E pluribus unum : scale and American national identity in The Saturday Evening Post 1942-1969
Americans are reminded daily that their society did not emerge from some dark ancestral past but was deliberately created ID a revolutionary, ideological act. In formal state activities and more banal 'flaggings', Americans demonstrate their commitment to the national creed of human freedom, self-government, individualIsm and mutual self-help. Such abstract concepts associated with American civic nationalism, however, require translation into expressive forms that are made to mean something to Americans. It is my thesis that geography, and especially geographical scales, contribute to the provisIOn of that functIOn in the constitution of Amencan national identities. Extendmg recent work in human geography, social theory, and discourse analysis, this thesis analyses banal nationalism in the Saturday Evening Post in the first half of the Cold War to show how national identities can emerge from processes of cultural production. I discuss the social construction of domestic, local, natIonal, and global scales in the Post and the articulation of national IdentitIes through these geographical scales. I analyse the symbols and meanmgs of national identities that each of these scales articulate, as well as identIfying
Appleton, Louise
Civic nationalism
E pluribus unum : scale and American national identity in The Saturday Evening Post 1942-1969. Americans are reminded daily that their society did not emerge from some dark ancestral past but was deliberately created ID a revolutionary, ideological act. In formal state activities and more banal 'flaggings', Americans demonstrate their commitment to the national creed of human freedom, self-government, individualIsm and mutual self-help. Such abstract concepts associated with American civic nationalism, however, require translation into expressive forms that are made to mean something to Americans. It is my thesis that geography, and especially geographical scales, contribute to the provisIOn of that functIOn in the constitution of Amencan national identities. Extendmg recent work in human geography, social theory, and discourse analysis, this thesis analyses banal nationalism in the Saturday Evening Post in the first half of the Cold War to show how national identities can emerge from processes of cultural production. I discuss the social construction of domestic, local, natIonal, and global scales in the Post and the articulation of national IdentitIes through these geographical scales. I analyse the symbols and meanmgs of national identities that each of these scales articulate, as well as identIfying
scale american national_identity post americans remind daily society emerge dark ancestral past deliberately create revolutionary ideological act formal state activity americans commitment national creed human_freedom self_government individualism mutual self_help abstract_concept associate american civic nationalism however require translation expressive form make mean something americans geography especially geographical scale contribute provision function constitution national_identity recent_work human geography social_theory discourse_analysis analyse nationalism post first_half cold_war show national_identity emerge process cultural_production discuss social construction domestic local_national global_scale post articulation national identities geographical scale analyse symbol national_identity scale articulate well identifying