defining its existence in a broader global context. Courses in the concentration provide historical context, introduce students to theoretical principles, and explore expressions of identity and of diverse cultural traditions.

• HI 118 Introduction to History of Race and Ethnicity (new course to be proposed)
  
• HI 209 Immigrant Experience
  
• HI 221 African-American History
  
• HI 350 Topics in Comparative History
  

One of the following:

• AN 220 Culture, Health, and Healing
  
• AH 213 Studies in African and African-American Art
  
  
• EN 233 African-American and Caribbean Literature
  
• EN 235 Female Voices of Diversity: Studies in Contemporary Literature
  
• EN 330 Images of 20th-Century America: Innovation in Literature
  
• EN 389 Empire and Resistance
  
• FR 245 Women’s Voices from France and Francophone Countries
  
• IDS/AN 120 Communicating Identities in the Global Culture
  
• PS 201 Comparative Politics
  
• PY 300 Psychology of Race, Class, and Gender
  
• SO 330 Power and Privilege

The concentration in Cultural History is designed to provide students with a broad base of knowledge and skills from the discipline of History. Students will analyze and interpret the ideas, events, and artifacts that contribute to our understanding of what constitutes cultural history. When appropriate, we will employ methodologies from other disciplines (Art History, Anthropology, Religion, Sociology, Theatre Arts, and English) to provide multiple lenses.

The focus of our inquiries will be the nature of culture and the construction of societies. How and why is culture important to our lives and identities? How do we represent the past and what importance – and limitations – do these representations have? How and why does culture – including popular culture, the arts, and literature – serve as a site of social and political struggle? How do diverse groups imagine their identities and their relation to one another and to host nations like the United States? What happens when we look at our histories and our world(s) from a variety of perspectives?

• HI 111 U.S. History I or HI 112 U.S. History II
  
• HI 210 Voices from the Past: Oral History
  
• HI 252 Women in American History
  
• HI 310 The City in America: Hope or Despair
  
• RE 221 God, Gold, and Gurus: Religion in Contemporary America

Recommended Electives:

• AN 101 Cultural Anthropology
  
• BI 280 Ethical Issues in Science and Technology: America’s Moral
  Dilemmas
  
• DA 260 Dance in America
  
• EN 220 New England Literature: A Sense of Place
  
• EN 228 Theatre in Boston: Reading and Seeing Plays
  
• EN 232 American Writers: Rebels, Visionaries, and Innovators
  
• EN 330 Images of 20th-Century America: Innovation in Literature
  
• EN 332 American Girls and New Women: American Literature, 1870-
  1930
  
• IDS 229 Children’s Literature of the U.S.: A Mirror of American Society
  
• IDS 276 American Cultures on Film
  
• MK 225 The Malling of America: The Dynamics of Modern Distribution
  
• MU 250 Popular Music in America
  
• PS 111 American Government and Politics
  
• PS 211 American Foreign Policy
  
• PS 241 The American Legal System
  
• PS/WS 245 Women and the Law
  
• PS 313 Campaigns and Elections in the United States
  
• PY 234 Cross-cultural Psychology
  
• SO 310 Family in Society
  
• SO 340 Work, Leisure, SocietyForeign language or proficiency required.

In this concentration students examine the expressive functions, stylistic features, and historical contexts of painting, sculptures, buildings, and related objects from the United States and elsewhere in the Americas. In particular, focus is placed on the underlying values and beliefs of works of art. Students develop analytical and interpretative skills as they explore the connections between today’s visual culture and those of the past. Also, students learn how to read and use documents, including both written and oral narratives in their study of visual cultures. Works of art approached from a variety of interlocking perspectives, including religion, literature, sociology, and political science.

• AH 101 Introduction to Art History
  
• AH 345 American Painting and Sculpture

One of the following

• AH 213 Studies in African and African-American Art
  
• AH 235 Latin-American Art
  
• AH 344 American Architecture
  
• VA 100 Introduction to Studio Arts
  or
• VA 110 Drawing Fundamentals
  or
• VA 120 Design Fundamentals
  

Recommended Electives:

• AH 247 Taking Their Place: A History of American Woman Artists
  
• AH 303 The Art Exhibition Seminar
  
• DA 260 Dance in America
  
• EN 220 New England Literature: A Sense of Place
  
• EN 228 Theatre in Boston: Reading and Seeing Plays
  
• EN 232 American Writers: Rebels, Visionaries, and Innovators
  
• EN 330 Images of 20th-Century America: Innovation in Literature
  
• EN 332 American Girls and New Women: American Literature, 1870-1930
  
• IDS 229 Children’s Literature of the U.S.: A Mirror of American Society
  
• IDS 276 American Cultures on Film
  
• MU 250 Popular Music in America
  

Study of a foreign language (up through the intermediate level) is strongly recommended for students in this concentration.

History

• HI 101 Western Civilization I
• HI 102 Western Civilization II
  Or
• HI 111 U.S. History I
• HI 112 U.S. History II

Art History

• AH 101 Introduction to Art History

Four additional courses in Art History at the 200-level or above