American Studies Minor

The University offers a minor in American Studies. To earn an American Studies minor, students must apply in writing to the Chair of either the English or History Department and have a sequence of courses designed and approved to meet specific goals. Applications are available in either Chair’s office. Only one (1) course may be taken within the student’s major subject area. Courses in the minor may also be used to fulfill general education requirements. To complete the course residency requirement for a minor, a minimum of three (3) course-credits (12 semester hours) in the minor must be taken at Framingham State University.

The minor in American Studies requires five (5) courses representing at least three (3) disciplines, distributed as follows:

One (1) of the following courses in American literature:

  • ENGL 243 The American Short Story
  • ENGL 261 American Writers I
  • ENGL 262 American Writers II

One (1) American history (HSTA) course at 290 0r 300-level

Choose three (3) courses from at least two (2) of the following disciplines: (At least three (3) disciplines must be represented in the total of five (5) courses.)
Art & Music
  • ARTH 282 American Art
  • MUSC 141 American Musics
  • MUSC 151 The History and Literature of Jazz
Biology
  • BIOL 103 Biological Perspectives on Environmental Issues
Economics
  • ECON 101 Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ECON 102 Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECON 306 Urban Economics
English
  • ENGL 243 The American Short Story
  • ENGL 260 American Ethnic Literature
  • ENGL 261 American Writers I
  • ENGL 262 American Writers II
  • ENGL 353 Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost
  • ENGL 365 American Romanticism
  • ENGL 368 American Realism and Naturalism
  • ENGL 370 Studies in American Literature
  • ENGL 373 Modern American Fiction
  • ENGL 383 Contemporary American Fiction
  • ENGL 384 Contemporary American Poetry
Geography
  • GEOG 250 Geography of the United States and Canada
  • GEOG 251 Geography of New England
History
  • HSTY 120 American Lives
  • HSTY 151 United States History to Reconstruction
  • HSTY 152 United States History since Reconstruction
  • HSTY 165 Slavery, Race, and Rights in American History
  • HSTY 169 Sex and the Sixties
  • HSTY 290 Special Topics in American History
  • HSTY 3xx (Any American history course at the 300-level)
Sociology
  • SOCI 130 Social Problems
  • SOCI 226 Sociology of Rap and Hip Hop
  • SOCI 255 LGBTQ Communities in the United States
  • SOCI 264 Black Communities and Institutions
  • SOCI 288 Immigration in the United States
  • SOCI 315 Social Class
  • SOCI 340 Sociology of Work
Interdisciplinary/Interdepartmental:
  • INTD 490 Independent Study in American Studies