American Studies

The Limitations of 'The System': Paul Potter's Public Sphere and the 1965 March on Washington

Paul Potter, President of the Students for a Democratic Society from 1964-1965, addressed the audience at an anti-War demonstration on April 17, 1965.

Toward a 'Rooted Cosmopolitanism': Reading In the Shadow of No Towers as a Call for Local Community

Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers, which chronicles Spiegelman's own experience as witness to the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, offers an important critique of post-9/11 America.

Toward the Crystallization of 9/11 Memory: Narrative Form and the Tribute World Trade Center 9/11 Visitor Center

As an institution administered by family members of the 9/11 victims, the Tribute Center is focused on the distribution of the personal stories of those who "survived" 9/11; yet, what sort of stories is the Tribute Center telling?

The False Promise of Consumer Culture: Commodity Consumption's Deleterious Illusion of Empowerment

Many Americans construct their identities through various forms of consumption. In this regard, commodity consumption has been perceived as a powerful form of empowerment when, in fact, it frequently results in startling forms of consumer disempowerment.