In Canada and Mexico, however, there is significant public participation in cultural production, and in both countries cultural nationalist elites strongly support these policies in direct contradiction to the free-market model of cultural production in the United States. The large and increasing Spanish-speaking population of the United States looms as a lucrative market for Mexican cultural exports. Regional integration poses the possibility, to some an opportunity and to others a threat, of significant cultural convergence. In some cases, ethnic, social, racial, religious, and even national identities are already being transformed. Grants are provided to Duke faculty for research and teaching on North American topics.
Preference is given to work in the six research themes.