The American Dream is a foundational myth of American society and culture. In recent decades, critics of this idea have become more vocal, pointing at the great inequality present in American society and even claiming that the American Dream is dead. Examining the historical and social circumstances that have shaped the ideology of the American Dream is crucial in order to understand how the US perceives itself as a nation without a class system, a nation of immigrants who can climb the social ladder in a country of abundance and opportunities.
In this class, we will look at how and why the rags-to-riches narrative has been fashioned and we will examine how narratives of wealth and equality have fueled the rise of American-style capitalism and determined the impact of mass consumerism. Looking at the history of American imperialism will also provide another facet of how capitalistic forces determined American intervention in the colonial context and beyond. Furthermore, we will investigate how the suppression of the labor movement, the belief in trickle-down economics, and the lack of a social safety net have led to increasing social inequality.
Overall,
in this seminar, we will reflect on the way historical myths are
created, narrated, and perpetuated and we will question these very
narratives by including different perspectives and varied points of view
from which history can be told.
- Trainer/in: Eleonora Ravizza