AMS 30: Images of America and Americans in Popular Culture
TR 6:10-8:00pm
Olson 158
CRN 20739
Instructor Name: Rusty Bartels
Email: rrbartels@ucdavis.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 4:00-6:00pm, 2138
Hart Hall, and by appointment
Course Description:
In this course we will examine visual culture produced by and about the United States. We will
ask questions about who circulated these images? Who saw these images? What work did and do
these images do? These questions will shape our approach to understanding how America has
become what it is today.
We will take as our framework the dominant narrative of American Progress and American
Exceptionalism through the concepts of modernity, development, and tourism. This historical
trajectory will guide our subsequent units on Environment, Race, and Empire. At each moment
we will inquire as to how each of these concepts - modernity, development, tourism - facilitated
the dominance of American ideas and ideologies over places, peoples, and the world.
Required Texts/Readings:
• All readings will be made available on SmartSite under “Resources>Week x Readings”
Assignments: All graded work needs to be original (no plagiarism!) and submitted to pass the course.
The exams will be conducted at home, and open book, open notes.
Participation
15%
Reading Response (2)
10% (5% each)
Short Paper
10%
Short Exams (4)
40% (10% each)
Long Paper
• Draft
• Final
25%
•
•
5%
20%
Grading: There will be no curve in this course. To pass the course (a C- or above), all written
work needs to be handed in.
Late Work: All assignments are expected to be turned in and completed by the time on the dates
set out in the syllabus. Late work will be deducted 1/3 of a letter grade (i.e. from a B+ to a B) for
each 24-hour period it is late. If you feel you will have problems with the assignment, email me
at least 72 hours before the assignment is due. All late work must be turned in by Thursday, June
4 (the last day of class).
Submitting Assignments: All assignments will be submitted electronically via SmartSite.
AMS30_S15_Syllabus
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Office Hours: I encourage everyone to come see me in office hours throughout the quarter. It's a
time I set aside for you all to answer questions, help with any course issues, and to generally
provide assistance, guidance, and feedback on your work. If my office hours do not work for
you, I am happy to arrange meetings by appointment either face-to-face or via Skype.
Email Policy: Feel free to contact me via email. I check my email fairly frequently and I try to
give prompt responses when I can. With that said, I cannot guarantee an immediate response to
an email after 9pm, but I will do my best to reply within 24 hours. If it has been more than 24
hours, please send me a follow up email. I will not respond to emails about assignments less than
24 hours before they are due. Email is a great tool, but for more detailed conversations and
questions, please come see me in office hours.
Attendance and Participation: Attendance and participation are both crucial for successful
completion of this course. While you will not formally be graded on attendance, it would be
impossible to participate if you were not here!
• Please arrive on time as a courtesy to me and your peers.
• You are allowed two unexcused absences for the session on non-assignment days. I
realize that sometimes you get sick, have family emergencies, and that life happens and
your priorities for the day/week might change. If you have missed a class, start by talking
to your peers and gathering any information you might have missed. I will also be happy
to meet in office hours should you have any clarifying questions about what happened or
the material covered. (All in-class materials and lectures will be made available after
class.)
• If you need to miss class, email me as soon as possible so that I am aware of your
situation, and the earlier the better (preferably before class).
• Please be sure to bring a copy of the day’s reading to class — whether it’s a print out or
on your preferred technological device (no phones!) — and have some way in which you
can mark/annotate the page.
• Participation is more than just showing up to class. It involves having completed all work
due for that date, and engaging in classroom discussions in a thoughtful manner whether
we are in large groups or small groups. I try to offer a variety of forms for participation.
• We are a smaller class, and so I try to foster a classroom dynamic that includes
discussion. I'll provide questions and structures for engaging in discussion to help ease
the process. It's also ok not to say anything, and silence is not something to fear. I
personally take time to gather my thoughts, so I will provide that time for everyone as
well.
Classroom Conduct: I expect all students to be respectful to each other and to the instructor.
This means, among other things, paying attention to the person speaking, not engaging in side
conversations, and contributing positively to the classroom environment. As part of promoting a
respectful atmosphere, I ask that all cell phones be either turned off or on silent and that students
refrain from texting. I understand that sometimes emergencies come up, so if you do need to take
a call, please quietly step outside of the classroom.
AMS30_S15_Syllabus
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Plagiarism and Academic Honesty: Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work, words or
ideas without acknowledging that use. You may not borrow someone else’s ideas, conclusions,
sentences, or phrases without citing that person as a source. This holds true for—but is not
limited to—published writing, information drawn from internet sources, and ideas transmitted in
conversation. In any form, you may not turn in any work that is not your own. It is your
responsibility to familiarize yourself with the UC Davis policy on plagiarism and the Code of
Academic Conduct: consult your student handbook and/or the Student Judicial Affairs website
[http://sja.ucdavis.edu].
Accommodations: If you need or have any accommodations for disabilities, contact the Student
Disability Center as soon as you can (160 South Silo; Voice: 530-752-3184; TTY: 530-752-6833)
and provide me a copy of the relevant documentation so that I can ensure that the necessary
accommodations are in place.
The SASC: The Student Academic Success Center is a great on-campus resource that includes
(among other things) a writing center to help you work through your papers. They are located in
Dutton Hall, and can be contacted at 530-752-2013. Their hours of operation are Monday
through Friday from 8:50am to 4:00pm.
Course Goals: By the end of this course, our goal is to have you:
• Strengthen your writing through formal academic assignments and more informal,
process assignments.
• Understand and employ commonly used American Studies vocabulary, terms, and
concepts.
• Develop critical thinking and reading skills by engaging the field through discussion and
inquiry.
• Analyze and discuss visual culture
Course Schedule
Foundations
Week 1
Tuesday, 31 March
Readings:
Assignment:
Themes: Introductions & Overview
Thursday, 2 April
Readings: Berman; Lefebvre
Assignment:
Themes: Modern, Modernity, and Modernism
Week 2
Tuesday, 7 April
Readings: Marx
Assignment
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Themes: Development
Thursday, 9 April
Readings: Rothman
Assignment: Short Paper Due
Themes: Tourism
Environment
Week 3
Tuesday, 14 April
Readings: Turner
Assignment: Short Exam 1
Themes: Wilderness, Frontier, & Manifest Destiny
Thursday, 16 April
Readings: Schwantes & Ronda
Assignment
Themes: Railroad & Western Development
Week 4
Tuesday, 21 April
Readings: Louter; Grusin
Assignment
Themes: Forming Wilderness & National Parks
Thursday, 23 April
Readings: Fletcher
Assignment
Themes: Eco-Tourism
Race
Week 5
Tuesday, 28 April
Readings: Almaguer
Assignment: Reading Response Round 1 Ends
Themes: Racial Formation
Thursday, 30 April
Readings:
Assignment: Short Exam 2
Themes: NO CLASS
Week 6
Tuesday, 5 May
Readings: Raiford
Assignment:
Themes: Lynching Photographs
Thursday, 7 May
Readings: Wu
Assignment:
Themes: Model Minority Discourse
Week 7
Tuesday, 12 May
Readings: Villa; Balmy Alley
Assignment:
AMS30_S15_Syllabus
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Themes: Urban Development
Thursday, 14 May
Readings: Cannady
Assignment:
Themes: Space, Race, & History
Empire
Week 8
Tuesday, 19 May
Readings: Burbank & Cooper; Streeby
Assignment: Short Exam 3
Themes: Imperialism, Colonialism, Empire
Thursday 21 May
Readings: Said
Assignment
Themes: Orientalism, the Theory
Week 9
Tuesday, 26 May
Readings: Brody
Assignment: Paper Drafts Due
Themes: Orientalism in the Philippines
Thursday, 28 May
Readings: Klein
Assignment:
Themes: Orientalism in the Cold War
Week 10 Tuesday, 2 June
Readings: Imada
Assignment: Reading Response Round 2 Ends
Themes: Militarism, Tourism; Wrap-up
Thursday, 4 June
Readings:
Assignment: Short Exam 4
Themes: NO CLASS
Final
Wednesday, 10 June, 10:30pm
Final Paper Due
All readings, assignments, etc. are listed for the day that they are due.
Readings, assignments, and due dates are subject to revision with notice.
AMS30_S15_Syllabus
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