Front Back
American Studies
4 main keywords: interdisciplinary, diverse, transnational, hemispheric
America
A broader Americas-> nothing concrete, not just a land mass, but interconnected forces. The boundaries of America are drawn by race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. -Citizenship and democracy
Interdisciplinary
More than one branch of knowledge
Culture
-American culture is a melting pot of cultures -Diverse
Nation
-not geographically defined -Constructed through social and cultural processes, not natural -Can be primarily created through print culture an the standardization of language -Emphasizes self-determination -Limited (do not consider all citizens) -Race, gender, sexuality, etc. factor …
Keywords
1. Important terms 2. Unlock mysteries 3. Changing
Transnational
America is transnational, going beyond national boundaries, reaching to other areas of the world
West Indies
-British West Indies: slaves here,
Freedom
In 19th century, freedom= land ownership, goes hand-in-hand with place (see next card)
Place
Multiple identities, experienced differently by different people, process rather than static location, not an enclosure with universal borders
Chattel Slavery
Children who are born into slavery. Slavery= social death, economic death, lack of mobility, religion, and violence
Enlightenment
-Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg address shows enlightenment ideas: new nation, liberty, all men created equal, new birth of freedom, government of the people, by the people, for the people -Ideas represented in visual culture and politics def: adopted ideas of individualism and creativ…
Free Labor
-An ideology that people want to work for themselves
Social Death
Slaves unable to see family/friends, sold to different owners than their family members,
Act of Abolition
-To abolish slavery
Agency
Having the power to direct things in your own life
Manifest Destiny
1840's-1850's: idea to take over the Pacific side
Homestead Act
-related to land ownership/distribution
Buffalo Soldiers
def: black soldiers that joined the army during the civil was and went out west after war
Dawes Act
1887- dissolved communally owned land, distributed late 160 acre lots (similar to the Homestead Act) -nuclear families, citizenship for those who "adopted the habits of civilized life"
Frontier Thesis
-Idea that progression and the countries democracy is formed from the frontier -"the existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession (slowdown in economy), and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development"
Union
-Confederates -Pro-slavery
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882- Chinese no longer allowed into America-> Chinese immigration banned for ten years, extended to permanent ban in 1902, finally removed in 1965 -Chinese already in Amerca not granted citizenship
Foreign Miners' Tax
Mexicans who lived in Mexico that suddenly came to United States (mostly California and Texas) after war were forced to pay this tax- prohibitions form testifying in Court, loss of land
Avater
many argued that it was a modern day Pocahontas->an example of whites settling in the West
Class
working class worked in factories that had extremely dangerous conditions-> including small children, unskilled workers, immigrants who didn't understand language who therefore did not understand instruction, rural folk
Culture of Capitalism
-def of capitalism: private ownership, profits, markets, boom and bust (ex. housing market) -New habits, values, morality, ideals, temporality, family, geography, sexuality -Buying things we don't actually need to survive
Industrial Revolution
-Early 20th century, mass production -Factories and workers migrate from countryside to cities, work no longer mixes with leisure (drinking a beer while on the job)-> now strictly work -Faster, cheaper, bigger output for means of production
American Dream
-Making something of yourself in America -Ex. Ragged Dick: "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps"
Time
Factory owners/people in general began to become obsessed with time efficiency-> resulted in alienation/ disconnection with real life - Many worked 12 hour-long shifts, considered normal
Scientific Management
-involved taylorism->reduced wasted movements when swinging a hammer, results in faster production
Minstrelsy
-Blackface minstrelsy: White people would put on black makeup and act as blacks Ex: Whites would dress up as country bums and do the Jim Crowe dance -Why did this become so popular? Because many whit working class were moving from countryside to industrial cities and they too longed to…
Modern Times
...
Social Gospel
-Protestant churches= "Social Gospel" -A movement introduced by Protestant church to work in the Christian religion with social affairs of the time
Urbanization
-Move from countryside to city->
Immigration
-American food immigrated to Europe -Pograms: European urbanization (an idea adopted from American culture) -Industrialization in Western Europe -"American fever" all over the world: Everyone wanted to be like the US, similar feel as the American dream
Nativism
-Defense and perpetuation of "native" population -Anti-immigrant, nationalistic -Ex: American Protective Association
Whiteness
-Race is socially constructed, whiteness changes, inheritance of privileges, citizenship -Ex: Irish not considered "white" previously, but now considered white in modern times
Reform
Bureaucracy, Rational, Scientific--> influenced by scientific idea about race, used to figure out how to be more efficient
Eugenics
-Idea of improving the genetic quality of the human population
Social Darwinism
-Defender of capitalism -John D. Rockefeller- the "best people" rise to the top naturally and they should lead us all
Nationalism
-Idea of being attached/a part of one nation
Print Culture
-People began to view themselves as part of a larger community because of the print -Print capitalism: print in 15th century aimed at Latin readers, but the market began to expand once other languages were translated
Articulation of Difference
-measurements, science, categories, print create an illusion of a stable "reality" -17th, 18th, and 19th century: an obsession with creating the "standard" of "ideal" definitions of types of people -Example: Who deserves the rights of citizenship? -ex: male, female, white, black, etc. …
Vertical Integration
def: shoe factory example--> buy sheep farm and rubber plantations (various means of production) to increase profit
Horizontal Integration
def: Companies buy each other out-->squeeze out competition
Cuba
-America was seen as the "big brother," trying to civilize Cuba, helped Cuba fight for their independence from Spain
Colonialism
-Control by one power over another dependent power -US control over Cuba and "lesser" colonies
New Imperialism
-Goal: new markets, raw materials, and military bases
Berlin Conference
-America was not a prevalent country being represented at the Berlin Conference -More of a bystander because "important" countries like England, Spain, etc. would not allow the US to participate
White Man's Burden
-The white man's responsibility to carry everyone on their back, paternalism interfere on nation's affairs
Manliness
-Theodore Roosevelt -men= highly evolved and adult, assertive, control, fit
Philippines
-Another main location where Spanish American War was fought,
Propaganda
-def: fight for public opinion -George Creel: "The one way to form a steadfast, enduring public opinion is to inform it" -Relationship between propaganda and morale -Thomas Paine= MASTER propogandist
Citizenship
-A key concept of the question "What is America?"
Color Line
-the term used to describe the segregation in the United States after the abolition of slavery
Diaspora
-Older def's: "mass, forced dispersal" -Newer def's: transnational, in motion, changing, routes rather than roots, "set of practices"-> linkages
The New Negro
-assertive, urban, sophisticated, cosmopolitan
Marcus Garvey
-Jamaican political leader -Black nationalism-> founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Harlem
Kojo Tovalou Houenou
...
Black Belt Thesis
...
Advertising
-displayed large amount of info vs. now->small info with dramatic presentation and emotional appeal -Older ads= utility, large amount of text, informational- quality appeal to logic and reason -Modern ads= emotional, more presentable info, not how a product works (logic) but what it wil…
PR (Public Relations)
-Became important during Pre World War I era
Conspicuous Consumption
-def: spending money on goods simply so other people can see that you own them -Ex: buying multiple pairs of sheos to display your wealth
Thorstein Veblen
Ostentations use of good or services to indicate wealth or social status
Freud
-Psychoanalyst
Frankfurt School
...
Emotion
-Advertisements transitioned from an informational approach to a more emotional approach Ex. "This lipstick will make you prettier" rather than "this lipstick is composed of x, y, and z ingredients"
New Women
-"Two Ford Family"-> Women now had mobility -Cigarettes: used to draw women in->"torches of freedom," connected with women's movement-> win/win situation for both women and cigarette company owners (such as Edward Bernays)
Agency
-def: the capacity for human beings to make choices
Engineering Consent
-How to convince people to change their buying habits?
Fordism
-Two Ford Family idea
Alienation from Modes of Production
-The process whereby the worker is made to feel alienated from the product they are producing
Democratization of Desire
...
A nation is ________ _____________.
socially constructed
Limited nation=
-No nation encompasses all people
Sovereign Nation=
-Nations strive for "freedom" and self determination
Community nation=
conceived of as a comradeship of equals
What is a nation-state?
A political entity that defines itself as a nation
What was print capitalism like in the 15th century? How did it change?
-Aimed at Latin readers only-> only written in Latin -How it changed: new translations became available to many languages
How did the print culture make people feel?
-Felt as part of a laurger community
What does language provide?
-A powerful mean to root a nation to it's past -Suggests a link between contemporary society and its ancestors
What was the Bayonet Constitution and when was it made?
-Made in 1887 -Dismissed legislature, took away native Hawaiian land rights, votes based on property ownership
What was the attitude of the US before the US Age of Empire and after this age began (which was when)?
Before: domestic, contiguous expansion -After 1898: overseas expansion
What did the Teller Amendment say?
-The US would aid Cuba for "liberty and freedom" from Spain
When was Hawaii annexed? What does annex mean in this context?
-1898 -Gain control of, make a part of the United States
Who were the Rough Riders?
-TR's soldiers during the Spanish American War
What was going on with Puerto Rico During the Spanish American War?
-Turned into a low wage plantation economy -By 1920, among the poorest areas of the Caribbean -Residents were denied citizenship until 1917
What were major events that happened in 1898, 1899, and 1903?
1898: July, US annexed Hawaii -1899: Open Door Policy-> America began exporting to China -1903: Involvement in Panama over canal
What happened in Plessy v. Ferguson
-Idea of "separate but equal" was established -Color line
Who was Zora Neale Hurston?
-Studied in the field of anthropology -Writer during the Harlem Renaissance

Access the best Study Guides, Lecture Notes and Practice Exams

Login

Join to view and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?