U.S. Origin Stories
U.S. Origin Stories Some U.S. origin stories cast (white) Americans as chosen people, discoverers of a bountiful continent, their community a beacon of righteousness to the world. Other stories locate the nation's origins in slavery or in settler colonialism. One story celebrates America’s founding commitment to freedom, equality, and justice - principles which, in turn, sustain another origin story – that of America as a nation borne of and welcoming to immigrants. Origin stories might be foundational, but their meanings are never fixed. In this course we will explore the elasticity and persistence of origin stories, evident in current debates about whether U.S. history begins in 1619 or 1776, about migrant rights, about the self-determination of indigenous peoples, about white nationalism, and about U.S. global leadership.
U.S. Origin Stories Some U.S. origin stories cast (white) Americans as chosen people, discoverers of a bountiful continent, their community a beacon of righteousness to the world. Other stories locate the nation's origins in slavery or in settler colonialism. One story celebrates America’s founding commitment to freedom, equality, and justice - principles which, in turn, sustain another origin story – that of America as a nation borne of and welcoming to immigrants. Origin stories might be foundational, but their meanings are never fixed. In this course we will explore the elasticity and persi …Read more
Holly Allen is an amazing person, very accommodating, and an easy grader. People in her classes tend to take more than 1 because she seems to love what she does and her courses are pretty interesting. While at times it feels very repetitive, there are certainly very interesting things to learn about and overall the course is enjoyable. Mostly readings and small group projects with a few small writing assignments that are easy.
Holly Allen is an amazing person, very accommodating, and an easy grader. People in her classes tend to take more than 1 because she seems to love what she does and her courses are pretty interesting. While at times it feels very repetitive, there are certainly very interesting things to learn about and overall the course is enjoyabl …Read more
I would definitely recommend taking this course. The material is extremely relevant and easy to understand. Holly does a great job of accommodating student needs. I took it as a CW and even then the amount of writing was very minimal.
I've really enjoyed Prof Allen's teaching this semester. There's a decent amount of reading, but she summarizes most of it in class. There are 2 papers, only 750-1,000 words each, a final paper, and one group project. Overall, a very chill and interesting course. My main note is that Prof Allen often seems unsure of herself when teaching. That is, she feels bad for "boring" us and often feels as though she's not teaching the material very well, which is never the case. She's incredibly accommodating and sweet, and will happily engage with you after class or in office hours about anything related to American Studies.
I've really enjoyed Prof Allen's teaching this semester. There's a decent amount of reading, but she summarizes most of it in class. There are 2 papers, only 750-1,000 words each, a final paper, and one group project. Overall, a very chill and interesting course. My main note is that Prof Allen often seems unsure of herself when teac …Read more
I love Holly Allen. She is super kind and someone who I wanted to do well and put in effort for. I took the class when it wasn't a CW, so it wasn't super writing intensive, but essays were our only form of assessment. The class periods can sometimes be slow, but she will acknowledge it and try to engage us in different ways. She is a fair grader and clearly sets her expectations.
Professor Allen was highly invested in the material and taught it in a very accessible manner. I found the lectures very interesting and informative, although there were times it could get a bit dense. I guess my one critique would be that Professor Allen sometimes seems unsure if what she's saying is making sense or landing with us, but it was always very clear to me what she was saying. Professor Allen is also an incredibly nice person who seemed very accommodating and invested in her students success.
Professor Allen was highly invested in the material and taught it in a very accessible manner. I found the lectures very interesting and informative, although there were times it could get a bit dense. I guess my one critique would be that Professor Allen sometimes seems unsure if what she's saying is making sense or landing with us, …Read more
Professor Allen is very knowledgeable and the material is interesting on the surface level. however the I found the course to be repetitive and the teaching style a bit boring. there doesn't seem to be a "point" to the class time besides going over the readings. However, Prof. Allen is a wonderful person and scholar who brings alternative and interesting ideas to class. You don't have to put much effort in to get a lot out of this course!
Professor Allen is very knowledgeable and the material is interesting on the surface level. however the I found the course to be repetitive and the teaching style a bit boring. there doesn't seem to be a "point" to the class time besides going over the readings. However, Prof. Allen is a wonderful person and scholar who brings altern …Read more
Professor Allen is a very nice person and I feel that she loves what she's teaching. There's reading due for every class, but they're not very dense and you can get away with only reading the ones you would need for a discussion post. The two papers that are due are pretty spaced out from each other and were generally easy assignments. Other than that, there's a big group project at the end of the semester, but she gives students a lot of freedom with topic and formatting. I would definitely take another class with Prof.Allen in the future.
Professor Allen is a very nice person and I feel that she loves what she's teaching. There's reading due for every class, but they're not very dense and you can get away with only reading the ones you would need for a discussion post. The two papers that are due are pretty spaced out from each other and were generally easy assignment …Read more
easy course with generally interesting material. If you're looking for a 4th class this is definitely one of my favorites I have taken so far. There is a lot of reading for each class, but you can kind of pick and choose which readings to do based on which discussion questions you want to answer. Allen seems a little disorganized but she is so nice and accommodating. There are 2 short essays and a fairly large group project, but compared to other classes it's really not that bad.
easy course with generally interesting material. If you're looking for a 4th class this is definitely one of my favorites I have taken so far. There is a lot of reading for each class, but you can kind of pick and choose which readings to do based on which discussion questions you want to answer. Allen seems a little disorganized but …Read more
Holly Allen is awesome. I had an awesome time in US Origin Stories. Classes consisted of discussions and there was very little work outside of class. There were two papers and a final project. The information we learned in this class was also pretty interesting.
easiest class I've ever taken- definitely good for a distribution requirement or for an easy schedule filler. Professor Allen is so sweet and accommodating. However, the content was pretty one-dimensional and I don't really feel like I got anything out of it. Never did the readings for class - she summarizes them. Don't recommend if you really want to learn or engage in meaningful discussion.
easiest class I've ever taken- definitely good for a distribution requirement or for an easy schedule filler. Professor Allen is so sweet and accommodating. However, the content was pretty one-dimensional and I don't really feel like I got anything out of it. Never did the readings for class - she summarizes them. Don't recommend if …Read more
I truly enjoyed taking this course with Professor Allen. She is very enthusiastic about her work and course material. You get the most out of this course when you put the most in, meaning that your enjoyment of this course is reflective of the time and effort you put in outside of the class and into readings. That being said, this class has a very light workload in terms of papers and the material is very interesting. It allows you to dive into what you are most interested in. Would highly recommend and take again.
I truly enjoyed taking this course with Professor Allen. She is very enthusiastic about her work and course material. You get the most out of this course when you put the most in, meaning that your enjoyment of this course is reflective of the time and effort you put in outside of the class and into readings. That being said, this cl …Read more
I really enjoyed Professor Allen. She had really interesting and insightful thoughts on assigned readings, but made presented in a way to not feel over bearing or like she had the only opinion to have. The readings were also pretty light and she never cold called. She also often started with having us read what she thought was important from the assigned readings and then if no one had anything to say would the presentation. The class was also very project and small group discussion based.
I really enjoyed Professor Allen. She had really interesting and insightful thoughts on assigned readings, but made presented in a way to not feel over bearing or like she had the only opinion to have. The readings were also pretty light and she never cold called. She also often started with having us read what she thought was import …Read more
This class opened up a new perspective on the stories I have heard growing up about the foundations of the United States. Professor Allen does an excellent job of presenting thought provoking questions about what the effects of these stories are as well as why they have those effects.