SPORTS FAN?  Check out the American Studies course offerings this summer! A FEW OF THE OFFERINGS...

Please see the American Studies Website for other classes!

AMST 3050 – 001  (CRN#30030)
Sports in America
Lutz
Summer Session I                            

Don’t miss this opportunity to study sports in America with the 49ers head basketball coach, Bobby Lutz!  This course will look at the role of sports in society, including the issues and controversies surrounding an industry that constitutes a major part of the American economy.  The course will examine issues of race and gender, the media, violence, and politics in sports and will also include discussions of high school and college sports. (C)  

Modern American Horror Films
Morong
Summer Session I

Horror films have frightened and enticed audiences since the earliest days of film history. This course will analyze the Modern American Horror film from the 1960's to the present day. By analyzing the last thirty years of Horror, we will get a clearer, more in-depth look at cinema as a whole, as well as insight into our own cultural and philosophical beliefs. We will also look at the major technological, economic, and artistic developments over the last three decades to try and understand the cultural and sexual dynamics of this genre. Always central to our discourse will be how the horror film nourishes the audience’s fascination with fear and the unknown, and also how it addresses and confronts those very fears. The class will address not only major thematic and critical issues of gender, race, and class but also address horrors importance to the film industry as a whole. Ultimately, we will seek to address how the Modern American Horror film serves to entertain and confront by exploiting the audience and our cultural fears.  (C)

AMST 3000 – 003  (CRN#40533)  
Motorsports in the South
McMurray
Summer Session II

From the gritty, rutted fairground dirt tracks to the gleaming, sleek Super speedways, racing has always been a Southern product.  NASCAR stock car racing has grown from its regional roots to become one of the nation’s top sporting attractions.  This writing intensive course will explore the men and machines that raced the tracks of the South, as well as the rules and regulations that every driver has been caught breaking.  From the brave moonshine runners of the 40’s to the slick, highly-televised races of today, we will explore why this phenomenon is such a popular sport.  Characters such as NASCAR’s Founder, Big     Bill France, along with famous drivers Fireball Roberts, Curtis Turner, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Others will be featured for their impact on Southern Culture.  In addition to the study of racing in films, we will examine contemporary support industries such as marketing, public relations, and souvenir merchandising.

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