We, Us, and Them
Affect and American Nonfiction from Vietnam to Trump

Douglas Dowland (Author)

9780813950846

Paperback / softback, published 27 March 2024

198 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm, 0.272 kg

When Americans describe their compatriots, who exactly are they talking about? This is the urgent question that Douglas Dowland asks in We, Us, and Them. In search of answers, he turns to narratives of American nationhood written since the Vietnam War—stories in which the ostensibly strong state of the Union has been turned increasingly into an America of us versus them. Dowland explores how a range of writers across the political spectrum, including Hunter S. Thompson, James Baldwin, and J. D. Vance, articulate a particular vision of America with such strong conviction that they undermine the unity of the country they claim to extol. We, Us, and Them pinpoints instances in which criticism leads to cynicism, rage leads to apathy, and a broad vision narrows in our present moment.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Problem of Strong Nationalism

1. Hawkishness: John Steinbeck’
s Vietnam Journalism

2. Bile: Hunter S. Thompson’
s America

3. Futility: James Baldwin’
s The Evidence of Things Not Seen

4. Resentment: J. D. Vance’
s Hillbilly Elegy

5. Depression: David Sedaris, Donald Trump, and the Divided Nation

Conclusion: The Nation Needs Reading

Notes

Bibliography

Index