American Identities is a dazzling array of primary documents and critical essays culled from American history, literature, memoir, and popular culture... that explore major currents and trends in American history from 1945 to the present.Charts the rich multiplicity of American identities through the different lenses of race, class, and gender, and shaped by common historical social processes such as migration, families, work, and war.Includes editorial introductions for the volume and for each reading, and study questions for each selection. Enables students to engage in the history-making process while developing the skills crucial to interpreting rich and enduring cultural texts. Accompanied by an instructor's guide containing reading, viewing, and listening exercises, interview questions, bibliographies, time-lines, and sample excerpts of students' family histories for course use.

**First Place Grand Prize Winner for Non-Fiction books at the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!!* For 99 percent of our history, humans have... lived as a species on the move, but modern life has stopped us in our tracks. AMERICAN IDLE: A Journey Through Our Sedentary Culture offers the first comprehensive look at the social, cultural, moral and physical consequences of living in a sedentary culture that has immobilized us as effectively as a shattered body part. As author Mary Collins recovers from a devastating bicycle accident, she begins a journey to find out more about America's wounded national body. She discovers: * Why humans are meant to move. * What social changes led us to our current state. * Why past efforts have been so ineffective, and why will power isn't the problem. * Our impaired physical selves impact our social lives and moral judgment. In her pursuit, Collins: * Visits the Olympic Center, factory floors, archeological sites, city planners, health experts, and even the National Zoo. * Explores the hazards of a society centered on desk jobs. * Looks into why organized sports have made kids less fit and advocates for more free play. * Uncovers remarkable new research about how physical activity impacts the adult brain. * Talks with experts about the growing imbalance between our overactive minds and our underused bodies. * Offers advice on how to integrate movement into the natural flow of our daily lives again. In sum, AMERICAN IDLE offers readers a road map back to physical grace.

This dazzling little book explores the role of US media in foreign policy, not only at the present moment, but with an eye to the future.Written by a... veteran Hollywood film executive and an internationally known columnist in foreign affairsExplains how American movies, TV shows, and pop music provide the images of America to the rest of the world, and the rest of the world to AmericansIncludes discussions of the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed Danish daily newspapers, Tibetan monks censored out of Chinese TV news reports only to show up on You Tube, and the Vatican's assault on the Da Vinci Code movieArgues that Hollywood is a key player in the 'deep coalition' required to support a 'smart power' foreign policy and build a global cultural infrastructure that will make the world safe for interdependence

This book shows how the notion of the Chinese as aspiring Americans helped shape American opinion and policies toward Asia for almost twenty years. This... notion derived less from the reality of Chinese historical or cultural similarities than from a projection of American values and culture; in the American view, fueled by various political, economic, and religious interests, China was less a geographical entity than a symbol of American hopes and fears.

This innovative reader is the first in American immigration history to combine and compare the experiences of European immigrants in the nineteenth and... early twentieth centuries and those of Asian, Hispanic, Caribbean, and African immigrants in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Many instructors feel that they do not possess the breadth of knowledge to bridge the chronological and cultural gaps between varying waves of immigration. Through its carefully selected readings from scholarly essays and primary source documents, this collection creates a framework for instructors to engage in comparative analysis of immigration waves across time. The editors have chosen readings with accessibilty for the undergraduate student in mind, and also provide substantial introductory material to better contextualize the selections. An invaluable tool for teaching immigration history, the volume also can be used in courses in sociology, ethnic studies, and American pluralism.

Americans have come from every corner of the globe, and they have been brought together by a variety of historical processes--conquest, colonialism, the... slave trade, territorial acquisition, and voluntary immigration. A thoughtful look at immigration, anti-immigration sentiments, and the motivations and experiences of the migrants themselves, this book offers a compact but wide-ranging look at one of America's persistent hot-button issues. Historian David Gerber begins by examining the many legal efforts to curb immigration and to define who is and is not an American, ranging from the Naturalization Law of 1795 (which applied only to "free-born white persons") to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, and the reform-minded Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which opened the door to millions of newcomers, the vast majority from Asia and Latin America. The book also looks at immigration from the perspective of the migrant--farmers and industrial workers, mechanics and domestics, highly trained professionals and small-business owners--who willingly pulled up stakes for the promise of a better life. Throughout, the book sheds light on the relationships between race and ethnicity in the life of these groups and in the formation of American society, and it stresses the marked continuities across waves of immigration and across different racial and ethnic groups. A fascinating and even-handed historical account, this book puts into perspective the longer history of calls for stronger immigration laws and the on-going debates over the place of immigrants in American society. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

The mission of this book is to counter the apocalyptic vision of the American “invasion” with a more balanced account of the consequences of... immigration. The book will examine how the United States has dealt with immigration through enactment of various public policies over time. It will approach the issue from a political, economic and cultural perspective with an emphasis on the qualitative, positive contributions of immigrants. The goal of the book is to provide some individual depth to the larger discussion of immigration that typically is carried out at the “macro” level. It argues that immigration policy is cyclical, ranging from very open to very closed borders. Moreover, it asserts that it is difficult to measure the heterogeneous contributions of immigrants and therefore cost-benefit type assessments of immigration are limited. Case studies of how individual immigrants contribute to culture, politics or economic development of the United States offset empirical studies. The book will review previous immigration policy, data related to economic costs of immigration, literature relevant to the question of the dilution or preservation of “American culture”, and immigration policies of other Western nations. The book will look at alternative perspectives on integration including an Americanization, Anglo-conformity perspective, a new American, melting pot perspective, and the cultural pluralism perspective. These perspectives in turn influence the degree to which specific options such as guest workers, amnesty, specialized skill, family unification, border enforcement, employer sanctions or political asylum are prioritized. The combination of rigorous data analysis and engaging, qualitative narrative make this book’s contribution to the debate on immigration policy in the United States unique.

Immigration, writes Maldwyn Allen Jones, was America's historic raison d'être. Reminding us that the history of immigration to the United States is... also the history of emigration from somewhere else, Mr. Jones considers the forces that uprooted emigrants from their homes in different parts of the world and analyzes the social, economic, and psychological adjustments that American life demanded of them—adjustments essentially the same for the Jamestown settlers and for Vietnamese refugees. As well as measuring the impact of America on the lives of the sixty million or so immigrants who have arrived since 1607, he assesses their role in industrialization, the westward movement, labor organization, politics, foreign policy, the growth of American nationalism, and the theory and practice of democracy.In this new edition, Jones brings his history of immigration to the United States up to 1990. His new chapter covers the major changes in immigration patterns caused by changes in legislation, such as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965."It is done with a grasp of regional, chronological, national and racial information, plus that 'feel' for the situation which can come only from the vast resources and a gift for interpretation."—A. T. DeGroot, Christian Century "A scholarly contribution, based on a thorough mastery of the subject."—Carl Wittke, Journal of Southern History 

"Geoff King's important book stands with the best scholarship I have seen on this vital, constantly evolving subject." —David Sterritt, author of The... Films of Alfred HitchcockThe independent sector has produced many of the most distinctive films to have appeared in the U.S. in recent decades. From sex, lies and videotape in the 1980s to The Blair Witch Project and New Queer Cinema in the 1990s and the ultra–low budget digital video features of the 2000s, indie films have thrived, creating a body of work that stands out from the dominant Hollywood mainstream. But what exactly is "independent" cinema? In American Independent Cinema, Geoff King argues that independence can be defined partly in industry terms but also according to formal and aesthetic strategies and by distinctive attitudes toward social and political issues, suggesting that independence is a dynamic rather than a fixed quality. Chapters focus on distribution and relationships with Hollywood studios, narrative and other formal dimensions, approaches to genre, and alternative sociopolitical visions. King also traces the history of the independent sector from the days of early cinema through the beginning of the 21st century.

"A substantial and insightful examination of the infrastructure of independent American cinema. . . . A true advance on previous studies."-Warren... Buckland, editor of The New Review of Film and Television Studies From the prestige films of Cagney Productions to recent, ultra-low budget cult hits, such as Clerks and The Blair Witch Project, American independent cinema has produced some of the most distinctive films ever made. This comprehensive introduction draws on key films, filmmakers, and film companies from the early twentieth century to the present to examine the factors that shaped this vital and evolving mode of filmmaking. Specifically, it explores the complex and dynamic relations between independent and mainstream Hollywood cinema, showing how institutional, industrial, and economic changes in the latter have shaped and informed the former. Ordered chronologically, the book begins with Independent Filmmaking in the Studio Era (examining both top-rank and low-end film production), moves to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production as well as exploitation filmmaking), and finishes with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the rise of mini-major and major independent companies and the institutionalization of independent cinema in the 1990s). Each chapter includes case studies which focus on specific films, filmmakers, and production and distribution companies. Yannis Tzioumakis is a senior lecturer in Screen Studies at Liverpool John Moores University.

The reasons for mental health issues among American Indian and Alaska Native children have not been well understood by investigators outside of tribal... communities. Developing appropriate methodological approaches and evidence-based programs for helping these youths is an urgent priority in developmental science. This work must be done in ways that are cognizant of how the negative consequences of colonization contribute to American Indian and Alaska Native tribal members' underutilization of mental health services, higher therapy dropout rates, and poor response to culturally insensitive treatment programs.This book examines the forces affecting psychological development and mental health in American Indian children today. Experts from leading universities discuss factors such as family conditions, economic status, and academic achievement, as well as political, social, national, and global influences, including racism. Specific attention is paid to topics such as the role of community in youth mental health issues, depression in American Indian parents, substance abuse and alcohol dependency, and the unique socioeconomic characteristics of this ethnic group.

Exhaustive, standard survey of baskets and their makers, from Alaska to South America. Describes uses — in defense and war, dress and adornment, fine... art, preparing and serving food, gleaning and milling, house-building and furniture, their symbolism in mortuary customs and much more. 460 illustrations.

In this comprehensive history of American Indian education in the United States from colonial times to the present, historians and educators Jon Reyhner... and Jeanne Eder explore the broad spectrum of Native experiences in missionary, government, and tribal boarding and day schools. This up-to-date survey is the first one-volume source for those interested in educational reform policies and missionary and government efforts to Christianize and “civilize” American Indian children.Drawing on firsthand accounts from teachers and students, American Indian Education considers and analyzes shifting educational policies and philosophies, paying special attention to the passage of the Native American Languages Act and current efforts to revitalize Native American cultures. 

America Indian culture and traditions have survived an unusual amount of oppressive federal and state educational policies intended to assimilate Indian... people and destroy their cultures and languages. Yet, Indian culture, traditions, and people often continue to be treated as objects in the classroom and in the curriculum. Using a critical race theory framework and a unique "counternarrative" methodology, American Indian Education explores a host of modern educational issues facing American Indian peoples—from the impact of Indian sports mascots on students and communities, to the uses and abuses of law that often never reach a courtroom, and the intergenerational impacts of American Indian education policy on Indian children today. By interweaving empirical research with accessible composite narratives, Matthew Fletcher breaches the gap between solid educational policy and the on-the-ground reality of Indian students, highlighting the challenges faced by American Indian students and paving the way for an honest discussion about solutions.  

Does activism matter? This book answers with a clear "yes." American Indian Ethnic Renewal traces the growth of the American Indian population over the... past forty years, when the number of Native Americans grew from fewer than one-half million in 1950 to nearly 2 million in 1990. This quadrupling of the American Indian population cannot be explained by rising birth rates, declining death rates, or immigration. Instead, the growth in the number of American Indians is the result of an increased willingness of Americans to identify themselves as Indians. What is driving this increased ethnic identification? In American Indian Ethnic Renewal, Joane Nagel identifies several historical forces which have converged to create an urban Indian population base, a reservation and urban Indian organizational infrastructure, and a broad cultural climate of ethnic pride and militancy. Central among these forces was federal Indian "Termination" policy which, ironically, was designed to assimilate and de-tribalize Native America. Reactions against Termination were nurtured by the Civil Rights era atmosphere of ethnic pride to become a central focus of the native rights activist movement known as "Red Power." This resurgence of American Indian ethnic pride inspired increased Indian ethnic identification, launched a renaissance in American Indian culture, language, art, and spirituality, and eventually contributed to the replacement of Termination with new federal policies affirming tribal Self- Determination. American Indian Ethnic Renewal offers a general theory of ethnic resurgence which stresses both structure and agency--the role of politics and the importance of collective and individual action--in understanding how ethnic groups revitalize and reinvent themselves. Scholars and students of American Indians, social movements and activism, and recent United States history, as well as the general reader interested in Native American life, will all find this an engaging and informative work.