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  American Studies
Tampa - Undergraduate - BA
CIP Code: 05.0102

Program Mission Statement: 

The mission of the undergraduate degree program in American Studies at the University of South Florida is: (1) to educate students in the social and aesthetic values embodied in visual, literary, musical, and other texts of the United States, using an interdisciplinary approach integrating cultural and literary studies, art history, musicology, film studies, ethnic studies, and social and intellectual history; (2) to teach students the methods and sources for conducting research in American Studies and to give them applied practice in doing and presenting such research; and (3) to train students in the skills of critical thinking and written communication that are central to a liberal arts education. 

 

Graduates of this program will be able to demonstrate the following:
OUTCOME 1:
  • an interdisciplinary knowledge of how visual, literary, musical, and other texts have embodied American cultural values.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program's capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine the level at which the student demonstrates an interdisciplinary knowledge of how texts have embodied American cultural values. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
OUTCOME 2:
  • the ability to articulate how American cultural values have been related to their social and historical contexts.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program’s capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine the level at which the student is able to articulate how cultural values embraced by Americans have been related to their social and historical contexts. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
OUTCOME 3:
  • the ability to conduct research in American Studies, using appropriate methods and sources and defensible arguments.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program’s capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine the level at which the student demonstrates an ability to conduct research in American Studies, using appropriate methods and sources and defensible arguments. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
OUTCOME 1:
  • the ability to develop a formal analysis of a cultural text, describing how its specific elements contribute to its overall meaning.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program’s capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine how well the student is able to develop a formal analysis of a cultural text, describing how its specific elements contribute to its overall meaning. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
OUTCOME 2:
  • the ability to interpret cultural works contextually by comparing them with others.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program’s capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine the level at which the student is able to interpret cultural works contextually by comparing them with others. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
OUTCOME 1:
  • the ability to develop effective written arguments, integrating their own analyses and interpretations with information from secondary (critical or historical) sources.
Methods of Assessment :
  • Faculty members examine written work produced by each student in the program’s capstone course (AMS 4935, Senior Seminar) to determine the level at which the student is able to develop an effective written argument integrating his or her own analyses and interpretations with information from secondary (critical or historical) sources. Inter-rater reliability will be measured by department faculty in conjunction with the Office of Assessment.
  
 


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For further inquiries and/or suggestions regarding ALC at USF, please contact Felix Wao, Assistant Director for Assessment of Student Learning and Academic Program Review, Center for 21st Century Teaching Excellence
 
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