During the 2000 fall term, this Special Topics Seminar for Honors Program students at Kennesaw State University used the framework of the Keeping and Creating American Communities program to organize content, assignments, and class activities. Class members studied a variety of materials associated with the history, culture, and future challenges in northwest Georgia communities. Using literature (e.g., narratives, film), history (including archives and public history sites), popular culture (e.g., advertising, songs) and the "built environment" (e.g., shopping malls, subdivisions), the seminar considered ways that our local communities have seen and represented themselves as "American" in times of shifting social values and changing land.

Contemporary trends examined included the lifestyles of Atlanta suburbs and rural Georgia versus the urban center, as well as the impact of international immigration on our local sense of "American" community. Students also learned about important past moments in regional history related to KCAC themes, such as the Cherokee Removal and its enduring legacies in Georgia and beyond. Consistent with KCAC's emphasis on inquiry-based learning, students did their own small-group and individualized research projects and shared their findings with a range of audiences.