KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE PROGRAM/CONCENTRATION PROPOSAL
FORM 02/25/04
PROGRAM OR CONCENTRATION NAME:_Master of Arts in American Studies_________
DEPARTMENT:_Cultural and Regional Studies, College of Humanities and Social
Sciences________________________________________________________________
PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE: _Fall 2011____________________________________________
Check One or More of the Following and Complete the Appropriate Sections
_____New Program Proposal**
__X__Change in Program/Concentration/Degree Requirements
__X__New Concentration Proposal
Sections to be Completed
All
III – VII, XII
I – VII, XII
**A new course proposal is required for each new course that is part of the new program
Submitted by:
__Emron Esplin________________________January 25, 2011____
Faculty Member
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Department Curriculum Committee
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Department Chair
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College Curriculum Committee
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College Dean
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GPCC Chair
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Dean, Graduate Collelge
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Vice President for Academic Affairs
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President
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UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
PROGRAM REVISION FORM
Transnational American Studies Cluster
&
Transnational American Studies Concentration
Kennesaw State University
JANUARY 25, 2011
CULTURAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Proposed Start Date:
CIP:_FALL 2011_
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I Program Description
The American Studies M.A. (MAST) at Kennesaw State University (KSU) launched in fall 2009
as an interdisciplinary program closely aligned with the mission of the university and the needs
of area communities. Three key objectives addressed by this program are enhancing
interdisciplinarity, building global learning and associated intercultural skills, and promoting
civic engagement.
MAST is administered in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). The program
is led by a director reporting to CHSS. Curriculum is managed by a committee of tenured and
tenure-track teaching faculty who are formally affiliated with the program and who have been
actively planning its content.
We are proposing to enhance and to represent more accurately the transnational content and
components of the M.A. by organizing a new course cluster and adding a new concentration.
II Objectives of the [Proposed Changes in the] Program
At the time of the program’s formation, one of the key goals of MAST was to generate
sophisticated understanding of the meaning and place of America in a global, transnational
context. The proposed changes will make this transnational commitment more evident to
students as a program goal and as an educational option.
We are proposing to enhance the transnational component of the M.A. by adding a new
transnational course cluster and a new transnational concentration.
By focusing more on the Americas in a transnational context, graduates of MAST at KSU will be
able
 to represent their companies, professional organizations, or non-profit groups in
cross-cultural situations;
 to envision productive ways for building relationships with new Georgia
residents, business and government partners from around the world;
 to support and develop content for teaching an array of public audiences, in
formal and informal learning sites, about cultural differences and connections;
 to serve as stewards of local culture in a transnational world.
III Justification and Need for the [Proposed Changes in] Program
In the original proposal for an M.A. in American Studies that we submitted to the USG Board of
Regents, we highlighted the program’s intent to teach, study, and produce research on the United
States and on the Americas in a transnational context. As we explained at the time, the
international and transnational perspectives on American Studies we cultivate in the M.A. are
consistent with two important trends in the field—(1) studying the United States from the outside
and (2) redefining the term America to apply to the entire hemisphere. A vast amount of
American Studies scholarship that focuses on the United States is actually produced in other
nations. Universities all over the world have departments, host journals, and publish series on
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American Studies from several transnational perspectives. Similarly, an increasing number of
American Studies scholars approach the histories, literatures, and cultures of various American
nations side by side rather than focusing solely on the United States. We are leading program
development within the United States by creating an M.A. that foregrounds transnational
perspectives and encourages faculty and students to study the United States from international
viewpoints and to create new conversations between the United States and other nations in the
western hemisphere. Recent faculty hires and enrollment growth now allow us to expand that
commitment to global learning by (1) organizing an additional course cluster in transnational
American Studies from which all students in MAST will be required to take three credits and (2)
adding a transnational concentration within the M.A.
The transnational cluster will require that all students enrolled in the M.A. take one course with a
transnational emphasis in order to meet their degree requirements. This cluster does not create
new courses; instead, it moves existing courses from current clusters into the transnational
cluster.
The transnational concentration will permit interested students to complete an emphasis in
transnational American Studies and allow their academic credentials to reflect that fact.
By positioning MAST squarely within the framework of current scholarship in the field (i.e.,
America in a global context), we will continue strengthening our response to the clear need for
Georgia’s citizens to understand the region’s identity in both national and global terms.
By focusing more clearly on the Americas in a transnational context, MAST graduates will be
able
 to represent their companies, professional organizations, or non-profit groups ably
in cross-cultural situations;
 to envision productive ways for building relationships with new Georgia
residents, business and government partners from around the world;
 to support and develop content for teaching an array of public audiences, in
formal and informal learning sites, about cultural differences and connections;
 to serve as stewards of local culture in a transnational world.
Moreover, we see this expansion to be consistent with the university’s Quality Enhancement
Plan, particularly with KSU’s “Get Global” Initiative.
The proposed changes in the curriculum are described in Section V Curriculum: Degree Program
Requirements and are marked in red.
IV Procedures Used to Develop the Program
The proposed changes to the curriculum were developed collaboratively by faculty teaching
transnational courses within the American Studies program and who are actively researching and
writing in this area. Drawn from multiple departments, the faculty represented a number of
disciplinary interests and thus ensured that other project objectives (e.g., interdisciplinarity) were
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met in the cluster and concentration design. The faculty directly involved in crafting the
proposal include: Nina Morgan, Associate Professor of English; Emron Esplin; Assistant
Professor of English and American Studies; Kenneth Maffitt, Assistant Professor of History and
American Studies; Linda Niemann, Associate Professor of English; and Anne Richards,
Associate Professor of English.
MAST already delivers one to three courses per semester that include transnational content and
that can count for cluster credit and/or as concentration electives. The same is true for the
upcoming slate of MAST courses currently scheduled through 2012. (See course schedule
attached.) Additionally, we also offer graduate level study abroad courses that can be applied
toward the transnational concentration. As such, adding the cluster requirement and the
concentration do not require any additional resources, but these additions will highlight one of
our program’s strengths and allow students to focus on and showcase their emphasis in
transnational American studies.
A sample course schedule is attached to show how a student can complete the M.A. and
transnational concentration without taking additional hours beyond the 36 required for the M.A.
V Curriculum: Degree Program Requirements
Changes are highlighted in red.
Content of the Curriculum
M.A. in American Studies
The American Studies M.A. consists of 36 credit hours and a foreign language requirement, as
follows:
3 credits
AMST 7000 American Studies Scholarship, including a review of the major topics
that have become central to American Studies as a field and the most significant
scholarship that has defined and shaped those issues.
3 credits
AMST 7100 American Studies Methods, including major approaches for doing
work in American Studies in both academic and non-academic settings.
12 credits a sequence of AMST courses selected to address the professional goals of the
student, with one course from each of the four thematic and methodology-based
clusters, as outlined below:
Historical Studies—Choose one from this cluster. (3 credits)
AMST 7200 American Cultural Movements
AMST 7210 Historical Period
AMST 7230 Public History and Culture
Place-based Studies—Choose one from this cluster. (3 credits)
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AMST 7300 American Cities, Suburbs and Countryside
AMST 7310 Regional Studies
Cultural Production—Choose one from this cluster. (3 credits)
AMST 7400 The Film Industry in American Culture
AMST 7410 Literature and Performance in American Culture
AMST 7420 Popular Culture in America
AMST 7430 Identities and Social Groups
AMST 7440 Enterprise and Labor in American Culture
Transnational American Studies—Choose one from this cluster. (3 credits)
AMST 7220 Passages to America
AMST 7320 America in Transnational Context
Any Approved Graduate-level Study Abroad Program*
3 credits
Study Abroad or Practicum—Choose one from this cluster.
AMST 7500 Practicum
Any Approved Graduate-level Study Abroad Program*
9 credits
non-AMST electives or additional AMST courses as approved by the M.A. director
or advisor (may include up to 6 credits of graduate-level language courses). Students
may also use the electives toward the “Transnational Concentration.”
6 credits
AMST 7900 Capstone Experience
*All graduate-level study abroad courses offered by AMST affiliated faculty at KSU can fulfill
this requirement. Other graduate study abroad courses offered at KSU or by other institutions
must be approved by the M.A. director. A three credit, graduate-level study abroad course can be
used to fulfill the “Transnational American Studies Cluster” or the “Study Abroad or Practicum”
requirement.
Language requirement: may be met by a proficiency test administered by the department of
foreign languages, coursework to FL2002 at the undergraduate level with a grade of C or better,
graduate level coursework indicating language proficiency, or equivalent (e.g., study abroad
program with a language competency component) as approved by M.A. director.
TRANSNATIONAL CONCENTRATION
within the M.A. in American Studies
The Transnational Concentration is an elective concentration for interested students; students are
not required to pursue a specialization in Transnational American Studies.
The “Transnational Concentration” in the American Studies M.A. consists of 9 elective credit
hours in courses with a transnational emphasis (denoted by a T in course listings), an advanced
foreign language requirement, and a study abroad requirement as follows:
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9 Elective Credit Hours: Students shall complete 9 credit hours of graduate-level study in
courses beyond the transnational cluster requirement that meet the Transnational course
objectives: AMST7220, AMST7320, SA8890, or courses designated by a (T) in the course
offerings. Courses not previously approved as Transnational in content must be approved by the
M.A. director. Students must complete at least 6 of these credit hours in AMST courses.
Language Requirement: Each student in the “Transnational Concentration” will pass a 3000level proficiency test administered by the department of foreign languages, complete a 3000level language course with a grade of C or better, or complete graduate level coursework
indicating language proficiency. Native speakers of languages other than English may apply to
the M.A. director for a waiver of this requirement.
Study Abroad Requirement: Each student in the “Transnational Concentration” shall
participate in and receive a grade of a B or better in an approved graduate-level study abroad
program. All graduate-level study abroad courses offered by AMST-affiliated faculty at KSU
can fulfill this requirement. Other graduate study abroad courses offered at KSU or by other
institutions must be approved by the M.A. director.
VI INVENTORY OF FACULTY DIRECTLY INVOLVED
Developed as an interdisciplinary program interrogating America’s culture and role in the world,
the M.A. in American Studies was developed by teams of faculty across CHSS (and later
COTA). The program was approved by the BOR in February 2009, and it launched in fall 2009.
Several MAST faculty members developed and now teach courses with transnational content,
including Ed Chan, Nina Morgan, Linda Niemann, Anne Richards, Ken Maffitt, and Emron
Esplin. Several of these faculty members have been a part of the creation of the MAST program
from its inception while others were hired specifically to participate in the new program as
transnational teachers and scholars.
VII OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS OF THIS NATURE AT OTHER
INSTITUTIONS
As explained in our original program proposal to the BOR, MAST is leading the field by
offering a graduate degree in American Studies that emphasizes global processes. While
American Studies as a field has been moving in this direction for some time, graduate programs
have lagged, giving less attention to graduate training in this area. We see our transnational
focus as a strength to be developed and highlighted, as an area of emphasis that will set our
program apart from others nationally, and as an element that will attract international partners in
public and academic programs.
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We intend to cultivate our transnational emphasis by working with our international partners.
MAST already has established relationships with the B.A. and M.A. programs in American
Studies at Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco and with the Center for the Study of the
Americas at the University of Graz, Austria. The proposed transnational concentration provides
the opportunity for MAST to further formalize these relationships by making them central to the
program of study for students who choose to enroll in the concentration. The study abroad
requirement within the proposed transnational concentration will facilitate student exchange
between KSU and Hassan II and participation in the young inter-American study abroad program
to Austria—the international summer school on the Americas—by making the students’
participation in these exchanges/programs count as credit toward the concentration rather than as
an extracurricular activity. These international exchanges go hand in hand with the global
emphasis of KSU’s Quality Enhancement Plan. For example, the international summer school on
the Americas in Austria brings KSU students into a truly global conversation on the Americas as
the students join an international faculty and student body from throughout Europe and the
Americas to analyze American literatures, films, politics, identities, and cultural practices. Our
relationship with Hassan II University in Casablanca already created the opportunity for a MAST
student to give a guest lecture to Moroccan-American Studies graduate students in Morocco in
Spring 2010, but there is no formal way for such scholarly activity to contribute to the student’s
formal record without the proposed concentration as an option. Additionally, our international
faculty exchanges with institutions committed to transnational American Studies would be
facilitated, in light of current difficulties in getting visas, by a more transparent and direct
indication that the program focused on “America” is actually a program committed to a global
and transnational scholarly approach.
XII Accreditation
Business Content Audit:
Referencing the Business Content Worksheet, does this program or concentration, incorporating
the information proposed herein, have “traditional business subject” content delivered by faculty
or programs administered by the Coles College of Business? *
_____ Yes
If “yes,” complete a Business Content Worksheet and obtain necessary
approvals as indicated.
__X___ No
_____ Exempt Graduate programs administered by the Coles College are exempt.
__________
*
All graduate programs exceeding 50% business content are automatically required to meet AACSB
International business accreditation standards. The purpose of the audit is to prevent the unintended,
undesirable compulsory inclusion of programs subject to AACSB standards.
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