Just like us : the American struggle to understand foreigners / Thomas Borstelmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Borstelmann, Thomas, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National characteristics, American--History.

National characteristics, American.

History.

Cultural awareness--United States.

Cultural awareness.

Race awareness--United States--History.

Race awareness.

Exceptionalism.

Globalization--Social aspects.

United States--Race relations--History.

United States.

Race relations.

Cultural pluralism--United States--History.

Cultural pluralism.

Globalization--Social aspects--United States--History.

Globalization.

Exceptionalism--United States--History.

Americanization.

Cold War--Social aspects--United States.

Cold War.

Social aspects.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 258 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

American struggle to understand foreigners

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Americans have long considered themselves a people set apart. Yet American exceptionalism is built on a set of tacit beliefs about other cultures. From the founding exclusion of indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans to the uneasy welcome of waves of immigrants, from republican disavowals of colonialism to Cold War proclamations of freedom, Americans' ideas of their differences from others have shaped the modern world--and how Americans have viewed foreigners is deeply revealing of their assumptions about themselves. Just Like Us is a pathbreaking exploration of what foreignness has meant across American history. Thomas Borstelmann traces American ambivalence about non-Americans, identifying a paradoxical perception of foreigners as suspiciously different yet fundamentally sharing American values at heart beneath the layers of culture. Considering race and religion, notions of the American way of life, attitudes toward immigrants, competition with communism, Americans abroad, and the subversive power of American culture, he offers a surprisingly optimistic account of the acceptance of difference. Borstelmann contends that increasing contact with peoples around the globe during the Cold War encouraged mainstream society to grow steadily more inclusive in terms of who could be considered fully American. In a time of resurgent nativism and xenophobia, Just Like Us provides a reflective, urgent examination of how Americans have conceived of foreignness and their own exceptionalism throughout the nation's history"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The Challenge of Contact with Foreigners

Freedom: American Culture as Human Nature

Inbound: Immigrants from Internal Threat to Incorporation

Lurking: Communists and the Threat of Captivity

Outbound: U.S. Expansion Into Foreign Lands

Subversion: The Power of American Culture in a Global Era

Conclusion: Not So Foreign After All.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Borstelmann, Thomas. Just like us

ISBN:

9780231193528

0231193521

OCLC:

1122800770