Danger of more cancellations!

If you have been thinking about taking an AMS course this summer but haven't gotten around to enrolling, NOW is the time to remedy that situation. Given the general budget woes, it looks like the enrollment requirements for courses to "make" will be strictly observed. We need more enrollment for the summer classes to break even. If you are enrolled in a summer class, call your friends and see if you can't get them interested, too. Do it now.

New Course: Transnational Feminist Theory

Professor Ayu Saraswati in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) has graciously agreed to cross-list her course in transnational feminist theory with AMS. The course is now available under AMS 696 as well as WGSS 696, and is open to graduate and undergraduate students alike.

The AMS program has been at the forefront of the so-called "transnational turn" in American Studies, and our faculty and graduate students are among a growing number of scholars in the field who do not restrict their research to within U.S. borders. Dr. Saraswati's course is an outstanding opportunity for AMS majors or grad students with transnational interests to gain critical skills in feminist theory.

The course description reads:

In this interdisciplinary course students will critically “read” various films (i.e., Bend it Like Beckham), novels (i.e., Lucy), music productions (i.e., Madonna within the context of transnational MTV network), and various key texts in globalization and transnational studies (i.e., High Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy) to explore the effects of transnational circulations of people, ideas, and objects on: (1) the formation of gendered, racialized, sexualized, and nation-based subjects; (2) the pattern of gender-based consumption and production in global economy; (3) the construction of gendered urban space; (4) the gendered construction of “affects” (emotions); and (5) the creation of various transnational feminist movements. Throughout the semester, students will work toward writing a publishable journal article, a conference paper, or other forms of theorizing.

Course canceled

We are very disappointed to have to cancel AMS 494 Blacks and Jews in the United States at Edwards campus for this summer. Summer offerings depend on enrollment for their funding, especially in the current dire financial situation. The course did not enroll enough students to "make." This situation underscores that if you want to take a course, it is a good idea to enroll sooner rather than later.

Students who were enrolled in 494 have a number of other options, and are encouraged to look at AMS 332 at Edwards or AMS 344 at Lawrence.