Certificate in American Studies (CAST)

CAST Specific Requirements

• HIST 1801: United States History to 1865, or HIST 1802: United States History since 1865, or HIST 2301: US Diplomatic History II.
• GOVT 1200: US Political Systems
• One class designated as either HALC or AMST focusing on American Literature & Culture (or otherwise approved by the CAST curricular committee)
• Minimum of three elective courses of choice, which have been designated as applicable for the American, studies program.
• Completion of an original research thesis or ePortfolio

American Studies Sample Electives

GU-Q offers a variety of courses that fulfill the requirements of the American Studies Certificate. Below are some recently offered elective courses:

• ECON 4411: Economics/Strategy of Sport
• ENGL 2750: Cultural Politics of Migration
• GOVT 3240: Campaigns and Elections
• HIST 3609: America and the Muslim World.

Final Research Thesis or ePortfolio

To complete the CAST requirements students must complete a thesis or electronic portfolio. Students also taking Honors in the Major must complete their CAST thesis their junior year, however if they choose the portfolio option, Honors in the Major students may also pursue CAST their senior year.

Thesis Option

The research thesis enhances and advances the student’s research interests and skills and is undertaken under the supervision of a faculty mentor.

Thesis Requirements

• Must have a faculty mentor
• Students can elect to revise and expand the thesis project previously undertaken as part of a seminar
• Thesis must be reviewed and approved by the American Studies faculty in order for the Certificate to be awarded
• Student must give a formal seminar attended by all American Studies faculty in residence during the spring semester in which the thesis is completed.

ePortfolio Option 

The ePortfolio is a cumulative project that encourages students to reflect on the work they have  done in the program as a whole. The ePortfolio will serve as an online repository for student organization and learning and for advisor mentoring and monitoring. On the student end, it visually organizes and stores CAST materials and facilitates reflection, interdisciplinary and  experiential connections, and critical evaluation. On the faculty side, it facilitates student-advisor interaction and monitoring of progress. 

The e-Portfolio is meant to be a dynamic and holistic learning and advisory platform that  provides a foundation for creating the assessments (reflective essay, oral presentation). It is not an assessment tool of its own. Therefore, grading is pass/fail, based on completion of the basic checklist, as well as a reflective essay. A committee appointed by the CAST faculty chair will grant a certificate upon evaluation of the student’s eportfolio, reflective essay, and oral presentation.

ePortfolio Requirements 

• Portfolio: Using the provided ePortfolio platform, include the following for each of the six required courses:
  • 1) a representative/culminating written work;
  • 2) any selected relevant artifacts (e.g. videos, images, presentations, etc.); and
  • 3) a 500-word reflective essay on the experience of the course as part of the certificate. The  reflective essay should ideally make interdisciplinary connections, connections to  experiences, demonstrate a critical evaluation of these connections, demonstrate  reflection and self-assessment and be clearly and well-written and organized (see rubric below) 
• Meetings: At least meeting with mentor per semester documented using the “mentor supervision form” including feedback and next steps
• Activity: One (minimum) co-curricular enrichment activity (e.g. lecture, workshop, field trip, etc.) relevant to certificate attendance/participation followed by written reflection describing the activity’s connection to the certificate
• Presentation: Oral Presentation of ePortfolio required in senior year (15 minutes followed by question and answer section) 

ePortfolio Reflective Essay Rubric (Benchmark) 

Learning Outcomes   At the completion of the essay, the student will be able to:	Excellent	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement
Interdisciplinary Connections   Make connections  across disciplines and perspectives	Independently synthesizes or draws compelling conclusions by combining examples, facts, or theories from a variety of subject areas in the field of American Studies.	Connects examples, facts,  or theories from a variety  of subject areas in the  fields of American Studies.	Presents examples, facts, or theories from a  narrow subject area within the field of  American Studies.
Connections to Experience   Connect relevant experience and  academic knowledge	Meaningfully synthesizes connections among experiences outside of the  formal classroom (including workshops, speaker series, etc.) to deepen understanding of fields of study, to illuminate concepts, theories, or frameworks of fields of study, and to broaden own points of  view.	Effectively selects,  compares, and develops  co- curricular experiences  and academic knowledge  from a variety of contexts to infer differences, as well as similarities, and  acknowledge perspectives other than own.	Identifies connections  between a minimum  amount of co-curricular  experiences and those academic texts and  ideas perceived as  similar and related to  own interests.
Critical Evaluation of Connections   Evaluate the suitability and usefulness of concepts, theories, and contexts to interdisciplinary questions	Thoroughly (systematically and methodically) analyzes and carefully evaluates the relevance of disciplinary concepts or theories to interdisciplinary contexts. Identifies the advantage of interdisciplinary  research.	Identifies own and others  disciplines and articulates  the differences in approach between disciplines as well as the areas of commonality.	Shows a limited  awareness of own and other disciplines.
Reflection & Self Assessment   Demonstrate a developing sense of self as a learner, building on prior experiences to respond to new and challenging contexts	Recognizes and evaluates changes in  own learning over course of  certificate/minor, recognizing  contextual factors (e.g., inter disciplinarity, importance of analyzing  context from multiple perspectives,,  etc.) that have shaped those changes.  Examines how the course contributes  to personal and intellectual growth  and development.	Articulates strengths and challenges of own personal and intellectual growth and development.	Demonstrates limited recognition and understanding of  personal and intellectual growth and development.
Organization & Style   Display a mastery of  structure, tone, and diction	Writing is flawless (grammar, spelling,  coherence, flow), the argument is  original, well- organized and clear, demonstrating a superior ability to  creatively and appropriately organize and express ideas.