Hanging Together: Unity and Diversity in American Culture - Hardcover

Higham, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300088183 ISBN 13: 9780300088182

Publisher: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2001

Synopsis

How has America with its many ethnic class and ideological divisions allowed divergent groups to "hang together" as Americans? In this book a distinguished historian explores the ways in which Americans have conceived of a national identity and demonstrates that an appreciation of America's kaleidoscopic diversity can be reconciled with an affirmation of its common national culture.

About this title

About the Author

John Higham, John Martin Vincent Professor Emeritus of History at The Johns Hopkins University, is a past president of the Organization of American Historians. His books include Send These to Me and Strangers in the Land. Carl J. Guarneri is professor of history at Saint Mary's College of California.

Reviews

Forget Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam: the first visual representation of America was a mostly naked woman, probably a cannibal, armed with a bow and arrow and surrounded by wild, dangerous animals. After the war of independence, historian Higham (Strangers in the Land) explains, this 18th-century European image quickly gave way to others. Now in his 80s, Higham, a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University and past president of the Organization of American Historians, casts a wide net in this collection of 14 previously published essays the role of mechanical invention in U.S. history, how ideas about whiteness shaped notions of citizenship in 1900, the relationship between penmanship and urbanization and focuses on the constant reinvention of the "American." He grapples with the conflict between a unitary notion of national identity and a more multicultural vision of the U.S., and faces some problems when he attempts the difficult task of finding a middle ground between the two. Not wanting to ignore multicultural critiques, Higham discusses them but never manages to reconcile them with his more historically orthodox belief in the existence and desirability of a national character and culture, though he makes many insightful and enlightening inquiries along the way. Throughout the collection, Higham exhibits a comprehensive knowledge and a sharp, analytic mind. Although intended for serious students of history, Higham's work is accessible to the amateur historian and a general readership with a background in U.S. intellectual history.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This collection of classic essays by leading U.S. historian Higham (history emeritus, Johns Hopkins Univ.; Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism) treats the subject of national character and the mechanisms by which people of divergent ethnic and class backgrounds have come together to identify as Americans throughout the country's history. Higham respectfully objects to aspects of multiculturalism, noting that the movement's emphasis on the differences among racial and ethnic groups has failed to lead to the advancement of a coherent civic vision. He calls for historians to avoid "provincialism" and take up larger questions of national experience; his plea for a reexamination of the centripetal forces in American culture and society is compelling even while currently unfashionable in academia. Though some of the essays in this volume are over 30 years old, they still feel fresh and vibrant. They are often addressed to an academic audience, but general readers with an interest in history can benefit from them as well. Any library seeking to maintain an adequate collection on the history and culture of the United States should buy this important and timely book. Andrew Brodie Smith, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300088183
• ISBN 13: 9780300088182
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 335