The American studies minor at Elon is an interdisciplinary minor that provides study in American history and American literature. But many students are unaware that Elon offers such a program, or that many of the classes they have already taken can count towards the minor.
Samuele Pardini, the new director of the American studies program, said he is focused on changing this lack of awareness.
“It’s a minor that was created in 2008, but it hasn’t been publicized a lot,” Pardini said. “One of my hopes is to publicize this option to students because it gives you a really good perspective of American culture.”
The minor is essential to helping teach about diversity at Elon, where significant emphasis is placed on promoting diversity, Pardini said.
“It’s no exaggeration that American culture brought diversity, and learning about (diversity) all started with American studies,” Pardini said. “This is the field that welcomed minorities to America and brought the issues of gender diversity, race relations and imperialism to the forefront.”
The American studies minor can be beneficial to Elon because, in many ways, the student body is homogeneous, Pardini said.
“One thing American studies can do is bring up the diversity that is already present in the student body, but that the students and the university may not be aware of,” he said. “I think it will help the university, because within the student body we have here, it can expose them to walks of life that they have never encountered.”
Junior Robert Shapiro is an American studies minor and had Pardini as a professor last year. He said the minor interests him because he thinks it is a fresh way to study America and American culture.
“Rather than strictly focusing on history or literature or art, it takes all of them into account to develop a more vivid, complete picture of American culture,” Shapiro said. “I think it’s a minor that easily diversifies one’s learning experience, which is certainly something I have enjoyed about it.”
Shapiro views the minor as a supplement to his major in literature. He hopes the minor can act as a springboard into other areas of study.
“I’ve always loved American literature, and it’s wonderful to contrast these novels and poems to movies, music and historical texts,” he said.
Pardini said he is looking forward to having more students show interest in the minor. But he does not just want to publicize to students from the United States. He said he thinks international students could learn a lot from having a minor in American studies because they often come to America with preconceived notions.
“They come with the knowledge of the land of opportunity, but it is much more complicated than that,” Pardini said. “I think it is good that they are exposed to the diversity and culture of American culture, which is what American studies is all about.”
There are a number of classes associated with American culture that can count for credit toward the minor. Only 24 credit hours are needed for the minor, and Concepts in American Studies, an introduction to American studies, is the only required class.
“The discipline now is evolving,” Pardini said. “While it keeps the traditional path of history and literature concentration, some classes, like the study of media and how television or new media affects American culture, could count for American studies.”
Pardini also hopes to create new classes that will give credit toward the minor. He is working on designing a new general studies course that explores the effects of sports on American culture.
“It’s not valued how massive the importance of sports are on American life,” Pardini said. “For example, you can do the history of male ethnicity through boxing and racial studies. So I would like to get a class that combines American studies and sports.”
But right now, his main focus is to promote the minor.
“I’ve been talking to students lately, and they didn’t know that the minor existed,” he said. “But when I told them what it