STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
In general, the two major goals for this seminar are -- individually and collectively -- :
- to develop a paradigm for doing American studies, a conceptual map for thinking about the dynamic process by which American Culture is created;
- to develop the technical, conceptual, and social skills for using the new technologies, the computing hard- and software and the internet, that will enable us to create public resources for a better general public understanding of our culture.
Throughout the semester, we'll be doing exercises that combine conceptual and technical skill-building and all of this work will be placed in a portfolio on your web site.
In addition, the seminar should serve
- to introduce you to a number of faculty members who, although they come from different departments, disciplines, or perspectives, are all doing American Studies of one kind or another;
- provide a central focusing point for your other courses, a place where you can work on integrating and synthesizing your learning;
- create the possibility for building a learning community, a group working together toward a significant goal.
The specific requirements of the course are:
- to do the reading assignments, attend class, and participate intelligently in the class discussion;
- to attend the Lab sessions and to do the various exercises in a timely and professional manner;
- to write 6 precis or concise summaries of the assigned readings. (We'll work out the schedule for these as we go along.)
- to assemble all the course work into an electronic portfolio by the end of the semester.