Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: A, San Diego State University, course: The American Renaissance, language: English, abstract: America’s history would lack a significant part without the dark chapter of slavery. The horrors and cruelties of the exploitation of blacks are written down in so-called slave narratives, being told or written by former slaves themselves. In the 19thcentury, both quantity and popularity of this literary form ros...

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject American Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Augsburg (Lehrstuhl für Amerikanistik), course: Proseminar: Novels of the American Modernism, language: English, abstract: Although Nathanael West’s novel The Day of the Locust did not receive much attention when published in 1939, it is today considered one of the best and most revealing novels about Hollywood. Its reviews are outstanding and it has therefore become one of ...

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Film Science, grade: A, San Diego State University, course: Film History & Aesthetics, language: English, abstract: In the first twenty years of film history, Hollywood had already conquered large parts of the world through the creation of artistic silent films. While American filmmakers, such as D. W. Griffith, focused on montage, continuity, and coherence as a means of narrating a story, thus making the narration more comprehensible and the...

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: A, San Diego State University, course: Modern American Literature and Culture, language: English, abstract: Broncho Billy, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill - there hardly seems to be anyone in the world who has never heard about the heroes of American Western culture. Nowadays, cowboys are considered to be the embodiment of freedom and independence. Whereas cowboys have existed for hundreds ...

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Film Science, grade: A, San Diego State University, course: Cult Films - Weirdly Dramatic, language: English, abstract: The decade of the 1950s predominantly recalls ideas of conventionalism, conformity and gender boundaries. The home played an important role as an oasis of peace, retreat and security, thus the era is shaped by the widespread ideal of the suburban family. However, the notion of conformity and the idyll of the so-called ‘nucle...

If the general public has misconceptions about scientists, it is not hard to see why. Scientists and other intellectuals are often poorly portrayed by the entertainment industry. An easy choice for an evil antagonist is a mad scientist. An equally easy choice for a ridiculous fool is a scientist without common sense. These stereotypes are reinforced again and again in movies, television and literature. It's amazing when any child grows up wanting to be a scientist, in our culture.T...

Biographical profile of Benjamin Franklin, the most famous and highly regarded American in Europe during colonial times and the Revolutionary War. One of the Founding Fathers, Franklin was instrumental in virtually every phase of the birth, creation and establishment of the United States. However, Franklin was a man of many talents, a true American Leonardo da Vinci who excelled in many fields. His printing and publishing business made him independently wealthy. A man of wit and charm, he was...

"One of the best books about the writing profession ever published." ― The Fresno BeeKatherine Anne Porter called courage "the first essential" for a writer. "I have to talk myself into bravery with every sentence," agreed Cynthia Ozick, "sometimes every syllable." E. B. White said he admired anyone who "has the guts to write anything at all."In The Courage to Write, Ralph Keyes, an author who has taught writing for more th...

"Insightful...draws from disparate corners of history and science to celebrate our compulsion to storify everything around us."— The New York Times Book ReviewHumans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases by Ida B. Wells-Barnett is an exemplary work of investigative reporting and cultural analysis that offers a detailed exploration of the ways in which the unjust and oppressive practices of lynching functioned to maintain the subordination of African Americans throughout the South.

The first graphic novel—a mesmerizing fictional chronicle of a universal American experience.Through a quartet of four interwoven stories, A Contract With God express the joy, exuberance, tragedy, and drama of life on the mythical Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx. This is the legendary book that launched a new art form and reaffirmed Will Eisner as one of the great pioneers of American graphics.

"The ultimate teacher of fact-based, reasoned rhetoric . . . A nice dose of American history makes learning the groundbreaking technique fun." —Nerida F. Ellerton and McKenzie A. Clements, authors on writings of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham LincolnAre you satisfied with the current state of public discourse? The almost unanimous response from people across the nation is a loud and emphatic "No!"The reply is always the same regardless of politics. Today's pu...