AST2700

Study abroad: Washington DC - American metropolis

I Mylchreest and C Hamann

8 points
* 12 lectures and 12 two-hour seminars in an intensive 4-week mode
* Mid-semester break
* Washington DC

Objectives On the successful completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the importance of Washington DC as the symbolic as well as the administrative centre of the United States; a knowledge of some of the major historical and political events associated with the capital; a sense of the role of public architecture and city planning in the creation of national icons and a `hands-on' familiarity with such resources as the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress and the National Gallery.

Synopsis The national capital of the United States, Washington DC has a singular iconic significance in American life and culture. This subject is designed to explore such iconography in many of its manifestations - historical, political, architectural, artistic and social. Students will be based at Georgetown University. Site visits to Yorktown, Williamsburg, Richmond, and Monticello will enhance an understanding of colonial America against which the political and historical significance of the Revolution and Constitution will be studied. The importance of Washington as the barometer of the nation's concerns will be traced from the nineteenth-century building of the Capitol through to the contemporary symbolic function of the various marches on the city. While there will be scope for students to pursue specialist disciplinary interests - taking advantage of Washington's extraordinary wealth of museums, libraries, galleries and archives relevant to American Studies - the subject will be essentially interdisciplinary in focus, exploring how the dream of an American Republic found expression in the city's planning, architecture, and national institutions.

Assessment Journal report (1500 words): 30%
* Essay and field report (2000 words): 25%
* Essay (2500 words): 45%

Recommended texts

A listing of required reading from a range of texts will be supplied to students on enrolment in the subject. Preliminary reading can be found on the Centre for American Studies home page on the World Wide Web.