Introduction to American Culture

Author: Dong Xiaochuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Since the mid-20th century, a cultural studies movement has quietly emerged in Europe; after the post-Cold War era, cultural studies experienced another surge and expanded into more disciplinary fields, with interdisciplinary research becoming a major characteristic of cultural study. In recent years, research on American culture both domestically and internationally has achieved many significant results, but the issues have not been exhausted. Since this book is titled An Introduction to American Culture, it is necessary to clarify some preliminary issues. This book discusses American culture through 8 pairs of corresponding cultural types. In fact, the distinction between these 8 cultural types is not entirely clear. Alternatively, these combinations are somewhat forced, as they are often difficult to separate in many cases. We believe: American culture is a culture centered on individualism, dominated by Christian religion, based on racial relations, characterized by diversity, and dominated by mass culture. American cultural studies enable people to fundamentally understand the past of the United States, clearly recognize its present, and help us correctly predict its future. As a representative of Western culture, the development and fate of American culture may well be the prospect of Western civilization, and the significance of American cultural studies will also extend beyond the borders of the United States, becoming a global civilizational issue.