Nationalism and National Identity in the United States: Jr. Colloquium
AMST 221
Fall 2021
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01
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After decades of (seemingly) hegemonic globalization, recent events brought the issues of nationalism and national identity to the fore again. In this course, we will explore classic and new approaches to the nation state and the cultural phenomena associated with it. We will study the institutions, symbols, rituals, myths, and other elements that make up nationalism and national identity in the United States. We will investigate how different groups and communities in North America reinvent national culture, often creating clashing ideas of what the nation should be. From sports to literature, from holiday celebrations to federal legislation, from culinary to military operations, we will use a wide array of case studies to survey national culture. Our goal is to develop intellectual tools that will allow us to understand nationalism and national identity as contested, ever-shifting, and highly consequential parts of reality.
This course will take transnational and comparative approaches. We will investigate American national culture from the perspective of outsiders such as immigrants and colonized populations. We will also compare American nationalism with other nationalisms, including those of Western empires, non-Western nations, and even peoples without a nation state. These perspectives will help us better understand how global forces such as capitalism and imperialism shape national culture in the United States. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
In addition to primary sources, we will read chapters from
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (1983);
Gary Gerstle, American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century (2001);
Liah Greenfeld, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (1992);
Matthew Frye Jacobson, Barbarian Virtues: The United States Encounters Foreign Peoples at Home and Abroad, 18761917 (2000);
Erika Lee, America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States (2019);
Jill Lepore, This America: The Case for the Nation (2019).
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Examinations and Assignments:
Take Home Final Exam
Primary Source Reports;
Presentations;
Short Papers. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Saba,Roberto Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: BOGH110; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 6 | JR major: 9 | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 0 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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