Reimagined Communities

So, I couldn’t find another sample to share with you, so here is my long-ago and far-away proposal for the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. I did actually receive the fellowship, so you can count that for some sign that it did the job. Note that it falls into that three page limit that I spoke about. You are not constrained by those limits for your final project. Additionally, it contains a list of Key References, where you will need a full annotated bibliography.

Sample Proposal

Vote in a Box

In this class we are going to explore issues of nationalism in relation to the U.S. after 1945. What is a nation? What is nationalism? Is the nation-state still relevant? In what contexts? What of trans-nationalism? Or even post-nationalism? These have been key questions for American Studies scholars over the last decade.

We will join these critical conversations by reading both theoretical works and scholarship that puts those works and concepts into practice. You will have a chance to work out your thoughts on these issues both in text through your blog postings and in discussion during class. At every turn you should consider the implications of the reading and our discussions for your own interests and work.

Since this is an American Studies course, our readings and explorations will not be tied to any particular discipline. That will make it imperative that we explicitly discuss methodology with respect to each work. This will have the bonus of providing some methodological groundwork for you as you move toward your senior projects.