Course Description
The United States is a nation of immigrants. However, it has become an increasingly multicultural country. Consequently, this course not only highlights the standard cultural framework of the United States, but also its diversity in cultural values, language, identities, communities, and its tradition of British colonization. The course also ends by drawing attention to the culture of modernity which has emerged from the city-states of Northern Italy and flourished during the first and second industrial revolutions. This culture of modernity is also a dominant part of the culture of the United States and of other industrial nations facing globalization. It is in this latter context that the concepts of cultural diversity and multiculturalism are investigated. What role does mass communication play in the social construction of the culture of modernity? How are diverse cultures assimilated to the new dimensions of modernity? How are conflicts resolved in this new context? What are the social and cultural constructions of other communities both nationally and globally?
The Instructor reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus when necessary to meet learning objectives, compensate for missed classes, or for similar reasons.