1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910508304503321

Autore

Paul Heike <p>Heike Paul, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Deutschland </p>

Titolo

The Myths That Made America : An Introduction to American Studies / Heike Paul

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Bielefeld, : transcript Verlag, 2014

ISBN

9783839414859

3839414857

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Collana

American Culture Studies

Disciplina

973.0

Soggetti

America

Culture

Myth

Literature

History

American Studies

Cultural Studies

American History

Introduction

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Christopher Columbus and the Myth of 'Discovery' -- Pocahontas and the Myth of Transatlantic Love -- Pilgrims and Puritans and the Myth of the Promised Land -- American Independence and the Myth of the Founding Fathers -- E Pluribus Unum? The Myth of the Melting Pot -- Agrarianism, Expansionism, and the Myth of the American West -- Expressive Individualism and the Myth of the Self-Made Man.

Sommario/riassunto

This essential introduction to American studies examines the core foundational myths upon which the nation is based and which still determine discussions of US-American identities today. These myths include the myth of »discovery,« the Pocahontas myth, the myth of the Promised Land, the myth of the Founding Fathers, the melting pot myth, the myth of the West, and the myth of the self-made man.The chapters provide extended analyses of each of these myths, using



examples from popular culture, literature, memorial culture, school books, and every-day life. Including visual material as well as study questions, this book will be of interest to any student of American studies and will foster an understanding of the United States of America as an imagined community by analyzing the foundational role of myths in the process of nation building.

»[Die Analyse ermöglicht] in ihrer Gesamtheit faszinierende Impressionen von Mentalitäten und Idealen, Vorurteilen und Abgrenzungen der US-amerikanischen Gesellschaft des 19. und 20.Jahrhunderts.«

Besprochen in:Archiv für Sozialgeschichte, 23.07.2015, Horst Dippelhttps://lights-camera-history.com, 12,12,2020, Paige Lurie

"In its entirety, [the analysis offers] fascinating impressions of mentalities and ideals, prejudices and practices of cultural distinction present in the US-American society of the 19th and 20th century."