Kommentar |
The lecture will take a look at the “American Dream” and what it means today. Traditionally, the American Dream stands for the idea that everyone can make it in the United States, that hard work and decent living are rewarded by becoming part of the middle class. This leads into the mainstream of politics as well, since the grand era of the American Dream were the Eisenhower years with its unmatched upward mobility and its mostly conservative value system. Is that dream still alive or has it been pushed aside by other symbolic interpretations of society? How has it affected polity, policy, and politics in the United States? We will look at the topic employing approaches from all methodological sides of political science. The lecture class will be conducted in English. It is a “lecture with guests”, with eminent guest speakers who are among the foremost German experts on the United States. |