American Studies Essays (Examples)

1000+ documents containing “american studies”.
Sort By:
By Keywords
Reset Filters

Example Essays

Essay
American Studies Environment and Native
Pages: 3 Words: 870

With the advent of Colombo on the American soil, things began to change as Philip J. Deloria asserts in her book Playing Indian (1999): "[T]he self-defining pairing of American truth with American freedom rests on the ability to wield power against Indians... while simultaneously drawing power from them." This is also the basic idea of Shari M. Huhndorf's Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination. "As white Americans became disenchanted with how American society was developing, they began to reference Indian people and culture as an answer to such problems of a modernizing America as capitalistic greed; alienating, sedentary life-style of the office worker; imperialistic aggressiveness; and racial and gender challenges to white male hegemony" (Barak, 2005).
The Indians progress was challenged by the so-called American School of ethnology. Therein Christianity became a tool in the American colonial project. The development of an ideology based in religion was made…...

Essay
Latin American Studies by Philip
Pages: 2 Words: 580

This leads to many false stereotypes and assumptions about cultures which most of us have never experienced.
2) When the structure of colonialism set in on Latin America, the Catholic Church established Counter-Reformation initiatives ordered by Spain's Holy Inquisition. The Counter-Reformation discouraged cultural endeavors in Latin America if they were not directly affiliated to specific Church celebrations. This resulted in much illiteracy and general ignorance of advances being made in the world during the 17th and 18th centuries, specifically the Enlightenment. Additionally, the Catholic Church, in this role, was less involved in being true missionaries, but rather functioned as a cultural censor that enforced regulatory social practices. Peninsular bureaucrats seemed to have no interest or care for the vast lands of Latin America, and developed an increasing disdain for the growing mixed Spanish and indigenous population (Mestizo). They were suspicious of indigenous and mestizo people, and also of Spanish people…...

Essay
Chinese American Studies
Pages: 10 Words: 3006

Chinese-American Studies: Wen Ho Lee Case
United States of America is a melting pot of various communities who have been residing in the country for generations. They feel assimilated into the American culture where many of them have been born and brought up in the U.S. And hence have remote connections with the country of their ancestors. As a result, they feel very much a part of this country and believe they have the rights of a citizen. This is why they feel that they do not deserve to be discriminated against on the grounds of their origins. Therefore such communities protest if situations arise, where they feel they have been discriminated against in some or the other. Though United States confers all rights of citizenry to its nationals, there have been cases in the past where the U.S. government has discriminated against a person or a group on the basis…...

mla

References

Indictment of Wen Ho Lee.

A www.fas.org

For Asian-Americans, Lee Case a stark Signal.  http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/08/30/fp1s2-csm.shtml 

Mainichi, Hokubei. Full Pardon for Wen Ho Lee Sought. Jan 2, 2002. www.news.mconline.com/news/view-article.html

Essay
American Citizen of Dominican Hispanic
Pages: 2 Words: 580


For the American community to open up to the less fortunate in the community, there is need to have a diverse leader and a pragmatic leader who will not only concentrate on the foreign affairs and the complex national economics and financial matrices but also on the basic misfortunes that face the average underprivileged America.

The best place hence to undertake American studies that will present me with the best shots at lifting our society from the disparity in lifestyle, by educating me on the details of the America that was, America that is and one that we want, is at the cradle of history itself; the university. This knowledge, combined with the zeal for information from around the world as I get updated through addictive reading of New York Times and continuous follow-up of updates on CNN, can surely make me climb to the apex of my career and vision…...

Essay
American Corrections and'sentencing trends
Pages: 7 Words: 2670

Survival of Racist Customs and Mores Into the 21st Century: Analysis of the American Correction and Sentencing Trends
Increasing awareness of the US's unsuccessful mass imprisonment experimentation has effected federal and state level modifications aimed at decreasing the nation's detention scale. Experts and policymakers have been suggesting "smart on crime" public safety strategies which support alternatives to imprisonment and decrease re-offense chances[footnoteRef:1]. Despite simultaneous fruitful bipartite dialogues on the subject of decreasing jail populations and bringing improvements to crime justice policies, the nation still struggles with disturbing racial frictions. The latest concern concentrates on frequent reports of law enforcement violence inflicted on non-Whites, some cases ending in fatalities of African-American males at the hands of law enforcers, with scant to no evident provocation. In this paper, the many fields in which racist values and traditions continue in the current era will be examined, with particular emphasis to the American corrective and…...

Essay
American Indian Movement
Pages: 6 Words: 2030

American Indian Movement
The poorest people in America are the American Indians and it is also a fact that Indian reservations have unique laws that has made it a nation by itself within the United States. The modern movements focus on the American Indian reservations being empowered by self-determination. This is important for the economic, social and cultural improvement of the American Indians. It was with the Nixon administration that the welfare of the tribes became the focus of the government. The subsequent administrations encouraged the Indians to adapt to a policy of political and economic self-determination. Today many reservations have become economic hubs with tax and regulation havens for investment. Thus as of now the Mescalero and White Mountain Apaches "have become premier private managers of multiple-use forest resource economies." (Legters; Lyden, 1994)

However it must be stated that only during the eagan administration that there were major reports on Indian…...

mla

References

Bolt, Christine. (1990) "American Indian Policy and American Reform: Case Studies of the Campaign to Assimilate the American Indians" Routledge. Pages: 250, 298

 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=75UVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA298&dq=american+indian+movement&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nj2IT92qCsWJrAeW-anrCg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=american%20indian%20movement&f=false 

Fritz, Henry E. (1963) "The Movement for Indian Assimilation, 1860-1890." University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia. Page Number: 15, 34, 56,138

 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3054897

Essay
American Versions of Modernalisim the
Pages: 3 Words: 1234


Some writers had been overwhelmed by the sudden changes brought by the Harlem Renaissance and they preferred writing about certain things which didn't involve it. Sometimes they chose to write about a place in the U.S. which had a special effect on them at some point of their lives.

3. Black people had not been the only ones struggling to receive credit for their writings during the 1920s, as it had been also hard for women to become appreciated in a majority of men writers. Despite having to fight the severe gender discrimination which existed during the period, many American women writers managed to become successful.

Bess Streeter Aldrich is one of the women who succeeded in getting a positive feed-back from a public that had not been accustomed with women writers. Aldrich's writing "A Lantern in Her Hand" had won her international recognition for having created a great literary work.

"A Lantern…...

mla

Works cited:

Laurie Champion, Emmanuel S. Nelson, "American Women Writers, 1900-1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook," Greenwood Press, 2000.

Essay
American West and Brazil the
Pages: 10 Words: 2900

The relationship they had with one another included a fair division of land, and a good balance of trade. Unfortunately, after the settlers learned what they needed from the Native Americans and took what they could from them, they no longer had any use for the proud people whose land they had invaded.
The relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans began to change as settlers learned to do things for themselves, grow their own crops and breed their own animals for food. With the settlers being able to survive on their own, there was no longer any need for the Native Americans to help. The population of settlers was also growing, and new villages were being built on land that used to belong to the Native Americans.

The settlers kept expanding the areas that belonged to them, and this made the areas belonging to the Native Americans smaller and…...

mla

Bibliography

An Outline of American History. 2002. From Revolution to Reconstruction. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1954uk/chap4.htm.

This Web site gives a timeline and outline of many of the things that took place throughout the history of the United States and ensures that individuals who are studying history are aware of the good and the bad that occurred.

Foreigners in our own country: Indigenous peoples in Brazil. 2005. Amnesty International. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR190022005.

Brazilians are struggling today because they are still losing land to foreign development. Because of that they are being forced to move into smaller and smaller areas and their resources are diminishing.

Essay
American Founding and Its Legacies
Pages: 3 Words: 1003

Baltimore Advertiser, 18 Mar 1788)
(2) the second class was reported as comprised by "those descriptions of men who are certainly more numerous with us than in any other part of the globe. First, those men who are so wise as to discover that their ancestors and indeed all the rest of mankind were and are fools. We have a vast overproportion of these great men, who, when you tell them that from the earliest period at which mankind devoted their attention to social happiness, it has been their uniform judgment, that a government over governments cannot exist - that is two governments operating on the same individual - assume the smile of confidence, and tell you of two people travelling the same road - of a perfect and precise division of the duties of the individual." (No. 10 -- on the Preservation of Parties, Public Liberty Depends, 18 Mar…...

mla

References

The Anti-Federalist Papers (1788) Farmer No. 10. On the Preservation of Parties, Public Liberty Depends. 18 Mar 1788 )Baltimore Maryland Gazette. Retrieved from:  http://www.barefootsworld.net/antifederalist.html 

The Anti-Federalist vs. The Federalist. Polytechnic.org. (nd) *Based on the American Journey: A History of the United States by Goldfield, et al. Retrieved from:  http://faculty.polytechnic.org/gfeldmeth/chart.fed.pdf

Essay
American Industrialization Urban Systems the
Pages: 3 Words: 1167

Individuals could not grow their own food, given the space and land constraints and therefore were dependant upon the city infrastructure to provide it. This then creates additional industry, and the story goes on to build whole insular and expansive systems within the city to meet the needs of labor and industry. Agricultural support systems, in outlying areas, transportation systems to make logistics of such provision possible as well as markets to bring the goods to consumers and of course the restaurant industry all grew with the population.
Housing, is another example. Housing in newly forming cities is often substandard, as it was in most U.S. cities, and where it existed in this manner, city planning, codes and standards had to be created to respond to concerns regarding safety and other issues. This became substantially more important as industry introduced thinks like electricity, running water and waste removal systems to…...

mla

Works Cited

Hommann, Mary. City Planning in America: Between Promise and Despair. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1993.

Kantor, Paul, and Stephen David. The Changing Political Economy of Urban America. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1988.

Walton, John. "Urban Sociology: The Contribution and Limits of Political Economy." Annual Review of Sociology (1993): 301.

Watts, Sheldon. "The Deadly Truth: A History of Disease in America." Journal of Social History 38.1 (2004): 267.

Essay
American Psycho in His Seminal Work American
Pages: 8 Words: 2804

American Psycho
In his seminal work American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis uses the character of the yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in order to criticize American consumer culture while simultaneously challenging the reader to confront his or her own responses to that culture, responses that Ellis seems to suggest are only removed from the sociopathic actions of Bateman in a manner of degree, rather than kind. To see how Ellis uses the character of Patrick Bateman to explore the dual role of the serial killer as liberated individual and microcosmic representation of society, one may compare Bateman to the real life serial killer John ayne Gacy, who managed to keep his multiple murders a secret for the better part of the 1970s. Examining Bateman's characterization alongside the history of Gacy's murders and seemingly normal civilian life will help to demonstrate how the fascination with the two-faced killer ultimately stems from a…...

mla

Works Cited

Campbell, John W. "Professional Wrestling: Why the Bad Guy Wins." The Journal of American

Culture 19.2 (1996): 127-32.

Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

Hantke, Steffen. "the Kingdom of the Unimaginable": The Construction of Social Space and the Fantasy of Privacy in Serial Killer Narratives." Literature/Film Quarterly 26.3 (1998):

Essay
American Investment Recovery Act Throughout American History
Pages: 8 Words: 2438

American Investment ecovery Act
Throughout American history there has been an emphasis on maintaining a balance of power between different branches of government. This is from the belief that concentrating too much authority in one area will lead to inevitable abuses in others. To prevent this, the federal government and states have always practiced these basic principles. As a result, there are varying interpretations as to the overall scope of power given to particular branch. (McNeese, 2001)

In 2009, these issues were continually being brought to forefront with the American ecovery Act and einvestment Act of 2009. This law was designed to provide the economy with additional amounts of stimulus to address the lingering challenges from the financial crisis. However, the process of enacting this legislation, there were increased amounts of controversy surrounding the balance of power between the President and Congress. This is because the Democrats had an overwhelming majority in…...

mla

References

The American Investment and Recovery Act. (2009). Fiscal Accountability. Retrieved from: http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/index.php?content=cog09-13#

The American Investment and Recovery Act. (2009). GPO. Retrieved from:  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr1enr.pdf 

Estimated Impact of American Investment and Recovery Act. (2012). CBO. Retrieved from:  http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/05-25-Impact_of_ARRA.pdf 

Wickard v. Filburn. (2012). Case Briefs. Retrieved from:  http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/constitutional-law/constitutional-law-keyed-to-stone/the-powers-of-congress/wickard-v-filburn-2/

Essay
American Influence Abroad
Pages: 3 Words: 1017

American Culture
riters such as Pico Iyer, Richard Pells, and Joseph Nye are in fact correct that the world culture has not and will not be Americanized. These writers are correct in asserting that American culture is ever forceful, but still America remains just one influence in a multicultural world: a manifestation of globalization. ith such a supreme focus on America, it can seem like America is the dominant force; however, this is just a result of a skewed perspective. It is true that other cultures have also spread outwards and that local cultures cannot and will not be destroyed.

The phenomenon of culture shock is direct evidence of the fact that American culture is not as pervasive as many people would like to assert that it is. As centers for study abroad programs in various universities explain, culture shock is a logical reaction to the body and mind in response to…...

mla

Works Cited

Balko, R. (2014). Globalization & Culture. Retrieved from globalpolicy.org:  http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/162/27607.html 

Chapman.edu. (2013). Culture Shock. Retrieved from Chapman.edu:  http://www.chapman.edu/international-studies/center-for-global-education/study-abroad-programs/accepted-students/culture-shock.aspx 

Kitamura, H. (2010). Screening Enlightenment. NewYork: Cornell University Press.

Essay
American History and Culture Contributes
Pages: 7 Words: 2472

Nevertheless, there have been many decisions over the years that have tended to weaken the intent of the Framers. In 2001, in Zelman v. Simmons Harris the Supreme Court ruled that school voucher programs did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The decision represented a blow to the essentially secular nature of the American state and system. By allowing public money to be given to religious schools, the Supreme Court was permitting the violation of a more than two hundred year old principle. In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court chose to accept the argument that giving money to schools was not a case of advancing religion but rather one of who should have power over education - the state or individual parents.
Personal freedom was now being re-defined as something that included the right to government assistance if the government provided assistance in similar situations. Persons…...

mla

Works Cited

Bolick, Clint. "School Choice: Sunshine Replaces the Cloud." Cato Supreme Court Review 2001-2002. Ed. Robert a. Levy, James L. Swanson, and Timothy Lynch. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002. 149-169.

Censer, Jack. "7 France, 1750-89." Press, Politics and the Public Sphere in Europe and North America, 1760-1820. Ed. Hannah Barker and Simon Burrows. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 159-178.

Champlin, Dell P., and Janet T. Knoedler. "American Prosperity and the "Race to the Bottom: " Why Won't the Media Ask the Right Questions?" Journal of Economic Issues 42.1 (2008): 133+.

Milner, Murray. Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Essay
American Pragmatism in the 20th
Pages: 6 Words: 1778


Neo-liberal policy theories are best understood when delineating Williamson's (1990) "Washington's Consensus" that first introduced and pioneered the concept.

Williamson sought to transfer control of the economy from the public to the private sector believing that this would improve the economic health of the nation and make for a more efficient government. His 10 points included the recommendations that: tax reform would encourage innovation and efficiency; that by governments running large deficits they were, potentially, ruining themselves; that public spending should be redirected to more humane systems such as pro-growth and pro-poor services; that there should b trade liberalization policies as well as encouraging opportunities for investment in foreign projects; privatization of state enterprises; fianncialiaziton of capital; deregulation of restrictions that hamper competition; and privation of state enterprises.

Whilst on first blush, neoliberalism seems to cohere precisely with pragmatism in that it encourages private competition and seeks to transfer power from one…...

mla

References

Felkins, L. (1997) Introduction to Public Choice Theory,

 http://perspicuity.net/sd/pub-choice.html 

James, W. 1907. Pragmatism: A New Name for some Old Ways of Thinking, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.

-- -- 1909. The Meaning of Truth, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.

Q/A
Could you help me draft an essay outline about zora neale hurston?
Words: 332

I. Introduction
A. Thesis statement: Zora Neale Hurston was a pioneering literary figure whose works defied conventional representations of race, gender, and sexuality in the early 20th century.
B. Hurston's biographical background and literary context

II. Breaking Boundaries in Race and Gender
A. Challenging stereotypes in "Their Eyes Were Watching God": Janie Crawford's journey toward self-discovery and autonomy
B. Exploring the nuances of black womanhood in "The Gilded Six-Bits" and "Sweat": Depictions of love, violence, and resilience

III. Embracing the African Diaspora
A. Preserving cultural traditions in "Mules and Men" and "Tell My Horse": Folklore, music, and storytelling as expressions of black identity
B. Celebrating Haitian Vodou in....

Q/A
How do single black women navigate raising their sons in today\'s society?
Words: 485

Navigating Single Motherhood for Black Women: Raising Sons in Contemporary Society
Raising children as a single parent is a complex undertaking, especially for women of color. Single black women face unique challenges in navigating the complexities of childcare, economic disparities, and social stigmas while fostering the healthy development of their sons.
Economic Challenges
Financial instability is a significant hurdle for single black mothers. According to the National Urban League, black women earn only 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men. This income gap contributes to poverty, housing insecurity, and limited access to quality education and healthcare for their children. Single mothers....

Q/A
What does the Lottery represent in Shirley Jackson\'s story? How does it still resonate today?
Words: 455

I. Introduction

  1. Subpoint Title: The Historical and Social Context of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"


    1. Subpoint Description 1: The post-World War II era and the rise of conformity

    2. Subpoint Description 2: The Cold War and the fear of communism
  2. Subpoint Title: Overview of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"


    1. Subpoint Description 1: The setting and characters of the story

    2. Subpoint Description 2: The ritual of the lottery

II. Body

  1. Subpoint Title: The Lottery as a Symbol....

Q/A
How do the Blood Dazzler poems by Patricia Smith explore themes of resilience and trauma?
Words: 391

1. Patricia Smith's Blood Dazzler poems confront the lingering trauma of the African American experience, highlighting the resilience that emerges from enduring and resisting centuries of oppression.

2. Through the exploration of personal and collective histories, Blood Dazzler unveils the complexities of trauma, showcasing its insidious effects while illuminating the path toward healing and liberation.

3. Smith's vivid imagery and lyrical dexterity in Blood Dazzler embody the resilience of Black bodies and voices, asserting their indomitable spirit in the face of adversity.

4. The interplay of personal narratives and collective experiences in Blood Dazzler underscores the universality of trauma while emphasizing....

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now