An unfamiliar America : essays in American studies /
edited by Ari Helo and Mikko Saikku.
- 1 online resource (xi, 225 pages).
- Routledge advances in American history ; 18 .
"This collection focuses on conceptions of the unfamiliar from the viewpoint of mainstream American history: aliens, immigrants, ethnic groups, and previously unencountered ideas and ideologies in Trumpian America. The book suggests bringing historical thinking back to the center of American Studies, given that it has been recently challenged by the influential memory studies boom. As much as identity-building appears to be the central concern for much of the current practice in American history writing, it is worth keeping in mind that historical truth may not always directly contribute to one's identity-building. The researcher's constant quest for truth does not equate to already possessing it. History changes all the time, because it consists of our constant reinterpretation of the past. It is only the past that does not change. This collection aims at keeping these two apart, while scrutinizing a variety of contested topics in American history, from xenophobic attitudes toward eighteenth-century university professors, Apache masculinity, Ku Klux Klan, Tom Waits's lyrics, and the politics of the Trump era"--
9781003092131 1003092136 9781000218312 1000218317 9781000218329 1000218325 9781000218336 1000218333
10.4324/9781003092131 doi
Xenophobia--History.--United States
Racism--History.--United States
Minorities--Social conditions.--United States
Minorities--Civil rights--History.--United States
Christianity and politics--United States.
National characteristics, American.
HISTORY / United States / General
HISTORY / Social History
United States--Race relations--History.
United States--Ethnic relations--History.
United States--Politics and government--2017-
E184.A1 / U54 2021
305.800973
"This collection focuses on conceptions of the unfamiliar from the viewpoint of mainstream American history: aliens, immigrants, ethnic groups, and previously unencountered ideas and ideologies in Trumpian America. The book suggests bringing historical thinking back to the center of American Studies, given that it has been recently challenged by the influential memory studies boom. As much as identity-building appears to be the central concern for much of the current practice in American history writing, it is worth keeping in mind that historical truth may not always directly contribute to one's identity-building. The researcher's constant quest for truth does not equate to already possessing it. History changes all the time, because it consists of our constant reinterpretation of the past. It is only the past that does not change. This collection aims at keeping these two apart, while scrutinizing a variety of contested topics in American history, from xenophobic attitudes toward eighteenth-century university professors, Apache masculinity, Ku Klux Klan, Tom Waits's lyrics, and the politics of the Trump era"--
9781003092131 1003092136 9781000218312 1000218317 9781000218329 1000218325 9781000218336 1000218333
10.4324/9781003092131 doi
Xenophobia--History.--United States
Racism--History.--United States
Minorities--Social conditions.--United States
Minorities--Civil rights--History.--United States
Christianity and politics--United States.
National characteristics, American.
HISTORY / United States / General
HISTORY / Social History
United States--Race relations--History.
United States--Ethnic relations--History.
United States--Politics and government--2017-
E184.A1 / U54 2021
305.800973