The idea of "America"

30 Janeiro 2019, 08:00 • Margarida Vale de Gato

Reading: Kirsten Silva Gruesz, “America,” from Keywords for American CulturalStudies. Class discussion focused on this essay, on the history of the word “America” and the ways it is applied as the name of a continent, a hemisphere, a country, and a set of political and cultural associations with the United States. The shifting meanings of the word emphasize the ambiguity of American identity. Building on an argument Gruesz makes, I ask students to identify whatever comes to mind when they hear the word“America”—results are an interesting combination of political, artistic, musical, economic, and military relationships that reflect the United States’ place in the world.