After being removed from the Program of Studies five years ago, American Studies and American Studies Honors will be returning for juniors next year, and many people are choosing to take it over a conventional English or U. S. History Class.
American Studies is a two period class that fulfills both the U. S. History and English III graduation requirements, where one period is an American History class and the other is an American Literature class. Five years ago, it was discontinued, and many were left confused and frustrated. Some argued that the removal was detrimental to historical learning and civic education. Michael Schmitz, AP European History, Government, and former American Studies Honors teacher, expresses disappointment.
“[The decision was made by] someone [at] the administrative level; teachers [do not] get to make those types of decisions, generally speaking,” Schmitz said. “I [did] not understand it, because it, historically, has been a popular class. Kids like it.”
Schmitz used to teach the U. S. History half of the class, while Ian Silverman, current English II and AP Seminar/Research teacher, taught the English portion with him.
“[It is] similar to the approach that U. S. History would take, [you are] going to take a chronological approach to U. S. History. But the uniqueness of the class is that as [you are] in a period historically, [you are] then going to study [and] read literature from that same time period. So, right now, kids take English III and they take United States History, but those teachers [do not] get the opportunity to work together. In American Studies, those teachers plan together,” Schmitz said.
According to the 2024-2025 LZHS Program of Studies, in American Studies, “Students engage with texts that highlight themes such as freedom, justice, and the American Dream. Collaborative projects and cross-curricular assignments deepen students’ understanding of the interplay between literature and history.” According to Schmitz, American Studies’ interdisciplinary structure is part of what makes it so valuable. The unique structure of the class offers a lot of opportunities.
“I think the easiest [example] is, when you read Great Gatsby in American Literature, in the US history class, [you are] studying the 1920s so that you can kind of see how the culture is reflective of the history, and the history is reflective of culture, and how those things are intertwined,” Schmitz said.
According to Schmitz, American Studies will only return if enough people sign up for the class. However, so far, American Studies seems to be getting a lot of support from prospective sophomores such as Kristyanna Apostol, sophomore.
“I thought it would be like a fun class that counts for two credits and, by the description my history teacher gave me, that sounded like a pretty fun class to take,” Apostol said. “Honestly, [I am] not really sure about what [we are] going to be learning, but [I am] excited, from what [I have] heard from people who have taken it. Learning history and then going straight into a story that revolves around it [sounds awesome]. So [I am] excited to see how that goes; learning the history aspect, and then reading.”
There is a simple but key distinction between American Studies and American Studies Honors. According to the Program of Studies, American Studies Honors is “[a] more rigorous version of American Studies, [and] this course requires advanced critical thinking and analytical skills. Students tackle complex historical texts and literature, engaging in in-depth discussions and research projects.” Apostol is choosing to take American Studies Honors due to her current enrollment in both an Honors English class and an AP Social Studies class.
American Studies is a novel concept, so the re-launch next year is certainly unpredictable. Still, it appears as though many students are fascinated with the study of American History and Literature, and what the class might entail.
“I already like reading books that are historical and stuff like that, so I thought [it would] be interesting to learn History and English all in one class, instead of having to worry about two different classes,” Apostol said. “I already like English and history, so making it into one class is something that would work for me rather than [the other] English [III classes].”
