American communities: between the popular and the political Given the political relevance of the topic of community and the apparent volatility of its meanings it is necessary to take time and create spaces for contemplation. How can theories of community be usefully applied to various forms of cultural Production How do notions of communitas affect representations as well as critiques of society and social developments Based on a selection of papers given at the biennial Conference of the Swiss Association for North American Studies in late 2016 this collection approaches discourses on literary texts and other cultural Products from such angles as age studies popular seriality sustainability and ecocriticism