1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910820559903321

Autore

Igo Sarah Elizabeth <1969->

Titolo

The averaged American : surveys, citizens, and the making of a mass public / / Sarah E. Igo

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Harvard University Press, 2007

ISBN

0-674-03894-0

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (408 p.)

Classificazione

NW 2708

Disciplina

301.072/073

Soggetti

Social surveys - United States - History - 20th century

National characteristics, American

Identity (Psychology) - United States

United States Social conditions 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-378) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Introduction: America in Aggregate -- 1. Canvassing a "Typical" Community -- 2. Middletown Becomes Everytown -- 3. Polling the Average Populace -- 4. The Majority Talks Back -- 5. Surveying Normal Selves -- 6. The Private Lives of the Public -- Epilogue: Statistical Citizens -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

supports the death penalty, that half of all marriages end in divorce, and that four out of five prefer a particular brand of toothpaste. But remarkably, such data--now woven into our social fabric--became common currency only in the last century. With a bold and sophisticated analysis, Sarah Igo demonstrates the power of scientific surveys to shape Americans' sense of themselves as individuals, members of communities, and citizens of a nation.