ANTH 50.57 Cultural Diversity in the United States

Is the United States a melting pot or a salad? Is it an assimilation machine or a gestalt hodgepodge of culture that is, in other words, more than the sum of its distinct parts? Whether a melting pot, a salad, both or neither, most agree that the United States is a complex geopolitical space that brings together diverse cultural threads, each of which has a particular history. This course provides a critical introduction to American society in all of its diversity. We will explore historical and ethnographic materials revealing broad trends in the cultural and social trajectory of the United States. Through a comparative and critical review of a wide range of cases – ranging from the settling of European colonies in North America, to slavery and its abolition, to the institution of quotas on legal immigration – we will learn how the United States has been forged through histories of settlement and migration, displacement and slavery, and industrialization, inequality, and protest. 

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:SOC; WCult:CI

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Anthropology