Center for American Studies and Civic Leadership


 

 

The first duty imposed on those who now direct society is to educate democracy; to put, if possible, new life into its beliefs; to purify its mores; to control its actions; gradually to substitute understanding of statecraft for present inexperience and knowledge of its true interests for blind instincts; to adapt government to the needs of time and place; and to modify it as men and circumstances require. A new political science is needed for a world itself quite new.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

 

CAS in the News

Center for American Awarded Major Grant by National Endowment for the Humanities.
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CAS to Co-Host First Annual Workshop on Intelligence and National Security
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Course Offerings

Major and Minor in American Studies
The American Studies major and minor were initiated in fall 2006. The American Studies major / minor differs from American Studies programs at other universities by focusing primarily on the American founding and its legacy. The five core courses for the major are centered on the theme of the founding and evolution of the great "American Experiment" in democracy, capitalism, and self-government.  2009-2010 Course Offerings >>>
See University Catalog for more information >>>

Minor in U.S. National Security

The minor in U.S. National Security Studies explores the rich, and often controversial, legacy of U.S. diplomatic and national security policies from its founding to the present, beginning with the principles of U.S. foreign policy rooted in the Constitution and tracing the evolution of U.S. national security through the Cold War and Post-Cold War eras. The minor also examines the specific internal mechanisms by which national security policies are formulated, as well as the theoretical debates in international relations scholarship on the nature of the international system, the role of power, calculations of national interest, and the effect of institutions such as international law in governing state behavior. Finally, the minor will study the political and historical contexts of current regional conflict areas, and the "new dimensions" of U.S. national security, including WMD proliferation, ethnic conflict and conflict resolution, the "War on Terrorism," and human, environmental, and energy security.   2009-2010 Course Offerings >>>
See University Catalog for more information >>>

Capitalism

Recognizing that free minds and free markets are related, Center activities explore the link between political freedom and economic freedom, and the role of government in a free society. The Center works in conjunction with CNU's Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) Professorship for the Study of Capitalism.   2009-2010 Course Offerings >>>
See BT&T web site for more information >>>

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