Made in America

Made in America
Author: Claude S. Fischer
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2010-05-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0226251454

Our nation began with the simple phrase, “We the People.” But who were and are “We”? Who were we in 1776, in 1865, or 1968, and is there any continuity in character between the we of those years and the nearly 300 million people living in the radically different America of today? With Made in America, Claude S. Fischer draws on decades of historical, psychological, and social research to answer that question by tracking the evolution of American character and culture over three centuries. He explodes myths—such as that contemporary Americans are more mobile and less religious than their ancestors, or that they are more focused on money and consumption—and reveals instead how greater security and wealth have only reinforced the independence, egalitarianism, and commitment to community that characterized our people from the earliest years. Skillfully drawing on personal stories of representative Americans, Fischer shows that affluence and social progress have allowed more people to participate fully in cultural and political life, thus broadening the category of “American” —yet at the same time what it means to be an American has retained surprising continuity with much earlier notions of American character. Firmly in the vein of such classics as The Lonely Crowd and Habits of the Heart—yet challenging many of their conclusions—Made in America takes readers beyond the simplicity of headlines and the actions of elites to show us the lives, aspirations, and emotions of ordinary Americans, from the settling of the colonies to the settling of the suburbs.

Perspectives on American Book History

Perspectives on American Book History
Author: Scott E. Casper
Publisher:
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2002
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN:

CD-ROM contains: Digital image archive of books, magazines, manuscripts, technologies, and readers to accompany text.

CULTURE AS HISTORY

CULTURE AS HISTORY
Author: Warren Susman
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2012-10-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0307826147

Bringing together for the first time the best of twenty-five years of unique critical work, Warren Susman takes us on a startling tour through the conflicts and events which have transformed the social, political, and cultural face of America in this century. Probing a rich panoply of images from the mass media and advertising, testing prevalent intellectual and economic theories, linking the revolutions in communications and technology to the rise of a new pantheon of popular heroes. Susman documents and analyzes the process through which the older, Puritan-republican, producer-capitalist culture has given way to the leisure-oriented, consumer society we now inhabit: the culture of abundance.

A Brief History of American Culture

A Brief History of American Culture
Author: Robert M. Crunden
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2015-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317478274

"The discussion of each period is wide-ranging, analyzing movements and spotlighting major figures in politics and philosophy, law and literature, economics and education, jazz and journalism, science and civil rights. A readable, insightful overview of the underlying patterns that give shape to U.S. cultural history. Nonacademic readers will find Crunden's selective bibliographical essay helpful". -- Booklist

American Nations

American Nations
Author: Colin Woodard
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2012-09-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0143122029

• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who during presidential elections, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of any hotly contested election in our history.

America First!

America First!
Author: Bill Kauffman
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2016
Genre: History
ISBN: 1615924361

Bill Kauffman, described by the Washington Post as having the pleasantly wicked touch of H.L. Mencken, examines the cultural factors and political schisms of 20th-century American nationalism. He weaves a fascinating tale that links Sinclair Lewis to NAFTA, 'The Best Years of Our Lives' to Ross Perot, and the Old Right to the New Left. He discusses the Perot phenomenon, the presidential campaign and the influence of Pat Buchanan, the impact of free trade agreements, the film industry of the 1930s, and a fascinating cast of characters and causes in what is sure to be controversial reading.As Gore Vidal notes in his foreword, By studying our history [Kauffman] has latched on to some interesting facts (as opposed to opinions) that completely turn inside out the tedious liberal versus conservative debate, or grunting contest.. . . just the sort of wake-up call needed for anyone in search of a better understanding of the richly complex roots of the contemporary America First movement. -For the People News ReporterBill Kauffman deserves much credit for the good he has done in revising some of the cliches . . . dominating the media . . .[that] have distorted our sense of American history. . . . Kauffman has made an important and very readable contribution. -Chronicles. . . a highly relavant and readable book from start to finish. -The Freeman. . . some of the most enjoyable and fascinating reading [to be found]. . . . If you read only one political history book, here it is. -Booklist. . . perceptive and nearly always provocative. -The Tragedy of American Isolationism

Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia

Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia
Author: Huping Ling
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1902
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317476441

With overview essays and more than 400 A-Z entries, this exhaustive encyclopedia documents the history of Asians in America from earliest contact to the present day. Organized topically by group, with an in-depth overview essay on each group, the encyclopedia examines the myriad ethnic groups and histories that make up the Asian American population in the United States. "Asian American History and Culture" covers the political, social, and cultural history of immigrants from East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands, and their descendants, as well as the social and cultural issues faced by Asian American communities, families, and individuals in contemporary society. In addition to entries on various groups and cultures, the encyclopedia also includes articles on general topics such as parenting and child rearing, assimilation and acculturation, business, education, and literature. More than 100 images round out the set.

How America Eats

How America Eats
Author: Jennifer Jensen Wallach
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2013
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1442208740

How America Eats: A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture tells the story of America by examining American eating habits, and illustrates the many ways in which competing cultures, conquests and cuisines have helped form America's identity, and have helped define what it means to be American.

The Rise and Fall of Culture History

The Rise and Fall of Culture History
Author: R. Lee Lyman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2007-07-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0585304521

This volume presents an insightful critical analysis of the culture history approach to Americanist anthropology. Reasons for the acceptance and incorporation of important concepts, as well as the paradigm's strengths and weaknesses, are discussed in detail. The framework for this analysis is founded on the contrast between two metaphysics used by evolutionary biologists in discussing their own discipline: materialistic/populational thinking and essentialistic/typological thinking. Employing this framework, the authors show not only why the culture history paradigm lost favor in the 1960s, but also which of its aspects need to be retained if archaeology is ever to produce a viable theory of culture change.

Religion and American Culture

Religion and American Culture
Author: George M. Marsden
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2018-09-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467451398

While Americans still profess to be one of the most religious people in the industrialized world, many aspects of American culture have long been secular and materialistic. That is just one of the many paradoxes, contradictions, and surprises in the relationship between Christianity and American culture. In this book George Marsden, a leading historian of American Christianity and award-winning author, tells the story of that relationship in a concise and thought-provoking way. Surveying the history of religion and American culture from the days of the earliest European settlers right up through the elections of 2016, Marsden offers the kind of historically and religiously informed scholarship that has made him one of the nation’s most respected and decorated historians. Students in the classroom and history readers of all ages will benefit from engaging with the story Marsden tells.