David Mauk, John Oakland: American Civilization. An Introduction. Second Edition. ROUTLEDGE 2001. NOWA.
'Extremely readable ... confident and powerful.'
Tony Wilkinson, Liverpool John Moores University
'The best friend for American Studies students.' Julio Cañero Serrano, Alcalá de Heneres University
'Concise yet thorough review of all aspects of American society.'
Anette Marta, Rakoczi UT
'Contains a variety and wealth of information.'
J. Raynaud, St Etienne University
'Good, clearly written and concise.'
Jim O'Brien, Higher European Studies, The Netherlands
American Civilization is a comprehensive introduction to contemporary American life. It examines the key institutions of American society, including state and local government, geography, education, law, media and culture. This completely updated edition includes new figures and illustrations, coverage of Clinton's election and the inauguration of his second administration. It offers:
• coverage of all core American Studies topics at introductory level
• vital historical context for America in the 1990s and its place in the world
• an analysis of gender, class and race and the diverse population
• striking and useful illustrations, questions and terms for discussion
American Civilization discusses the nature of American social structures, their evolution over time through on-going social debate and their relation to the diverse complexity of the United States' physical landscape. It is a vital intro¬duction to the crucial and complex identities of America.
David Mauk, Senior Lecturer in English at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is also author of The Colony that Rose from the Sea: Norwegian Maritime Migration and Community in Brooklyn. John Oakland is Senior Lecturer in English at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the author of British Civilization and A Dictionary of British Institutions.
Contents
List of plates x
List of figures xii
List of tables xiii
Preface and acknowledgements xiv
Introduction 1
Exercises 11
1 The country 13
Physical features 14
Climate 25
The regions: cultural geography 27
Native-American cultural regions 28
Cultural regions in the contemporary US 35
Changing public attitudes: where do
we go from here? 48
Exercises < 50
2 The people: settlement and immigration
Mother of exiles 52
Early encounters between Europeans
and Native Americans 54
The founders 58
The first wave of immigration: 1680-[zasłonięte] 1776
The second wave: the old immigrants, 1[zasłonięte]820-90
The third wave: new immigrants
and immigrant restriction, 1890-[zasłonięte] 1930
Wartime policies: displaced persons and refugees 70
The fourth wave: 1965 to the present 74
Internal migration: changing patterns
in the American mosaic 80
Exercises 83
3 The people: women and
minorities 85
The reason for American women's and
minority history 86
Women in America 87
Native Americans . 95
African Americans 106
Asian Americans 112
Latinos 116
Exercises 119
4 Political institutions 121
Historical origins ' 122
The constitutional framework 125
The political parties 130
The legislative branch 135
The executive branch 143
The judicial branch 152
Exercises 159
5 State and local government 161
The place of state government in American federalism 162
The evolution of state government and federalism 166
The structure of state government 169
Local government 173
Exercises 180
6 Foreign policy 181
A nation apart: American perceptions of the world 182
Major periods and trends in US foreign policy 185
The foreign policy establishment debate 200
Exercises 205
7 The legal system 207
Legal history 210
Criminal law and civil law 213
The sources of contemporary US law 214
The structure of the court system 215
Federal and state court proceedings 219
The legal profession 222
Crime and punishment 225
Attitudes to the legal system 232
Exercises 233
8 Economic and industrial
institutions 235
Economic history
American economic liberalism: theory and practice
Social class and economic inequality 242
The contemporary national economy 244
Industry and manufacturing 251
Service industries 252
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 254
Financial and industrial institutions 255
Attitudes to the economic system 264
Exercises 266
9 Social services 267
Social services history 269
The organization of contemporary social services 273
Public social services 274
The needy and the poverty line 278
Voluntary services 280
Health care services 281
Housing 286
Attitudes to social services 288
Exercises 292
10 Education 293
High expectations 294
American educational history 295
Elementary and secondary schools 304
Higher education 312
Recent problems and policy debates 318
Exercises 321
1 1 The media 323
Media history 325
Freedom of the media 329
The contemporary print media 331
The contemporary broadcasting media: television and radio 337
Attitudes to the media 345
Exercises 348
12 Religion 349
Religious history 351
Church, state and politics 364
Contemporary US religion 366
Religion and education 369
Attitudes to religion 371
Exercises 373
13 The arts, sports and leisure 375
The arts 378
Sports 387
Leisure 390
Exercises 394
Appendix:
The Declaration of Independence 395
The US Constitution and Amendments 400
Bibliography 427
Suggested further reading 429
Index 437
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