AMST 30104 - The American Scene

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

American Studies

Description:

"To make so much money that you won't, that you don't mind, don't mind anything - that is absolutely, I think, the main American formula." In 1904, after a nearly thirty-year absence, Henry James returned to America to examine the country of his birth. His tour left him with impression of an entire society "dancing, all consciously, on the thin crust of a volcano," and brought him to the above conclusion about money and the American scene. This course tries to contextualize and understand James's remark by placing it within a broader atmosphere of American culture from the Gilded Age to the current Age of Globalization. We'll look at works of literature and biography, of politics and philosophy, and of theology and economics. Throughout, we will keep circling around and back to James's notion of "the main American formula" and asking not only what he meant, but also how other major thinkers past and present have understood or conceived of an "American formula." The course moves over a vast period of American history from the Gilded Age to the present. Contemporary works will shape discussion about how globalization and phenomena like the credit crisis and global financial collapse offer specific challenges to American identity. Students will write a series of short papers, a longer research paper, make class presentations, and take a final exam.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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