Program Description


 
The Walt Whitman Program in American Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor consisting of a concentration of six courses (18 credits) that illuminate diverse aspects of American Culture.  The minor combines coursework in American Studies with courses from relevant disciplines (literature, history, arts and material culture, and the social or behavioral sciences), giving students the opportunity to examine American experience from a variety of perspectives.

To integrate these diverse perspectives, students enroll in an interdisciplinary American Studies Seminar, which introduces them to the critical and theoretical paradigms of American studies and their applicability to a range of American writers and texts. This seminar, taken at an early point, serves as a basis for the minor. Students, with advise of program faculty, also take 12 other elective credits, which introduce them to a particular issue or set of problems in American studies. At least 3 of these credits will be in English and at least 3 credits will be in history, but no more than 6 elective credits will be in any one discipline. At least 6 elective credits will be at the 300-level or above. During the senior year, students complete an Independent Study in American Studies consisting either of a research project or an internship at a local museum, library, or historical site.

Walt Whitman Option

This option encourages students to take advantage of the unique cultural resources of Camden, where Whitman spent the last years of his life and where he attained international fame. Few figures profit from interdisciplinary study as much as Whitman, whose poetry and prose is a rich repository of literary, artistic, musical, historical, religious, and philosophical currents. The Walt Whitman House, just a few blocks from the Rutgers-Camden campus, is one of the best preserved literary landmarks in the United States, and the adjacent Whitman library has a fine collection of writings by and about Whitman.

Students choosing this option fulfill the same requirements as for the American Studies minor, but may select courses which offer an international context or background for Whitman's writings. Their senior Independent Study involves either research on Whitman or an internship at the Walt Whitman House.

Required Courses 

  • 50:050:201 Introduction to American Studies

    • Using one or more major figures as a focal point, this interdisciplinary course introduces students to the issues, materials, and methodologies of American Studies. Students develop analytical and research tools necessary to understand both the diversity of American experience and the formation of a national culture. Readings include primary sources and recent scholarship. In addition to Walt Whitman, who lived and wrote in Camden, other figures who raise important issues and problems in the development of American culture and civilization will be examined. 

  • 50:050:401 Independent Study in American Studies

    • Under the direction of faculty, students research a selected topic or complete an internship at a local museum, library, or historical site. Taken in the senior year.
     
     
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