This course examines how U.S. cultures are constructed, reinforced, and changed--particularly in reference to place and material culture. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis drawn from several disciplines will help students develop skills in cultural interpretation. Case studies may focus on a neighborhood, a city, or a region. Topics will vary from semester to semester.

This course will explore the meaning, history, and culture of the beach in the United States. From Oahu’s North Shore to the Inkwell on Martha’s Vineyard, to Florida’s “Redneck Riviera” and the Southern California beaches that starred in Beach Boys songs in the 1960s, the beach has loomed large in both the lived experience and the symbolic imagination of ordinary Americans since the nineteenth century. What is the culture of the beach, and why does it matter? By combining history, material culture, and popular media (including literature, music, and film), as well as visits to local Bay Area beaches, our interdisciplinary study of the beach will consider what American beaches can teach us about race, ethnicity, gender, indigeneity, class, sexuality, work, leisure, consumption, the environment, popular culture, and power in the United States. For American Studies majors, this course fulfills the Place requirement. This course also fulfills the American Cultures requirement.

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Requirements class fulfills