American Culture and Institutions
Fall 2017
Course: BTAN23005BA/AN3303OMATime and place: Mon10-12; Lecture Hall II
Instructor: Dr. Balázs Venkovits () / Office: Main Building, Room 116/1
Office hours: Tue 10-12 and also by appointment
Course Description
This is a survey course which serves as the foundation for all subsequent courses in American studies. Besides revisiting topics already encountered in the first-year language course titled “American Civilization,” the seminar provides opportunities for more in-depth analysis of American politics, regional identity, society, race relations, religion, myths, sports, media, and other topical issues of American life.
Requirements
Most of the class sessions are to be based on the discussion of the topics at hand, introduced and moderated by the instructor and/or a student giving a presentation and being in charge of that topic.The discussions are facilitated by PowerPoint presentations, interactive and online resources, and will be supported by class readings. Each student will have an individual presentation, submit oneshortmovie review or project paper (see list of recommended projects/films below), participate in thein-class group debateand write a comprehensiveend-term paper.
(PowerPoint)Presentations
Each student is required to choose a presentation topic from one of the weekly discussion points. The presentations should be prepared using PowerPoint (or similar software) and should take approx. 10 minutes in length. They shall beinteractive (with thought-provoking questions to the class or various activities) and supported by aone-page typed handout. The presentation and the handout have to be sent to the instructor at least THREE DAYS before the presentation is due.You should PRESENT your presentation and not read out your notes.
In-Class Debate
Two times during the semester a part of the class will be set aside for group debates, discussing, contrasting, and analyzing differing viewpoints concerning various controversial topics. The topics and the composition of debate groups will be discussed in advance. The goal of the assignment is to encourage individual research, improve arguing and presentation skills, as well as cooperation within and between the groups. Preparations, the quality and usefulness of materials used and participation in the debate in general will serve as the basis for evaluation.
The details of the specific assignments will be discussed during orientation. If you missed orientation or have any questions about the above assignments, do not hesitate to contact me.
Evaluation
The final grade will be calculated from the grades assigned on class participation (20%), presentations (15%), movie review/project paper (15%), group debate(20%), and the end-term paper (30%). More than three absences will result in a “not fulfilled” grade. Grades will be assigned according to the following conversion formulae: 0-60% = fail; 61-70% = satisfactory; 71-80% = average; 81-90% = good; 91-100% = excellent
Students may not miss more than three classes under any circumstances. If you must miss a class, please let me know. If you do not attend the class when assignments are due, and you fail to notify the instructor, you will automatically lose all the credit points on the assignment.If you have a compelling reason for arriving late or leaving early, speak with your instructor about the problem.
Academic dishonesty
Academic dishonesty is both unethical and illegal and will result in a failure of the course. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to plagiarism (failure to acknowledge and note the use of another writer’s words and ideas) and copying from another person during an examination or assisting another person to cheat by providing information.
Readings:
American Culture and Institutions: Course Packet (a.k.a. AN 352)
Advanced American Civilization: Course Materials
American Civilization: An Introduction by David Mauk and John Oakland (New York: Routledge, 2009).
Bigsby, Christopher, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture. Cambridge: CUP, 2006.
Additional reading materials will be distributed in class or via email.
Schedule of classes and topics
Week 1 (Sep. 11)– Orientation and introduction to the course
Week 2 (Sep. 18)– Constitution I – Past and Present (definition; supreme law of the land; myths; sources; reasons why it was needed to replace the Articles of Confederation; the process of drafting, signing and ratifying it; structure; the main points of the seven articles; “the necessary and proper” clause; the Bill of Rights)
- Reading: The Constitution of the United States (Recommended: AN352 CP)
Week 3 (Sep. 25)– Constitution II – Milestones (ratification deal, classification of additional amendments, the importance of the 14th Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, Supreme Court decisions and the process of judicial review, Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott, Plessy v. Fergusson, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, Roe v. Wade; impeachment)
- Reading: The Constitution of the United States (Recommended: AN352 CP)
- Recommended project: the US vs the Hungarian constitution
Week 4 (Oct. 2)– Elections (presidential and midterm elections, the stages of presidential elections: announcement, primaries, national convention, tv debates, election day, electoral college, inauguration; the 2000 election and the Supreme Court; absentee ballots and referenda at election time)
- Election Glossary (handout)
- Review the political system from Mauk
- Recommended project: political cartoon analysis 2016
Week 5 (Oct. 9)– “One Nation Under God?” - Religion and politics (separation of church and state – comparisons with Hungary; the Protestant heritage vs. religious diversity, the Bible Belt, religious conservatism and fundamentalism; Darwin vs. creationism; Christian scientists: business and religion; civil religion in America; abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice)
- Reading: “A Church-State Solution” (Advanced Am. Civ. CP)
- Recommended movie: Jesus Camp(Grady, 2006)
Week 6 (Oct. 16)– A Nation of Immigrants(definitions of immigration, early periods of immigration from Colonial times to the 1870s, New immigration, quota systems, three groups in close-up: Hungarians, Chinese and Hispanics, immigration policy after 9/11)
- “The Immigration Debate” (Advanced Am. Civ. CP)
- Recommended movie: Immigrants – Jóska menni Amerika (Csupó, 2008)
Week 7 (Oct. 23) –NATIONAL HOLIDAY – NO CLASS
Week 8 (Oct 30)- CONSULTATION WEEK - NO CLASS
Week 9 (Nov. 6) - Social issues (recent demographic patterns; ethnic and other minorities; African Americans and Native American Indians in the 20th and 21st centuries; race relations, affirmative action; multiculturalism; political correctness; social stratification and upward mobility; class in a classless society)
- “The Changing Face of America” (Advanced Am. Civ. CP)
- Recommended movie: Freedom Riders (Nelson, 2010)
Week 10 (Nov. 13) – Environment and American cities (conservation and preservation, the origins and the current system of national parks, from the myth of the plenty to dependence on Saudi oil, endangered species, the Kyoto Accord; current trends in American urban development, (sub)urbanization, urban villages, regionalism revisited)
- “It All Began with Conservation” (Advanced Am. Civ. CP)
- Recommended movie: The Inconvenient Truth(Guggenheim, 2006)
Week 11 (Nov. 20) – Civil liberties (Constitutional foundations: the Bill of Rights revisited; freedom of speech and freedom of the press vs. censorship in the US; freedom of assembly; the proposed Equal Rights Amendment; civil liberties after 9/11)
“The Patriot Act: Looking Back to 2001”Los Angeles Times (October 23, 2009) (Advanced Am. Civ. CP)
Recommended movie: Fahrenheit 9/11(Moore, 2004)
Week 12 (Nov. 27) –Controversial Topics in Contemporary American Cultureand Society - IN-CLASS DEBATE I.
Possible topics: gun control, same-sex marriage, capital punishment, abortion, (illegal) immigration, war on terror, legalizing marijuana, etc.
Week 13 (Dec. 4) –Controversial Topics in Contemporary American Cultureand Society - IN-CLASS DEBATE II.
Possible topics: gun control, same-sex marriage, capital punishment, abortion, (illegal) immigration, war on terror, legalizing marijuana, etc.
Week 14 (Dec. 11) – End-Term Test
If you have questions about how your work is evaluated, please stop by.