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Skidmore College
American Studies Department

Student Learning Goals

Below are the departmental learning goals mapped to College-wide goals for student learning.

Students who graduate with an American studies degree should be able to:
  • Locate, credit, and effectively evaluate primary and secondary sources. (IIb)
  • Approach any inquiry with multiple methods and approaches. (Ia, IIb, IVa)
  • Produce scholarship that cuts across and bridges traditional disciplinary lines. (Ic, IIIb, IVa)
  • Be reflexive and ask questions of sources, texts, and ourselves. (IIa, IIIa, IIIb, IVb)
  • Demonstrate written communication skills — i.e., write well in clear, concise English prose. (IIIc, IVc)
  • Exhibit oral communication skills — i.e., speak well in class, extemporaneously and formally. (IIc, IVc)
  • Demonstrate facility with presentation skills, tools, and technologies. (IIIc, IVc)
  • Design and execute small and large-scale research projects. (IIIc, IIId)
  • Consider the epistemological implications of how we know what we know. (Ia, IIIb, Iva, IVc)
  • Understand that American identity and culture are shaped by social and political forces and historically and geographically contextual/contingent. (Ib, IIIb)
  • Examine questions of social justice and equity across intersectional identities. (Ib, IId,  IVc)
  • Make connections between course work and the larger world. (Ib, IId, IVc)
  • Embrace an enduring passion for learning. (IVd)