Title: The myths that made America : an introduction to American studies /
Authors: Paul, Heike,
Year: 2014
Subjects: National characteristics, American; Collective memory United States.; United States Intellectual life.
Abstract: This essential introduction to American Studies examines the core foundational myths which the nation is based upon 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 frontier myth, the myth of the American Dream, and the myth of the melting pot. The chapters provide an extended analysis 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 America as an imagined community by analyzing the foundational role of myths in the process of nation building.--
Contents: 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 -- Twenty-five more study questions.