Front cover image for The American civilizing process

The American civilizing process

Stephen Mennell (Author)
Since 9/11, the American government has presumed to speak and act in the name of "civilization". But isthat how the rest of the world sees it? And if not, why not? Stephen Mennell leads up to such contemporary questions through a careful study of the whole span of American development, from the first settlers to the American Empire. He takes a novel approach, analysing the USA's experience in the light of Norbert Elias's theory of civilizing (and decivilizing) processes. Drawing comparisons between the USA and other countries of the world, the topics discussed include: a- American manners and lifestyles; b- violence in American society; c- the impact of markets on American social character; d- American expansion, from the frontier to empire; e- the curse of the American Dream' and increasing inequality; and f- the religiosity of American life. -- Back cover
Print Book, English, 2007
Polity, Cambridge, UK, 2007
History
xii, 388 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
9780745632087, 9780745632094, 0745632084, 0745632092
171111462
Prologue: Civilizing processes
"American civilization"
"Fellow Americans" and outsiders
American manners under scrutiny
American aristocracies
The market society
Violence and aggressiveness
And wilderness is paradise enow : from settlements to independence
But westward, look, the land is bright : from frontier to empire
Integration struggles
The curse of the American dream
Involvement, detachment and American religiosity
America and humanity as a whole