American Dream Research Articles

Book Review of Attebery, Jennifer Eastman 2023. As Legend Has It: History, Heritage, and the Construction of Swedish American Identity. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 248 pp.

Book Review of Attebery, Jennifer Eastman 2023. As Legend Has It: History, Heritage, and the Construction of Swedish American Identity. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 248 pp.

“Too Clean, Too White”: Resistance to the Racial Politics of Hygiene in Helena María Viramontes’s Under the Feet of Jesus

Abstract The central characters of Helena María Viramontes’s 1996 novel about Mexican American farm workers, Under the Feet of Jesus, are plagued by dirt and grime wherever they go. Subsequently, these characters frequently face racial discourses of hygiene—popular forms of communication (advertisements, public health education, etc.) that associate cleanliness with whiteness and wealth, and dirtiness with poverty and nonwhite identity. Through their encounters with dirt, cleaning products, and racial discourses of hygiene, Viramontes’s characters demonstrate how ideas about cleanliness inform US racial formation. In particular, the novel’s engagement with the American ideals of white cleanliness foisted on the central teenage farm worker, Estrella, and her family reveals how personal hygiene is weaponized as a tool of neoliberalism to obscure the material conditions of laborers and the systemic environmental racism they face. In the novel, individual hygiene is presented, most often by white or white-coded characters, as the path toward environmental, racial, and economic justice in ways that distract from the structural roots of the environmental injustices nonwhite farm workers face daily. Through white color imagery and active engagement with dirty materiality, Under the Feet of Jesus challenges racial discourses of hygiene and demonstrates systemic and restorative ways of thinking about public health and the value of communal care.

Dislocation: Toward a Framework for the Study of Crises

Abstract The paper develops a conceptual framework for the analysis of crises. It rests on the central argument that crises cannot be restricted to exceptional occurrences or temporarily delimited events, but we approach crisis as ontologically constitutive for our everyday lives. The concept of “discursive dislocation” is the cornerstone of this endeavor, as it grasps multiple aspects of sociopolitical instability, including societal deficiencies, fragilities, and political failures. Through theoretically advancing the concept of dislocation, we systematize three dimensions of crisis as permanent, recurring, and ephemeral dislocation. This allows us to analyze crises not only in their immediate environment but also makes it possible to understand them in their broader sociopolitical context. The conceptual framework is illustrated with the example of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, which reveals how the construction of the pandemic as a crisis is embedded in the historically ingrained self-portrayal of the United States, and how crisis responses are invoked to serve particular sociopolitical purposes in retaining an established American identity.

The (Latin) American Dream? Human Rights and the Construction of Inter-American Regional Organisation (1945–1948)

Abstract The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man is often cited as evidence of the longstanding centrality of human rights in Latin American approaches to international law. However, when the Declaration is brought into the history of inter-American regionalism, a more complex picture emerges. This article places the early codification efforts of regional human rights within the post-war construction of inter-American regional organisation. It argues that for Latin American and US elites, the priorities lay on institutional, collective security, and economic aspects. In this context, they instrumentally embraced the flexible language of human rights to advance broader regionalist visions. As a result, human rights gained ground, albeit as a contested idea. The article reveals that the post-war institutional settlement ultimately comprised a collective security apparatus, crucial for the United States, supplemented by the principle of non-intervention, vital to Latin American states, in which human rights were not central.

Ambivalence of the perception of the color palette in F. S. Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” and its coloristic realization in the film adaptations

The subject of the study is color symbolism in F. Fitzgerald’s novel «The Great Gatsby» in the aspect of an ambivalent understanding of the conceptual solution in the use of a certain color in creating images of characters, in describing the setting and semantic content of the ideological content of the work and its screen interpretations. The object of study is color as a meaning-forming concept in literature and cinema, the symbolism of color. The work of Francis S. Fitzgerald «The Great Gatsby» is of interest in the study of the influence of color palette. The main research methods are analytical and comparative historical. The color concepts of F. S. Fitzgerald's book “The Great Gatsby” and film adaptations are comprehended. This work by F. S. Fitzgerald is of interest to the modern Russian reader and viewer due to the fact that the problems raised in the novel are still relevant today. The writer touches on the popular theme of the American dream in literature and cinema. The story of the main characters is a vivid example of the illusory nature of this dream, and the lifestyle of the characters and their worldview demonstrate spiritual emptiness and cold indifference to everything except money and wealth. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the study of the ambivalence of perception of the coloristic solution of the images of characters in the book in comparison with its screen interpretations. The author comes to the conclusion that F. S. Fitzgerald in the novel «The Great Gatsby» uses a color palette in creating images of characters and describing the scene in such a way that the ambiguity in the perception of color most unexpectedly and sharply emphasizes the problems raised and becomes the basis for rethinking the ideological content of the work.

Performing Pierogi

Abstract Food choices and food preparation rituals are both performative acts and vehicles for the transmission of ethnicity. Among American Polonia, collective pierogi making has become an important symbolic action of claiming one's Polish American identity, which brings together different genders and generations within families, kin, and friend circles.

50 Why are Black and Mexican American children more vulnerable than White children to upper respiratory viral infection?

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: There is an excess risk of upper respiratory infection (URI) among Black and Mexican-American children in the US. Factors that underpin these disparities are largely unknown. We evaluated the extent to which socioeconomic status (SES), serum cotinine, obesity, and household size explained the association between race/ethnicity and URI. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We studied children, 6-17 years of age, who identified as Black, Mexican-American, or White in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2007-2012). URI was defined as a self-reported cough, cold, phlegm, runny nose, or other respiratory illness (excluding hay fever and allergies) in the past 7 days. The proportion of the association between race/ethnicity and URI explained by SES, serum cotinine, obesity, and household size was estimated as the average causal mediation effect (i.e., the indirect effect of race/ethnicity via the mediator) divided by the total effect of race/ethnicity. The average causal mediation effect was derived from survey weighted logistic regression models adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Black children were nearly 40% and Mexican American children were ~60% more likely to report a URI than those who identified as White (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.06-1.77 and OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.21-2.13, respectively). Lower SES explained ~25% of the association between Black and Mexican American identity and URI (percent mediated 24.7; 95% CI, 23.0-26.6 and 26.1; 95% CI, 24.2-28.2, respectively). Obesity explained ~7% of the association between Black and Mexican-American identity and URI (percent mediated, 7.6; 95% CI, 7.3-8.0 and percent mediated, 6.7; 95% CI, 6.4-6.9, respectively). Nicotine exposure explained 8% of the association between Black identity and URI (percent mediated, 7.9; 95% CI, 5.6-10.1). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Lower SES explained a quarter of the association between race/ethnicity and URI. Low SES is a broad concept that may work through different mechanisms to lead to disparities in URI by race/ethnicity. Future research is needed to better understand these mechanisms and to identify modifiable aspects that can serve as targets for intervention.

Book Review: Race at the Top: Asian Americans and Whites in Pursuit of the American Dream in Suburb Schools, by NatashaWarikoo. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 2022. 232 pp. $23.99 Cloth: ISBN: 978‐0‐226‐63681‐8

Book Review: Race at the Top: Asian Americans and Whites in Pursuit of the American Dream in Suburb Schools, by NatashaWarikoo. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 2022. 232 pp. $23.99 Cloth: <scp>ISBN</scp>: 978‐0‐226‐63681‐8

‘Me and the Sky’: smashing the glass ceiling in Come from Away, neoliberal feminism, and climate change

ABSTRACT This article considers neoliberal feminism and environmental concerns in Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s musical Come from Away. While the musical is not directly concerned with anthropogenic climate change, many types of skies appear as thematic and metaphorical preoccupations in the piece: feminist blue skies, stormy Newfoundland skies, the clear skies of the American Dream, skies of terror, and skies of war. I argue that Come from Away hides the tragedy of climate change in plain sight, in the sky. Undertaking a close analysis of the showstopping number ‘Me and the Sky,’ sung by the airline pilot Beverly Bass – based on the real-life woman of the same name – I observe the rift between neoliberal feminist success, acts of terror, and the slow-moving tempo of a changing climate. Come from Away’s celebration of neoliberal feminism is cut short in the song, but it foreshadows the possibilities of a more successful recognition of the conjunction between feminist and environmental awareness.

Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan’s Evangelical Vision, by DIANE WINSTON

<i>Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan’s Evangelical Vision</i>, by DIANE WINSTON

Extreme homes, extreme consumption? The American Dream in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

This article examines the phenomenon of the commercialization of the American Dream through the example of consumerism around the realm of the suburban home, a key element of this concept in the United States, as well as the role of reality television in creating and encouraging inflated standards of consumption. It uses the example of the American television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The article outlines the history and role of the American Dream, particularly the origins of the term itself, coined by Truslow Adams. The behaviour that Thorsten Veblen calls conspicuous consumption, which is characterized by a tendency to display material status in order to gain social respectability and prestige, is identified. The suburban house as a key element of the American Dream is analysed through the example of the makeovers presented in the programme. Their significant scale and unrealistic nature are often at odds with the real financial capabilities of the participants and are the cause of bankruptcies and financial problems. As the programme belongs to a genre that is supposed to reflect reality, in the light of the cultivation theory, created by George Gerbner, it influences viewers whose world-view is shaped by it and whose role models are imitated. Thus, the presented standards of a comfortable home in line with the American Dream can influence viewers’ consumption behaviour by showing them that the acquisition of possessions is a solution to problems, a reward for an honest life and that there are no financial consequences associated with them. The lavishness of the houses and their luxury reinforce this impression. Finally, the article seeks to answer the question to what extent and why the need of Americans to live up to the vision of living the illusive American Dream – thus creating an image of success and social status – is exaggerated and its standards are taken to an ‘extreme’.

Positive and negative paradigms of personal functioning and development in the pre-retirement and retirement ages

The presented article is devoted to the problem of identifying and describing life paradigms in old age. The theoretical part shows the advantages of the paradigmatic approach in gerontopsychological research. The value of its variability is emphasized, when paradigms can be changed, modified or evaluated in accordance with established personal meanings and values. The theoretical part also analyzes the existing models of life paradigms in late ontogenesis. Special attention is paid to paradigms that include a victimological context. It is shown that foreign paradigms, in particular, the paradigms of yoga and the "American dream" cannot be successfully implemented into Russian culture due to value contradictions. It is noted that the least studied element of life paradigms are the principles of life, which have become the subject of study in the empirical part of the study. Biographical, autobiographical and meaningful content analysis were used as research methods. The material of the analysis was the content of forums on the Internet dedicated to the problems of the elderly, the participants of which were pre-retirees and pensioners. The scientific novelty of the study consists in identifying and describing the basic and particular life principles that make up the positive and negative paradigms in later life. Thus, such general principles as concreteness, anticipativeness, variability, priority, anxiety, vulnerability, responsibility, forgiveness, etc. were formulated. It is concluded that the positive paradigm in old age is an anti–victim paradigm, that is, a behavior model based on the anti-victim Self-concept that ensures the safety of the individual in old age, and an ineffective one is victimized, contributing to the transformation of an elderly person into a victim of circumstances, primarily subjective. Life paradigms in old age should change with changes in living conditions and health conditions. The paradigmatic principles differ depending on gender.

Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan's Evangelical Vision. By Diane Winston. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023. 256 pp, $35.00 cloth.

Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan's Evangelical Vision. By Diane Winston. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023. 256 pp, $35.00 cloth.

The American Dream Is Alive and Well (and the Problem of U.S. Inequality Greatly Exaggerated)*

The American Dream Is Alive and Well (and the Problem of U.S. Inequality Greatly Exaggerated)*

American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota by Kasey Keeler (review)

American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota by Kasey Keeler (review)

Chinese American Identity, Performance, and Immigration Law: Jue Quon Tai in Theatres and at National Borders

Chinese American Identity, Performance, and Immigration Law: Jue Quon Tai in Theatres and at National Borders

Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms: An Exploration of American Exceptionalism

The present paper aims to posit that in his acclaimed novel, A Farewell to Arms, Ernst Hemingway employs an anti-war framework strategically to weave a deeper narrative that underscores an underlying reverence for America and dissects key passages, character interactions, and thematic elements to unveil the subtle patriotic undertones embedded within the narrative. By scrutinizing the protagonist’s interactions, motivations, and evolving perspectives, the article unravels the intricate relationship between character’s experiences and the novel’s latent celebration of American exceptionalism. While the novel is often regarded as a poignant portrayal of the disillusionment arising from the First World War, the analysis contends that beneath its anti-war veneer lies a subtler narrative thread which aims to subtly idolize America and construct a complex commentary on American identity. By challenging conventional readings of A Farewell to Arms, this article seeks to prompt a reconsideration of the novel’s thematic complexities and invites scholars to explore the interplay between war narratives and nationalistic undercurrents within the context of American literature.

Latinx for whom? Reflections upon the linguistic shaping of Latin American identities in the United States

ABSTRACT This article critically examines the growing utilization of the term Latinx in the United States (US) as an all-inclusive, nonbinary ethnonym that challenges the injustices experienced by discriminated minorities, mostly LGBTQIA + people of Latin American descent in the United States. Despite its relevance, the term Latinx presents key challenges, beginning with its use as a catch-all category and substitute for other ethnonyms (i.e. Hispanics and Latinos) that speak to diverse racial/ethnic identities. Latinx’s two-fold framing effect has contributed to invisibilizing the experiences of cisgender people, along with transgender individuals who see themselves as binary, and of gender nonconforming populations. In supporting these claims, the author self-reflects on her Latina positionality to question the use of Latinx as a wide-ranging label. Finally, this essay offers concrete recommendations on how to properly use Latinx to include diverse Latin/a/o/x identities in the US and beyond.

Hyphenated Identities: Navigating Interpersonal Challenges and the American Dream in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth

The concept of immigrant identity involves both acts of resistance and adaptation to an unfamiliar environment. According to scholarly reports, the first waves of Indian immigrants are known to show a deep attachment to their native cultures, their ancestors, their languages, and their interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, their second-generation constantly face the challenge of moving between two different cultural contexts and finding a harmonious balance between these two divergent identities. The hyphenated identity of people in diaspora communities has a significant impact on their closest interpersonal relationships, leading to various issues such as longing for the past, feelings of isolation, mourning and melancholy, and to name a few. These issues are effectively explored by renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri in her third book, Unaccustomed Earth (2008), and are, therefore, the focus of this paper. The short stories included in this collection exhibit a poignant and intricate connection to the prevailing social landscape of contemporary society. This paper explores the impact of hyphenated identity on interpersonal relationships in the context of the ‘American Dream’ as manifest in the chosen text. Furthermore, this research paper examines the tactics employed by the characters in Lahiri’s short stories to overcome the obstacles in their diasporic encounters.

Immigrant's death at the border: Do they influence White and Latinx Americans’ belief in the American dream?

AbstractIn this study, we test a clashing narrative approach to conflict, which argues that political conflict is based on opposing narratives that negate one another. We focus on the role of two master narratives central to political schism in the United States. The first is the American dream narrative, which posits that anyone who works hard can become successful in the United States. The opposing narrative, the systemic racism narrative, argues that the United States is a racist country where minorities are systemically held back. A survey study of 189 participants demonstrated that these two master narratives predict support for the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump or Joe Biden above and beyond more traditional ideological dispositions such as right‐wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. In a follow‐up experiment (n = 157), we examined how the Trump's administration policies of increased surveillance and policing of Latino immigrants crossing the border influenced White and Latinx participants’ agreement with the narrative of the American dream and the United States as a systemically racist country. Findings suggest that when confronted with news clips of immigrant death at the border, Latinx participants, compared to White participants, increased their endorsement of the American dream narrative. Conversely, White participants, increased their endorsement of the United States as a systemically racist country compared to Latinx participants. The results of this study help us understand support for the Republican party among Latinx voters.