What is Americanism? The contributors to this volume recognize Americanism in all its complexity — as an ideology, an articulation of the nation’s rightful place in the world, a set of traditions, a political language, and a cultural style imbued with political meaning. In response to the pervasive vision of Americanism as a battle cry or a smug assumption, this collection of essays stirs up new questions and debates that challenge us to rethink the model currently being exported, too often by force, to the rest of the world. Crafted by a cast of both rising and renowned intellectuals from three continents, the twelve essays in this volume are divided into two sections. The first group of essays addresses the understanding of Americanism within the United States over the past two centuries, from the early republic to the war in Iraq. The second section provides perspectives from around the world in an effort to make sense of how the national creed and its critics have shaped diplomacy, war, and global culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Approaching a controversial ideology as both scholars and citizens, many of the essayists call for a revival of the ideals of Americanism in a new progressive politics that can bring together an increasingly polarized and fragmented citizenry. Contributors: Mia Bay, Rutgers University Jun Furuya, Hokkaido University, Japan Gary Gerstle, University of Maryland Jonathan M. Hansen, Harvard University Michael Kazin, Georgetown University Rob Kroes, University of Amsterdam Melani McAlister, The George Washington University Joseph A. McCartin, Georgetown University Alan McPherson, Howard University Louis Menand, Harvard University Mae M. Ngai, University of Chicago Robert Shalhope, University of Oklahoma Stephen J. Whitfield, Brandeis University Alan Wolfe, Boston College “Kazin and McCartin have taken on the task of clarifying the meaning and implications of this difficult yet protean word. They have brought together an outstanding and diverse group of writers, mostly but not exclusively historians, to address the claims of Americanism.” — Reviews in American History “While each essay in the book is excellent and can stand alone, the whole is nonetheless greater than the sum of its parts. Almost every essay examines a familiar dimension of Americanism in a nuanced and original way, which effects a renewed appreciation of the complexity of Americanism as both a subject of scholarly inquiry and a facet of our daily lives.” — Journal of American History “The value of the collection lies in the intellectual honesty of the editors who have included essays that argue both pro and contra Americanism, making the volume a very good starting point for a classroom discussion of this issue.” ― H-Am-Stdy “Timely. . . Eclectic. . . . Successfully opens the discussion of a critical aspect of US history and contemporary life. Highly recommended.” — CHOICE “This book successfully opens the discussion of a critical aspect of U.S. history and contemporary life. Highly recommended.” — CHOICE “Full of controversy and contradictions, replete with flexibility and ferment, these collected essays on Americanism display an amazingly wide range of scholarly and historical perspectives on this ideology that has shaped U.S. nationalism. Writing in the wake of the global crisis generated by 9/11, the authors in this volume focus on an unusual array of actors who have shaped the contours of Americanism, ranging from free blacks in revolutionary Philadelphia to dissenters from U.S. wars both foreign and domestic, and from U.S. radical feminists of the 1970s to the French cultural elite awash in antimodernism. A gem of a collection!” ― George J. Sanchez, University of Southern California “This admirable collection, full of surprises, enriches a necessary debate by complicating the conventional notion that Americanism belongs to the benighted.” — Todd Gitlin, author of The Intellectuals and the Flag “This collection of superb essays addresses how Americans and their foreign observers have struggled to come to terms with the 'ought’s and 'is’s of being an American. They are provocative in the best sense of the word.” ― Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles “These essays sharpen and enliven the important debate about the character of American nationalism and its historic foundations.” ― David Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley A call to debate what Americanism has meant in the past and should mean today The contributors to this volume recognize Americanism as an ideology, an articulation of the nation's rightful place in the world, a set of traditions, a political language, and a cultural style imbued with political meaning. In response to the pervasive vision of Americanism as a battle cry or a smug assumption, this collection of 12 essays stirs up new questions and debates that challenge us to rethink the model currently being exported to the rest