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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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Paper Undergraduate

Press coverage and propaganda in World War I

The First World War began in the summer of 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The conflict lasted through late 1918, concluding with the treaty of Versailles.

Paper Doctorate

Emotional appeals and symbolism in Shakespeare and Bob Marley

¶ … incongruous to try to compare the artists William Shakespeare and Bob Marley. These two men, separated by centuries and embodying two very different forms of art, both make up part of the history of popular culture.

Paper Undergraduate

Cyclical reform and conservatism in American political history

In Hellfire Nation (2003) James Morone described U.S. history as cyclical, with alternating generational cycles of reform and conservatism that can be traced back to the colonial period.

Paper High School

Resiliency and family influence in an Iraq combat veteran's recovery

This research conducted surrounding this interviewee focuses on the reasons why a soldier's resiliency levels are so high considering the two massive injuries endured. The interviewee above demonstrates a considerable amount of resiliency after his time in combat in Iraq. He suffered a painful physical injury and a psychological injury quickly identified (assumed first due to the events surrounding the burns then diagnosed). He received treatment for this burns and at the same time received treatment for his PTSD. How can this Marine so likely to find the positives of the experience and laugh about his injuries and recovery? The paper will consider factors including his biopsychosocial development, Erikson's stages of development, his family structure and their outlook on life.

Paper Doctorate

The association between asthma and obesity in U.S. children

This paper comprises of literature review on child obesity and its association with asthma disease in the U.S children. Four pertinent research articles have been reviewed and analysis regarding the articles has been presented. Child obesity in the U.S is found to have significantly positive relationship with asthma. Children that are reported to have above normal body mass index (BMI) as compared to children having average BMI are at an increased risk of asthma. Several factors are associated to this association between asthma and obesity. The researchers have found that there are multiple health issues that a child goes through when obesity and asthma are experienced as co-morbid diseases in the U.S children.

Paper Undergraduate

Early colonial trainbands and American military security

This is a midterm exam that covers the evolution of the army in the U.S. It goes all the way back to the time when the U.S Army was set on the scene all the way up to the Vietnam War. The exam covers how the army was so powerful and also why the United States was able to use them the way that they did.

Paper Undergraduate

Female identity formation in Push, Soledad, and the Interpreter

This essay compares and contrasts the process of identity formation seen in three different novels featuring female characters making their way in New York. Although the novels Push, Soledad, and The Interpreter all feature extremely different plots and characters, they nevertheless produce a congruent image of identity formation as it relates to ethnic and familial influence. By examining the main characters from each novel, one is able to see how successful identity formation depends on integrating the past into the present, rather than ignoring that past.

Paper Doctorate

Slavery, resistance, and conflict in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world

The Atlantic world in history shows the relations that were there between the countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean. There were several opportunities for economic exploitation in the Atlantic world during this period,…

Research Paper Doctorate

National identity, culture, and race in the United States

The term "nation" refers to the political and geographic features of the United States of America, and nationality refers to citizenship within that nation. When citizens of the United States identify as Americans, they…

Research Paper Doctorate

Restaurant dining options across London's major neighborhoods

London is a city with a large number of restaurants, with a wide variety of food available in them. The choice that is available is probably not available in many other countries, and the reason for that may be the…

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