Making America: The Cultural Work of Literature

Edited by Susanne Rohr, Peter Schneck and Sabine Sielke.

"Making America" tackles issues crucial to the formation and continuing re-imagination of American identity - and accordingly crucial to the field of American Studies - from contemporary theoretical positions. The 15 essays collected in this volume are based on the premise that literature and other cultural artifacts make culture 'work' and thus 'make' culture. Hence they explore, from various critical angles, the interdependencies of this process whereby American cultural and national identity has been - and still is - shaped and challenged at the same time. Consequently, the volume foregrounds the rhetorical strategies which, orchestrating various conflicting cultural forces, locations, and voices, produce the multi-faceted phenomenon 'America'. The central interest which animates the critical work of the collaborative project of "Making America" is the dialogue between text and theory. Contributions by Sacvan Bercovitch, Susanne Rohr, Marc Chénetier, Winfried Fluck, John McCormick, Ulla Haselstein, Rob Kroes, Brigitte Georgi-Findlay, Peter Schneck, Evelyne Keitel, William Boelhower, Ulfried Reichardt, Ruth Mayer, Sabine Sielke and Günter H. Lenz. 251 Seiten mit 5 Abb., gebunden (American Studies - A Monograph Series; Vol. 82/Universitätsverlag Winter 2000) leichte Lagerspuren/minor shelfwear