The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture

This Companion is essential reading for students and teachers of American studies around the world.

Christopher Bigsby (Edited by)

9780521601092, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 October 2006

518 pages
22.8 x 15 x 3 cm, 0.81 kg

The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture offers a comprehensive, authoritative and accessible overview of the cultural themes and intellectual issues that drive the dominant culture of the twentieth century. This companion explores the social, political and economic forces that have made America what it is today. It shows how these contexts impact upon twentieth-century American literature, cinema and art. An international team of contributors examines the special contribution of African Americans and of immigrant communities to the variety and vibrancy of modern America. The essays range from art to politics, popular culture to sport, immigration and race to religion and war. Varied, extensive and challenging, this Companion is essential reading for students and teachers of American studies around the world. It is the most accessible and useful introduction available to an exciting range of topics in modern American culture.

1. What then is the American? Christopher Bigsby
2. The American century Godfrey Hodgson
3. The regions and regionalism Richard King
4. Immigration to the United States in the twentieth century Roger Daniels
5. Religion in the United States in the twentieth century: 1900–60 Peter W. Williams
6. Shifting boundaries: religion and the United States 1960-present Wade Clark Roof and Natalie Caron
7. The Hispanic background of the United States Nicolas Kanellos
8. African Americans since 1900 Werner Sollors
9. Asian Americans James Kyung-Jin Lee
10. Women in the twentieth century S. J. Kleinberg
11. Queer America Robert McRuer
12. The road to Empire: the United States, war and the twentieth century Kenneth P. O'Brien
13. The culture of the Cold War Stephen J. Whitfield
14. Secret America: the CIA and American culture Hugh Wilford
15. Vietnam and the 1960s John Hellmann
16. New York City and the struggle of the modern Eric Homberger
17. Music: sound: technology William Brooks
18. African American music of the twentieth century Paul Oliver
19. Hollywood cinema Walter Metz
20. Popular culture Paul Buhle
21. Theatre Brenda Murphy
22. Society and the novel in twentieth-century America Emory Elliott
23. 'Preferring the wrong way': the ethical diversity of US twentieth-century poetry Tim Woods.

Subject Areas: Regional studies [GTB], Literary studies: general [DSB]