American Niceness: A Cultural History

The clich of the Ugly American--loud, vulgar, materialistic, chauvinistic--still expresses what people around the world dislike about...
€110,19 EUR
€110,19 EUR
SKU: 9780674976498
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 201 left in stock
Author: Carrie Tirado Bramen
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: €110,19
10 customers are viewing this product
American Niceness: A Cultural History by Bramen, Carrie Tirado

American Niceness: A Cultural History

€110,19

American Niceness: A Cultural History

€110,19
Author: Carrie Tirado Bramen
Format: Hardcover
Language: English

The clich of the Ugly American--loud, vulgar, materialistic, chauvinistic--still expresses what people around the world dislike about their Yankee counterparts. Carrie Tirado Bramen recovers the history of a very different national archetype--the nice American--which has been central to ideas of U.S. identity since the nineteenth century.

Niceness is often assumed to be a superficial concept unworthy of serious analysis. Yet the distinctiveness of Americans has been shaped by values of sociality and likability for which the adjective "nice" became a catchall. In America's fledgling democracy, niceness was understood to be the indispensable trait of a people who were refreshingly free of Old World snobbery. Bramen elucidates the role niceness plays in a particular fantasy of American exceptionalism, one based not on military and economic might but on friendliness and openness. Niceness defined the attitudes of a plucky (and white) settler nation, commonly expressed through an affect that Bramen calls "manifest cheerfulness."

To reveal its contested inflections, Bramen shows how American niceness intersects with ideas of femininity, Native American hospitality, and black amiability. Who claimed niceness and why? Despite evidence to the contrary, Americans have largely considered themselves to be a fundamentally nice and decent people, from the supposedly amicable meeting of Puritans and Native Americans at Plymouth Rock to the early days of American imperialism when the mythology of Plymouth Rock became a portable emblem of goodwill for U.S. occupation forces in the Philippines.



Author: Carrie Tirado Bramen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 08/14/2017
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780674976498


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/15/2017
Choice 02/01/2018

About the Author
Bramen, Carrie Tirado: - Carrie Tirado Bramen is Associate Professor of English at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products