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What is American?

The concept of "American" as a subject of study spans disciplines ranging from history and sociology to literature and cultural studies. It invites students to examine what defines American identity, society, and values — questions that resist simple answers. Courses in world studies, American history, and cultural analysis regularly ask students to interrogate the idea of America as both a geographic place and an evolving set of ideals. Works like J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's 1782 letter posing the question "What Is an American?" and figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Amiri Baraka serve as anchors for exploring how American identity has been constructed, contested, and redefined across centuries.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Comparative essays examine American values alongside European or Asian counterparts, or place historical periods like the Progressive Era and the New Deal in direct contrast. Other papers use case studies to analyze specific social and political developments — the Abolition Movement, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the influence of Latin migration on American life. Cultural and media analysis appears as well, with papers exploring pop music in the 1980s, advertising's effect on dietary choices, and the evolution of the cell phone as a lens into American society.

A strong essay on an American studies topic works best when it anchors a broad theme in a specific argument. Effective evidence draws on policy documents, literary texts, historical events, or cultural artifacts rather than vague generalizations about national character. The most common pitfall is treating "America" as a monolith — successful essays acknowledge the diversity of voices, regions, and experiences that shape any aspect of American life.

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Research Paper Undergraduate

The cycle of domestic violence against women and patterns of abuse

According to Lynn B. Burnett and Jonathan Adler, the term domestic violence "refers to the victimization of a person with whom the abuser has or has had an intimate, romantic or spousal relationship" and encompasses…

Research Paper Undergraduate

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft communities compared through fictional cities

There once was a city called "Gemeintown." It was made up of a group of people with a strong sense of membership and close personal relations, much as Gemeinschaft communities are described.

Research Paper Undergraduate

Religious diversity and accommodation in the workplace

Ethics, Diversity, and Religion in the Workplace

Paper Undergraduate

Piaget's object concept theory compared with contemporary developmental models

The so-called "object concept" is the knowledge that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. This knowledge, of course, is central to all human activities; we simply cannot function without it.

Thesis Doctorate

The Gulf War and American foreign policy transformation

The American foreign policy is often controversial especially when it comes to deployment of it military personnel to further its interests. The citizens are often left wondering on the intentions of the government when undertaking such actions. One such example is the 1990/91 Gulf War. This study has identified the underlying military leadership, strategies, philosophies, and the influence of the US paradoxical love relationship with the East.

Essay Doctorate

Fast food versus regional cuisine in the American diet

The typical American diet is one high in sugars and processed foods. Accordingly, The United States has earned the unfortunate nickname of "Fast-food Nation." The initiation of the rapid growth in fast-food consumption…

Paper Doctorate

Women missionaries and American imperialism in the late nineteenth century

The notion that whiteness was a superior state to blackness and all shades between, the notion of cultural superiority was already firmly entrenched by the time of the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893.

Paper Doctorate

Morrison and Hooks on African-American representation in art and literature

Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and Literary Imagination and Bell Hooks' Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. Comparing and contrast books works that center on art in a world that is overly concerned with identity politics. Looking at more progressive ways to bring back the black (or nonwhite) experience in the criticism of art and literature.

Research Paper Doctorate

The American Revolution, Louisiana Purchase, and westward expansion shaped American history

¶ … American history from the colonial period through the Reconstruction era. Clearly, thorough such an extensive period, numerous significant events occurred that could alter history and culture.

Paper Undergraduate

Pat Buchanan's critique of neoconservative foreign policy toward Russia and Georgia

This paper analyzes Pat Buchanan's Op-Ed concerning Georgia's invasion of Ossetia and Congress' support for Georgia. It shows how our government has a neocon agenda that is pro-war and pro Zionism. It also shows that what is needed is diplomacy, for our own stability and for the sake of international order.

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