To help you understand the actual role, meaning and significance -- the connotation and denotation, of the Dream concept in American political and general society, I have inserted a typical description of a University course on the subject of the American Society and the role of the American Dream phenomena. This course is very typical of the role played by the Dream concept in disguising the true role of America, its true face and characteristics. (If you wish you can conduct the search for yourself, Click here: Google Search: significance american dream)
Amh3401x
Fall 2001
MW 2:40-3:55
412 Lehman Hall
(212) 854-1935
Office hours:
T 1:30-3:30
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: âWe hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.â"
â Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
all of my days have been misspent
stuffing out the sofa and the antennaâs bent
inside my heartâs bustinâ out at the seams
i work for the impossible american dream
-- Indigo Girls (1999)
In this course we will consider American Studies as a field by examining the American Dream. We will ask ourselves through out the semester: What is the American Dream? Are there multiple interpretations of the Dream? What is its significance for American society? What elements of the American Dream have been disputed and changed over time? Who has access to the Dream? Is it simply a myth? If so, what is the power of that myth? How does the Dream help us define ourselves as Americans? How does it hold out the promise of social change, and how does it maintain the status quo?
We will explore some of the foundational ideas of the American Dream, how the Dream fared in a time of crisis, and how it has been expressed in recent decades. In the process, we will think about the meaning and production of culture in America over several centuries, analyzing the significance of myth and popular culture in people's daily lives and in society at large. As we do so, we will pay close attention to how we arrive at our answers. We will look at our subject using a variety of sources, methodologies and theories, and discuss the values of the various approaches. In the end, you should have a sense of both the contested nature of the American Dream and how we imagine ourselves as Americans, as well as how you want to think about such questions. You should also be more adept at using a wide variety of primary sourcesâfilm, music, plays, novels, legal documentsâand be better able to examine American society and culture using a wide range of cultural theories.
http://www.barnard.edu/history/faculty/jay/3401/hist3401x/overview.html
