AMS 295-01 - Special Topic: Placing, Projecting, and Protecting American Identities in Movies

4 credits (Spring)

This course explores representations of American identities and the binaries generated by these explorations including here/there, foreign/local, abroad/ home, American/Other. Films and readings will highlight the theme of amalgamation as an alchemic process (the melting pot) shaping Americanness and its association with characteristics such as respectability, recognition and respect. Questions to be addressed include: who are the models and what are the multiple meanings of “being AN American,” being IN America and imagining these distinctions in different circles and at different moments?

Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach