AM 103W-001:  Introduction to American Studies:  Becoming Americans (4 cr)

This version of the Introduction to American Studies will focus on the 18th century experiences of British colonists in North America who ended the century as citizens of a new nation, the United States of America. Beginning with the so-called French and Indian Wars (King William’s War, 1689-1697, Queen Anne’s War, 1702-1713, King George’s War, 1744-1748 and the Seven Years War, 1754-1763), the colonists and British forces struggled for control of North America against the French and their Indian Allies. At the same time, the African slave trade grew exponentially creating the plantation system (and the fortunes of the slave traders), while enslaved Africans came to comprise nearly one-fifth of the population of the thirteen colonies. The Great Awakening transformed the religious life of the colonies while establishing patterns of evangelism still important today; eventually, controversies over taxation to fund the British governance of the colonies led to the American Revolution and ultimately to constitutional government. These evens will be considered from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and primary sources including those from cultural and political history, religion, literature, music and art history as well as the different ways in which this developing American culture has been portrayed in the 20th and 21st centuries.
(Fulfills expository writing requirement.)