KulturAmerika Reihe

"To many Americans, modern marches by the Ku Klux Klan may seem like a throwback to the past or posturing by bigoted hatemongers. To Kelly Baker, they are a reminder of how deeply the Klan is rooted in American mainstream Protestant culture. Most studies of the KKK dismiss it as an organization of racists attempting to intimidate minorities and argue that the Klan used religion only as a rhetorical device. Baker contends instead that the KKK based its justifications for hatred on a particular brand of Protestantism that resonated with mainstream Americans, one that employed burning crosses and robes to explicitly exclude Jews and Catholics. To show how the Klan used religion to further its agenda of hate while appealing to everyday Americans, Kelly Baker takes readers back to its "second incarnation" in the 1920s. During that decade, the revived Klan hired a public relations firm that suggested it could reach a wider audience by presenting itself as a "fraternal Protestant organization that championed white supremacy as opposed to marauders of the night." That campaign was so successful that the Klan established chapters in all forty-eight states. Baker has scoured official newspapers and magazines issued by the Klan during that era to reveal the inner workings of the order and show how its leadership manipulated religion, nationalism, gender, and race. Through these publications we see a Klan trying to adapt its hate-based positions with the changing times in order to expand its base by reaching beyond a narrowly defined white male Protestant America. This engrossing expos looks closely at the Klan's definition of Protestantism, its belief in a strong relationship between church and state, its notions of masculinity and femininity, and its views on Jews and African Americans. The book also examines in detail the Klan's infamous 1924 anti-Catholic riot at Notre Dame University and draws alarming parallels between the Klan's message of the 1920s and current posturing by some Tea Party members and their sympathizers. Analyzing the complex religious arguments the Klan crafted to gain acceptability-and credibility-among angry Americans, Baker reveals that the Klan was more successful at crafting this message than has been credited by historians. To tell American history from this startling perspective demonstrates that some citizens still participate in intolerant behavior to protect a fabled white Protestant nation"--Publisher's description

The ghostly presence stands in for numerous other voices in a range of American films. In this synthesis of film and politics, Ray Pratt aims to show how such movies are deeply rooted in post-war American culture and continue to exert an enormous influence on the national imagination. schovat popis

From Detroit Red to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X's life was marked by constant reinvention. His transformations have inspired a multitude of interpretations across books, photographs, and films, particularly following his assassination, which ignited debates among journalists, biographers, and artists about his cultural significance. This work offers a systematic examination of the imagery surrounding this iconic figure, found on everything from T-shirts to hip-hop album covers. Graeme Abernethy highlights the complex and global impact of a man depicted as both villain and hero, once labeled "the most feared man in American history" by mainstream media and later celebrated as a symbol of African American identity. Abernethy traces Malcolm's visual prominence through the civil rights movement, Black Power, and hip-hop, analyzing representations from 1960s magazines to urban murals and the evolution of his iconography, including the influence of Spike Lee's 1992 biopic. The book features a striking collection of images by renowned photographers and reveals Malcolm's awareness of the power of imagery in shaping identity. His insights into "the science of imagery" allowed him to navigate ideological representation and promote black empowerment. This work shifts the focus from biography to a richly illustrated exploration of Malcolm's cultural legacy, comparing his iconography with that of other significant African American

At the turn of the twentieth century, soybeans grew on so little of America's land that nobody bothered to track the total. By the year 2000, they covered upward of 70 million acres. How this little-known Chinese transplant turned into a ubiquitous component of American farming, culture, and cuisine is the story Matthew Roth tells in Magic Bean: The Rise of Soy in America.

The 70s witnessed economic decline in America, coupled with a series of foreign policy failures, events that created an air of unease and uncertainty. This volume examines the ways in which Americans responded to a changing world and sought to redefine themselves. číst celé