AmericanCultureElective

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COURSE OBJECTIVE
To acclimatize SMIC graduates to life in the US, help them navigate, understand and, optionally, integrate into American society.

CURRICULUM
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/crossroads/sec5/Introduction/organization.html

1. Geography as the Setting of American History
2. The Evolution of American Political Democracy
3. The Evolution of American Political Ideas
4. The Evolution of American Society
5. The Question of a Distinctive American Culture
6. America as a Gathering of Peoples and Cultures
7. The Development of an American Economy
8. The Changing Role of America in the World

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第1章 导言：理解美国的文化
第2章 美国的传统价值观及信仰
第3章 美国的宗教遗产
第4章 边疆传统
第5章 富裕的美国
第6章 美国的商业世界
第7章 美国的政府和政治
第8章 美国民族和种族多样性
第9章 美国的教育
第10章 美国人怎样度过休闲时间
第11章 美国家庭
第12章 转型中的美国价值体系
后附：《美国文化背景》教师手册

RANDOM
http://www.zompist.com/amercult.html
http://www.tckworld.com/
http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c22473.htm

COURSE DESIGN
- Lectures introducing students to resources, broad topics
- Individual research projects and presentations
- Guest speakers, films (movies, TV), websites

ROUGH OUTLINE
US Geography
People groups and ethnicity
Recent history (the history of your peers, and their parents)
Subcultures

  • Pop culture, music and movies

  • Intellectual culture

  • Counter-culture

Overview of the political system, local and national
Traditional American values, new American values, and religion
Where do I fit into/what can I bring to American culture