Fall 2016

Introduction to American Cultures

AMS 205, Section A (56024)
M/W/F 8:30-9:25 am, 361 Upham Hall
OR AMS 205, Section B (56025)
M/W/F 10-10:55 am pm, 153 Garland Hall

Professor: Dr. Eric Covey

coveye@miamioh.edu
(513) 529-3946
Office Hours: By appointment, 111C Upham
Hall

Description and Expectations:

AMS 205 introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of American culture from a historical
and contemporary perspective. Drawing from a variety of source materials and relying on a
range of interpretative techniques, students examine aspects of thought, expression, and behavior
in the United States. This section of AMS 205 in particular introduces students to the field of
American Studies by focusing on keywords and key foods as entry points into the history and
culture of the United States. Guided by entries from Keywords for American Cultural Studies, we
will begin by setting aside the question what should we eat? and focus instead on answering
the question what do we eat, and why? For example, chocolate, corn, and potatoes originated
in the Americas and became significant worldwide beginning in the fifteenth century. At the
same time, sugar, rice, and bananas were transplanted to the Americas and play important roles in
the history of the United States. We will explore the ways in which American Studies can
untangle the roots and routes of these foods, helping us to understand how foodways are central
to American culture and history as well as a site of struggle over the past, present, and future of
the United States.
Course readings, discussions, and lectures focus on both the vocabulary of American Studies as
well as practices of producing and consuming food in Indigenous America, Colonial North
America, and the United States. Over the course of the semester, students will develop a
familiarity with the vocabulary of American Studies and the methods that American Studies
scholars use to make sense of the history and culture of the United States. Students will also
learn to identify the meanings embedded in everyday objects like food, and chart the history and
cultural significance of specific American foodways through time and space.
Required Texts:
Keywords for American Cultural Studies, edited by Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. Second
Edition. New York: New York University Press, 2012. Some of the keywords on the syllabus are
in the online version of this text. They are hyperlinked below.
Other readings are available online via Canvas, or hyperlinked from the digital version of this
syllabus that is available on Canvas.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
AMS 205 is a Foundation Course in the Miami Plan for Liberal Education. It fulfills the Cultural
and Historical Perspectives Requirement, as well as the Intercultural Perspectives Requirement.
For majors in the College of Arts and Science, it also fulfills the CAS Humanities Requirement.
AMS 205 also serves as the gateway course for majors in American Studies. The course is
designed to promote the development of the following skills:

AMS 205 - 1

Fall 2016
1) Thinking Critically. Critical thinking is often an unnatural act because it forces us to examine
deeply-held preconceptions and beliefs. This course will challenge that tendency to shy away
from critical thought by relying on analytical, evidence-based investigations of American culture
and history. Through our scholarly investigations of various cultural textssuch as legal
documents, newspaper articles, and filmsyou will gain insights into important, but often
unquestioned, concepts like exceptionalism, nationhood, and citizenship.
2) Understanding Contexts. Since much of the work in this course involves textual analysis
including our readings and discussions of keywordsyou will quickly learn that cultural texts
have historical contexts that must be uncovered and accounted for. Once you understand the
historical context of a particular cultural text, you can begin to explain the ways in which the text
draws on or departs from earlier historical trends or social values.
3) Engaging with Other Learners. Throughout our critical investigations of cultural texts over
the course of the semester, you will be engaged in discussions with your peers, as well as
evaluations of each others work. You will learn how to work effectively in group settings, how
to listen actively to the ideas of others, and how to negotiate a shared understanding of complex
issues and tasks at hand.
4) Reflecting and Acting. Perhaps most importantly, this course encourages you to reflect and act
on new knowledge. In the future, you should find that decisions about complex intellectual,
ethical, and personal issues come easier and that you are able to commit to informed action as a
global citizen because of the critical skills you developed in the course.
Working to build these skills will help you to achieve the following learning outcomes:
1) Develop critical reading skills: be able to identifyan argument, how an argument is
structured, and the sorts of evidence used to support an argument
2) Develop critical writing skills: be able todescribe a cultural text, summarize an argument,
write a clear thesis statement, and present a clear supported argument
3) Identify and assess the cultural and historical contexts in which individuals, texts, and artifacts
are situated
4) Develop a sense of critical self-awareness, contextualizing ones beliefs, values, and
experiences in the framework of American culture
Assignments and Grading:
Two short exams, a photographic project, and two group projects test students mastery of course
objectives and learning outcomes. Total percentage breakdown for the course is as follows:
5% - Academic Integrity Quiz
10%- Attendance/Unannounced Quizzes/In-Class Writing
15% - Short Exam 1
15% - Short Exam 2
20% - Food Site Project
5% - Peer Editing
15% - Keyword Project
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Fall 2016
15% - Map Project
Final grades will be determined on the basis of the following scale:
A+ =97-100
A = 93-96
A- = 90-92

B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82

C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72

AMS 205 - 3

D+ = 67-69
D = 63-66
D- = 60-62

F = 0-59

Please note: to ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at
any stage. For example, a B- is inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 82.999.
If you are dissatisfied with the grade you receive on an assignment, please be prepared to wait
24-hours before coming to talk to me. And when you do come talk to me, please be prepared to
offer a reasoned, evidence-based case as to why you should have received a different grade.
Grades must be disputed within seven calendar days of the assignment being handed back in
class. Even if you are not in class the day an assignment is handed back, the seven day rule still
applies.
Short Exams:
The two short exams will be closed-book and composed of identification questions. Each
exam will draw on material from course readings, lectures, films, and discussions. I will
hand out potential identifications in class preceding the exam.
Food Site Project:
This assignment requires you to take a photograph of a food site that illustrates one
keyword from Keywords for American Cultural Studies. Along with the photograph, you
must write a detailed caption linking the food site to the keyword from the text (450-900
words). We will do an in-class peer editing exercise before you hand in your project. All
the photographs and accompanying captions will be uploaded to a collective, and public,
class website at http://www.amskeywordskeyfoods.com/.
Keywords Project:
This project draws on and contributes to the community associated with Keywords for
American Cultural Studies. I will assign you to groups and you will be responsible for
collaboratively tracking usages of a keyword that will also appear on the class website.
Map Project:
This project is a collaborative project that will chart contemporary indigenous foodways
across the Americas.
Attendance and Late Work:
Attendance will be accounted for by unannounced quizzes and in-class writing that amount to
10% of your final grade. Failure to take a unscheduled quiz/in-class writing will result in an
automatic zero for that quiz/in-class writing with no possibility of makeup. As per Miami policy,
there are no university-recognized excused absences except for religious observances that require
absence from a class session and other required class activities. Students must give written
notification to their instructor within the first two weeks of class of the religious event that
prohibits class attendance and the date that will be missed. This is the only case in which you will
be allowed to makeup a quiz or in-class writing.
Make-up exams are only allowed with the previous consent of the instructor or in the event of
medical and family emergencies or other extraordinary circumstances. In any case, we will
require official documentation to schedule a make-up exam. All make-up exams must be taken

within one week of the originally scheduled exam. Failing to take Short Exam 2 will result in an
automatic zero with no possibility of makeup.
All assignments are due by the end of class on the day noted on the syllabus. Assignments not
turned in on time will be considered late and will receive at automatic 15% deduction.
Assignments will not be accepted more than seven calendar days after their due date except in
extraordinary circumstances. Communicate with me.
Class Conduct:
This course is a cooperative enterprise. Rather than acting as receptacles-of-knowledge, you will
actively contribute to the course content. In other words, your participation is essential to the
success of the class. There will be short lectures, but the bulk of class will be discussion and that
only works if everyone participates. You are required to bring your Keywords text with you to
class each day.
Above all, I expect everyone to have a voice in the class. This means that if you have a
particularly strong voice, there will be times when you must quiet it in order to let others speak.
This also means that if you have a quiet voice, we will need to work together to find ways in
which you can actively participate.
My computer policy is that they are useful, but also possible distractions. I dont intend to police
the classroom, but I might ask you to turn your computer off if you are distracting yourself or
others. Use good judgment. For example, browsing a Wikipedia article about the history of salt is
okay; watching a YouTube video of a fight at White Castle is not okay. Your computer speakers
should always be muted and headphones are not allowed in class. There should be NO telephone
conversations during class and you should avoid distracting others by text messaging. Phones
should be on silent or vibrate, and you should only answer your phone outside of class.
Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a physical, medical, and/or psychiatric disability or if you have AD(H)D
and/or specific learning disabilities and feel that you may need a reasonable accommodation to
fulfill the essential requirements of the course that are listed in this syllabus, you are encouraged
to contact Student Disability Services at 529-1541 (V/TTY). Guidelines for who is eligible for
services and accommodations can be found at the website of Student Disability Services.
Academic Integrity:
There are strong arguments for and against intellectual property. That said, the work you do in
this course must be your own. If I suspect the work you hand in is plagiarized, I will refer you to
the program director for adjudication. We want very much to avoid this. Therefore, all students in
the course are required to complete the mIntegrity tutorial and quiz located at on the library
website. After successful completion, you will receive a certificate via e-mail that should be
printed out, signed, and handed to me in class on Wednesday, September 7th. This counts for 5%
of your overall course grade and I will drop you from the course if you do not hand it in on time.
Please see the Academic Integrity website for more details on academic integrity at Miami.

Howe Writing Center:

As a writer you will want to seek feedback from many different readers, and as part of that
process I encourage you to visit the Howe Writing Center here at Miami. The writing consultants
are experienced writers and fellow students who have taken a semester-long course to prepare
them to work with peer writers. Theyre ready and able to talk with you about your writing at any
stage in the process and for any course you are taking. You can make an appointment online at
whichever of the five locations across campus is most convenient for you. I encourage you to
visit their web site for more information.
Schedule:
All readings are due on the date they are listed.
UNIT I: 14911882
Week 1
Monday, August 29
No reading
Wednesday, August 31
Read Culture in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Read Culture in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (on Canvas).
Friday, September 2
Introduction to Food Site Project
Week 2
Monday, September 5
No class
Wednesday, September 7
Read Exceptionalism in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online.
Read Articles in American Studies, 1955, American Quarterly, Volume 8, Number 2, Summer
1955, 171-182 (on Canvas).
Read Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations, American Studies Association, 2012. Click
on and read several of the dissertation abstracts.
Review the tutorial on academic integrity located at https://me.lib.muohio.edu/. Your certificate
for completing the final quiz at the end of the tutorial should be printed out, signed, and handed
in today (Wednesday the 7th).
Friday, September 9
Read Indian in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.

Week 3
Monday, September 12
Read America in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Wednesday, September 14
Read Colonial in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Read William Cronon, Seasons of Want and Plenty, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists,
and the Ecology of New England [1983], 20th-Anniversary Edition, New York, Hill and Wang,
2003, 34-53 (on Canvas).
Friday, September 16
Read Nancy Jenkins, Martha Ballard: A Womens Place on the Eastern Frontier, From Betty
Crocker to Feminist Food Studies, eds. Arlene Voski Avakian and Barbara Haber, Amherst:
University of Massachusetts Press, 2005, 109-119 (on Canvas).
Week 4
Monday, September 19
Read Slavery in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Wednesday, September 21
Read Diaspora in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Friday, September 23
Read African in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Read An Act for the Better Ordering, Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave
Rebellion, ed. Mark M. Smith, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005, 20-27 (on
Canvas).
Week 5
Monday, September 26
Read Class in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Wednesday, September 28
Read Gender in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online.

Friday, September 30
Peer editing of Food Site Project captions. You must come to class with a copy of your photo and
substantial draft of the caption for your photo.
Week 6
Monday, October 3
Read Coolie in Keywords for Asian American Studies (on Canvas).

Wednesday, October 5
Read Exclusion in Keywords for Asian American Studies (on Canvas).
Friday, October 7
Read Enclave in Keywords for Asian American Studies (on Canvas).
Food site project due by 11:59 pm.
Week 7
Monday, October 10
Short Exam 1
Wednesday, October 12
Introduction to Keywords Project
Friday, October 14
No class
UNIT II: 1865the present
Week 8
Monday, October 17
Read Region in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online.
Read Rob Walsh, Barbecue in Black and White, Houston Press, 1 May 2003.
Wednesday, October 19
Read South in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online.
Read Bethany Ewald Bultman An Ode to the Pig: Assorted Thoughts on the Worlds Most
Controversial Food, Corn Bread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue, ed. John T. Edge,
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004, 23-29 (on Canvas).
Read Patrik Jonsson, Backstory: Southern discomfort food, The Christian Science Monitor, 6
February 2006 (on Canvas).

Friday, October 21
Read Nation in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Read Border in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.

Read and listen to The Chili Queens of San Antonio, NPR, October 2004.
Week 9
Monday, October 24
Keywords Project group work day #1
Wednesday , October 26
Read Capitalism in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Review material at http://www.corn.org/.
Friday, October 28
Read Neoliberalism in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Week 10
Monday, October 31
No reading
Wednesday, November 2
Read Community in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Friday , November 4
Read City in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online
Week 11
Monday, November 7
Watch Detroit Urban Agriculture Movement Looks to Reclaim Motor City Democracy Now!,
June 2010.
Read Pha Lo, When Eating Organic Was Totally Uncool, Salon.com, January 6, 2011.
Wednesday, November 9
Reading to be announced
Friday, November 11
Keywords Project group work day #2
Keywords Project due by 11:59 pm.

Week 12
Monday, November 14
Reading to be announced
Wednesday, November 16

Introduction to Map Project

Read Indigenous in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Friday, November 18
No class
Week 13
Monday, November, November 21
No class
Wednesday, November 23
No class
Friday, November 25
No class
Week 14
Monday, November 28
Map Project group work day #1
Wednesday, November 30
Read Prison in Keywords for American Cultural Studies.
Read Abolition in Keywords for American Cultural Studies online.
Friday, December 2
No reading
Week 15
Monday, December 5
Map Project group work day #2
Map Project due by 11:59 pm.
Wednesday, December 7
Review of Projects
Friday, December 9
Exam 2
***Please note: this syllabus is subject to revision. In the case of changes, a revised syllabus will
be posted to Canvas.***