American Culture Research Articles

Implementation of Reel as American Popular Culture for Improving Speaking Media

Implementation of Reel as American Popular Culture for Improving Speaking Media

Exploring Taboo Language and Euphemisms in 'Fight Club' (1999): An Analysis of American Cultural Norms through the Lens of Cultural Linguistics

Exploring Taboo Language and Euphemisms in 'Fight Club' (1999): An Analysis of American Cultural Norms through the Lens of Cultural Linguistics

A Post-Darwinian Fable: Canine Narration in The Call of the Wild

The paper reads Jack London’s The Call of the Wild as a post-Darwinian fable that challenges the anthropomorphism and sentimentality in the notoriously charged genre of the animal fable. London’s post-Darwinian representation of canine narration in an evolutionary continuum seeks to deconstruct the inherent hierarchy embedded in the fable. Through a reconciliation of the animal fable’s internal and external conflict, London aims to draw an ethical critique of amoral aspects of social Darwinism that underlies the American industry culture at the turn of the century. The remapping of humanity/animality, progression/regression, and the society/the wild within a bispecies environment for coevolution embodies London’s endeavor to rescue the reputation of the genre of fable from a conventional naturalist mode. London’s proclaimed vigor and science in the critique of animal fable further aspire to redeem the feminized professionalism of writing.

Feminist Relational Agency and the Cultural Contestation of Heteronormative Gender Norms in the Indian American Diaspora

Through an analysis of essays published by the online magazine American Kahani, a publication that centers contemporary generations of the Indian American community, we argue that feminist relational agency allows Indian American community members to challenge dominant expressions of culturally specific heteronormative gender norms while simultaneously fulfilling their need to maintain an “authentic” sense of cultural identity. In doing so, cultural contestation emerges as a process internal to the community through which members seek to develop alternate forms of relationality while sustaining their connectedness to “Indian (American) culture.” This study contributes to scholarship about intersectional and transnational feminist agency and the Indian American diaspora by challenging the problematic application of western frameworks of agency that see non-western cultures as barriers for women of color to overcome and by specifically calling for studies that center complex and culturally specific conceptions of agency.

Parallels Between Cupping in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ventosas in Native American Cultures

Parallels Between Cupping in Traditional Chinese Medicine and <i>Ventosas</i> in Native American Cultures

Strategic familismo: how Hispanic/Latine students negotiate family values and their stem careers

Hispanic/Latine young adults remain severely under-represented in STEM fields. While structural barriers contributing to these disparities have been thoroughly examined in previous research, the current study brings focus to the strategies young adults employ to navigate the incongruence between the cultures of higher education and STEM and the cultural value of “familismo,” a central orientation in Latin American cultures that prioritizes family ties over the individual. This study reports findings from 19 interviews and two focus groups we conducted with Hispanic/Latine young adults who had been part of an undergraduate STEM program. Focusing on participants’ first two years after college graduation, we identify the strategies these young adults employed to combine familismo with their goals for successful careers in STEM related fields. We identify three broad strategies, strategic selection, strategic timing, and strategic bridging; which enables Hispanic/Latine young adults to cultivate successful careers in STEM without rejection of their home-based cultural values. We also explore how participants’ perspectives and strategies shifted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings contribute to a growing interest in recognizing how Hispanic/Latine young adults exercise agency to successfully negotiate structural and cultural barriers in the pursuit of STEM careers.

Family in the Woods

Captain Fantastic, an independent drama written and directed by Matt Ross in 2016, and starring Viggo Mortensen, addresses several themes that are central to utopian studies: the viability of an intentional community removed from mainstream civilization, the possibility of living in harmony with nature, as well as the ambition to inculcate alternative cultural values by a radical educational program. The main character, Ben Cash, decided to raise his entire family of 6 kids in the dense forests of Washington state. While training them to survive under extreme circumstances in the wilderness, he also undertakes their entire education, encouraging individual thinking and a strongly critical attitude to mainstream American society and culture. The sudden suicide of his wife forces Ben to return to ‘normal America’, confronting him with both the consequences of his parental decisions and his potential responsibility in his wife’s death. The essay interprets the movie in the context of the American utopian tradition, particularly its individualist variety exemplified by the myth of the American Adam and the ideas of Thoreau's Walden (1854). Captain Fantastic fulfils a crucial generic criterion by skillfully satirizing some of the characteristic features and attitudes of mainstream American culture through the eyes of the children who experience it for the first time, subjecting the conventional ‘American utopia’ to a trenchant criticism. At the same time, it also questions the possibility of radical alterity: can a single family defy society by re-enacting a mythical American pattern and abandoning civilization to raise their kids in the woods? Do parents have the right to experiment on their children after their utopian hopes of opposing American capitalist society have been dashed? The clash of utopias is ultimately resolved by Ben's decision to admit his responsibility for his wife's mental illness and death and to give up the backwoods utopia and settle on a farm, conforming to another fundamental American symbol: the pastoral ideal of the garden.

Bucking Nationalism: Masculinity, Patriotism and the Political Rodeo

The rodeo has long been a tool for America to understand nationalism and the American West. The space has been traditionally geared towards masculinity, telling the story of how the men conquered the West and tamed wild beasts. While rodeo remains an essential political tool of American nationalism, it has also served as a space for groups to challenge dominant narratives. Through non-traditional spaces, Black, gay, and other diverse rodeo spaces have created an environment that challenges normative American nationalism. This work studies these spaces and the people associated with the rodeo to understand the political space of rodeos. Looking at rodeos as a contact zones, this paper researches Buffalo Bill's Wild West and the creation of mythology in the West, explores nationalism, and defines political space. Finally, the study of a diversity of rodeos concludes with a new understanding of the power of the Rodeo in American culture.

The Freaks came out to write: The definitive history of the “Village Voice” the radical paper that changed American culture By TriciaRomano. New York, NY: Public Affairs, 2024. pp. 608. $35 (hardcover)

The Freaks came out to write: The definitive history of the “Village Voice” the radical paper that changed American culture By TriciaRomano. New York, NY: Public Affairs, 2024. pp. 608. $35 (hardcover)

Sensate focus: addressing potential preconceived notions of black sexuality

As researchers of African Americans, we realized there are few studies on Black sexuality and pleasure. Most do not focus on how stigmas and stereotypes regarding Black sexuality have influenced self and relational narratives associated with sex. Yet as seen in modern day Black American and mainstream culture, sex is often highlighted in the Black community, sending performative messages and unrealistic expectations on physical anatomy that limits expansion of mutual sexual pleasure. Using phenomenology and the Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT) Outcome assessment, we interviewed 10 African American participants, 7 female, 2 male, and 1 male-identifying. The focus was on participants understanding of good and meaningful sex to determine if any internalized stereotypical narratives of Black sexuality was present and the influence of a culturally sensitive workshop exploring the sensate focus approach. Through thematic analysis, five themes were found: (a) healthy communication, (b) mindfulness, (c) education and unlearning, (d) emotional connection, (e) mutual pleasure. Although identifying a limited amount of internalized racial and sexual stereotypes among the participants, researchers were able to determine a significant influence in participants understanding of what good and meaningful sex is following their experience attending a sensate focus workshop. Implications and future discussions to further understand internalized assumptions of Black sexuality is recommended for both clinical and research perspectives.

A Study on the Infiltration Methods of British and American Literature in High School English Reading Teaching

Reading is the key content of high school English teaching, which can improve students’ mastery of words, grammar, and other knowledge, and can expand their horizons. British and American literature is the essence of British and American culture, and its application in high school English reading teaching can help improve students’ English proficiency. This paper outlines the problems of high school English teaching, analyzes the role of British and American literature in high school English reading teaching, and explores the infiltration methods of British and American literature in high school English reading teaching, in order to provide references for teachers.

Heigh‐ho, heigh‐ho, it's off to read we go: A selective bibliography on Disney in American culture

Heigh‐ho, heigh‐ho, it's off to read we go: A selective bibliography on Disney in American culture

Review: Thoreau’s Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture, by Caleb Smith

Review: <i>Thoreau’s Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture</i>, by Caleb Smith

Childhood and Innocence in American Culture: Heartaches and Nightmares ed. by James M. Curtis (review)

Childhood and Innocence in American Culture: Heartaches and Nightmares ed. by James M. Curtis (review)

Dual Cultural Influence on the Architectural Style Evolution of San Francisco Chinatown: A Comprehensive Examination

Abstract The unique neighborhood style of San Francisco Chinatown is influenced by Chinese and American culture, history and social system. Through field investigation, Chinese and English literature collection, and spatial analysis, this paper interprets the motivation of its style evolution. In the process of research, the author tries to analyze the changes and driving forces of Chinatown in San Francisco from three dimensions: the city scale, the blocks scale, and the building scale. The results show that the formation process of Chinatown in San Francisco and the range of its blocks are deeply influenced by the world political pattern in the early 20th century, the Sino-American multi-party regulations and Sino-American relations. The architectural style of the block is influenced by the Eastern and Western cultures, which is a distinctive architectural feature. The traditional architecture is deeply influenced by the architectural style of southern Fujian, while the new architecture is mainly based on the modernist architectural style. Among the main factors affecting the evolution of Chinatown in San Francisco, gold rush, earthquake, traditional Chinese architectural style and immigration policy to China are the internal mechanisms of the formation of Chinatown’s spatial characteristics.

Suspended Spaces of Global Việt Nam: KT Food Stories and Gastro Cartographies of the Inscrutable

Abstract: Vietnamese refugee cultural archives reveal indifference to prevalent linguistic racial homogenization using monolingual Vietnamese in digital space. By analyzing the food vlog KT Food Stories as a case study, this article demonstrates that the YouTube food channel is not unlike some restaurants or shopping centers in the physical Little Saigons across the globe in its use of nontranslation. But when English-language dominance becomes peripheralized within the suspended diasporic space of Vietnamese food vlogging, the problem of linguistic inscrutability–particularly as a basis for ridicule in dominant American popular culture–becomes reclaimed through indifference, and Vietnameseness has the potential to expand globally through intimate gastro cartographies of refuge.

Koritha Mitchell. From Slave Cabins to the White House: Homemade Citizenship in African American Culture.

Koritha Mitchell. <i>From Slave Cabins to the White House: Homemade Citizenship in African American Culture</i>.

RANDALL, RACHEL. Paid to Care: Domestic Workers in Contemporary Latin American Culture. University of Texas Press, 2024.

RANDALL, RACHEL. Paid to Care: Domestic Workers in Contemporary Latin American Culture. University of Texas Press, 2024.

Shifting Moods and Shifting Discourses: Hopelessness at the Intersection of American Catholicism and Psychology

ABSTRACT: In his 1971 book, Out of the Depths , William Collins, CSS, recounts his long struggle with anxiety and depression. For Collins, as for other American Catholics in the twentieth century, the experience of hopelessness was influenced by religious and medical discourses that shifted in relation to each other over time. Early in the century Catholic ideas of hope were expressed in the precise categories of neo-Scholasticism. By the end of the century there were multiple Catholic approaches to hope. The same time period saw the integration of psychiatry and psychology into mainstream American culture. As these disciplines were defining themselves and striving for recognition from the scientific and medical establishments, the categories used for mental illness were also changing. From nervous problems and neurasthenia early in the century to schizophrenia, anxiety, and then depression, the vocabulary of emotional and mental problems changed as ideas about their nature and causes developed. Collins's narrative of alternating hopelessness and hope gives insight into how his experience was shaped by his suffering, the social expectations he had internalized, and the institutional frameworks he was navigating. It also gives broader insight into how American Catholics viewed emotional problems in the middle of the twentieth century.

An Analysis of Disparities and Political Implications in Native American Healthcare

For centuries, an agenda of colonialist-driven politics has left the Native American community alienated from society. Generally stemming from the negligent political values pushed by the United States government, multiple external factors have left Native Americans with a fraction of the prosperity and unity that they once held. Through a series of statistical and holistic analyses of Native American culture and population levels over the years, it has become evident that the lack of attention and support from publicly funded institutions has increased Native vulnerability to a world of rising health threats. In addition to an already meager amount of financial support, organizations directed at helping Natives are met with stubborn governmental legislation that has refused to create the substantial change necessary to modernize a failing system. As such, even though recent advancements have been made and new establishments are on the rise, the most prominent issue regards the government’s unwillingness to expand and create meaningful change. With these issues in mind, this analysis of health disparities impacting the Native American community provides support for the argument that the United States Federal Government must take more action towards making reparations for its past mistakes, in addition to providing the basis for a healthcare system that American Indians can rely on.