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American Culture
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What is American Culture?

American culture is one of the most expansive and contested subjects in academic study, examined across disciplines including sociology, history, media studies, literature, and political science. Its academic appeal lies in the tension between a shared national identity and the enormous diversity of regional, ethnic, and generational experiences that shape everyday American life. Because the United States has long functioned as both a cultural producer and a global influence, students are regularly asked to analyze how values, norms, and narratives are created, challenged, and exported across borders and generations.

The papers archived on this topic reflect a wide range of approaches. Some take a media-focused lens, examining how television, reality TV, and figures like Walt Disney have shaped moral standards and public behavior. Others use literary analysis, with works like To Kill a Mockingbird serving as entry points into deeper cultural arguments. Historical and ethnographic approaches appear as well, including explorations of Algonquin tribal influence and early French contact in Michigan. Several papers move into policy and sociological territory, addressing topics such as divorce, heteronormativity, emotional literacy, and the cross-border influence of American culture on Canadian politics.

A strong essay on American culture requires a focused, arguable thesis rather than a broad survey of everything "American." The most effective papers isolate a specific cultural product, event, or phenomenon and use it to make a larger claim about national values or social patterns. Primary sources, case studies, and concrete examples carry more analytical weight than generalizations. The most common pitfall to avoid is treating American culture as monolithic — strong essays acknowledge complexity and contradiction rather than presenting a single, unified narrative.

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Thesis Doctorate

Miles Davis's revolutionary influence on the development of modern jazz

This is a five page paper about jazz, and about the influence of Miles Davis on modern jazz in particular. This paper uses credible sources only, a few of which happen to be on the internet. The paper is divided into several sections, starting with an introduction, and ending with a conclusion. In between are several sections about Miles Davis music and the impact his music had on other musicians, too.

Paper Undergraduate

Blackface in entertainment: satire, stereotypes, and racial commentary

This paper focuses on the use of blackface in popular culture. It covers the history of blackface and how it developed as part of minstrel shows in the antebellum South, and was then used as a means of perpetuating racial stereotypes after the Civil War. Then it looks at how blackface fell out of favor, but recurs in popular culture.

Research Paper Doctorate

Bell hooks' critique of institutionalized racism in Killing Rage

The scholar bell hooks Killing Rage: Ending Racism begins with the shocking defense of a severely psychologically disturbed black man who unleashed a killing spree on the New York subway.

Essay Doctorate

Exploitative labor and inequality in America's Gilded Age

This paper argues that the increase in American industrialization in the period from 1865 to 1920 was, in some sense, the cause of massive political inequality and unrest, and necessitated the age of reform that would follow. The paper examines the issues of labor exploitation (particularly child labor and convict labor), economic inequality (with the rise of the US Senate as a "millionaire's club" and the 50 years of Republican-party dominance over the political process) and economic instablity (with the Panic of 1873, the Populist movement, and the rise of organized labor). It concludes that industrialization was the cause of all this unrest, and required the rise of reform-minded Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt.

Paper Undergraduate

Norine Dresser's approach to multicultural etiquette and communication

Norine Dresser's Multicultural Manners was designed a handy guidebook for white, middle class Americans who have to deal with others of a different color, religion or ethnicity, either in big cities in the United States…

Research Paper Doctorate

Michael Jordan's economic impact on Nike, NBA, and American corporations

) and made himself the greatest celebrity/player to have the greatest economic impact in the United States history. His fame, enigma and charisma did things for his team and his sponsors that no other sportsman could do…

Thesis Undergraduate

How African-American history and religion shape ethical values

For most African-Americans, their history of slavery and discrimination has had the most profound, shaping effect upon their ethical convictions than any other historical experience.

Paper Doctorate

A teenage athlete and young professional discuss perceptions of drug culture

This paper consists of three interviews with three different individuals concerning their use of the term "drug culture." The first interview is with Layla, a high school senior who is a member of the basketball team; the second interview is with Melvin, a recent college graduate; and the third interview is with Bob a retired auto worker. Each person gives their views on drugs and the drug culture.

Research Paper Doctorate

Vladimir Nabokov and Russian intellectual exile in the twentieth century

¶ … Russian emigres draws upon a very distinct Russian tradition of intellectuals in exile. Both the Russian Empire and Soviet Union had many exiles, both inside the empire and outside it.

Paper Doctorate

Four sociological paradigms explaining childhood obesity

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (2010), childhood obesity has more than tripled over the past 30 years. The frequency of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years rose from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008, while among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years the obesity rate increased from 5.0% to 18.1% during the same period. This paper examines four paradigms for childhood obesity, the functionalist perspective, social learning theory, the interpretive or hermeneutic paradigm, and the critical paradigm perspective.

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