BA in American Studies - Material Culture and the Built Environment in Chicago United States | DePaul University

This concentration enables students to examine the intricate connections between arts, crafts, design concepts, locations, and America's social and cultural fabric. It facilitates comprehensive exploration of artifacts within their historical framework, utilizing perspectives from art history, design history, economic studies, technological evolution, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, and geography. The program blends two fundamental perspectives: prioritizing physical artifacts and situating them within broader societal and intellectual frameworks. Certain courses address topics concerning media, techniques, aesthetic principles, production and consumption patterns, historical documentation, and theoretical concepts, while others concentrate on how objects and spaces influence daily life - including urban planning, landscape architecture, structural design, interior decoration, fashion, personal adornments, culinary traditions, decorative arts, and visual communication. Learners will investigate how Americans have both influenced and been influenced by their surroundings, ranging from natural landscapes to metropolitan areas.