The Myths That Made America: An Introduction to American Studies

This essential introduction to American Studies examines the core foundational myths which the nation is based upon and which still determine discussions of US-American identities today. These myths include the myth of discovery, the Pocahontas myth, the myth of the Promised Land, the myth of the founding fathers, the frontier myth, the myth of the American Dream, and the myth of the melting pot. The chapters provide an extended analysis of each of these myths, using examples from popular culture, literature, memorial culture, school books, and every-day life. Including visual material as well as study questions, this book will be of interest to any student of American Studies and will foster an understanding of America as an imagined community by analyzing the foundational role of myths in the process of nation building.

Heike Paul teaches American Studies at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). Her current research interests are cultural mobility and interculturality, Canadian cultural studies and contemporary North American literature.