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Titel
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The American Dream
The American Dream is one of the most important ideas in American culture and history. It refers to the belief that everyone, regardless of background or social class, has the opportunity to achieve success and build a better life through hard work, determination, and freedom.
The concept became especially popular after historian James Truslow Adams used the term in 1931, describing America as a place where life should be “better and richer and fuller for everyone.”
Over time, the American Dream has come to symbolize goals such as financial success, home ownership, education, and personal freedom, but it has also been debated and criticized because not all people have had the same opportunities to achieve it.
In this course, we will explore how the American Dream has shaped American society, literature, and identity, and discuss whether it is still achievable today.
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Material:
-The Declaration of Independence. July 1776.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
-The New York Times: "Defining the American Dream" 2009,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C48aGtPIuZo
-James Truslow Adams: "The American Dream", https://naf.systime.dk/?id=140
-CBS Sunday Morning: "Is the American Dream still alive?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxS31Sa8y-Q
-Kimberly Amadeo: "What is the American Dream Today?" article in The Balance (2018)
https://newdream.org/blog/the-balance-what-is-the-american-dream-today?
-Kelly Richman-Abdou: "Jacob Riis: The Photographer Who Showed "How the Other Half Lives" in 1890s NYC"
https://mymodernmet.com/jacob-riis-how-the-other-half-lives/
-Film: "Scarface", 170 min ,dir Brian DePalma, (1983)
-Oral presentations have been carried out by students on the following subjects:
1.The American Dream: Definition(s), origin and historical background. Among other points, Manifest Destiny, "City upon a Hill", the "chosen" Land.
2.All men are created equal: Explain and elaborate on the introduction to the Declaration of Independence from 1776. Considering also cases of Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities.
3.Equality of opportunity and social mobility. Among other points, include the hopeful description of 18th-century Henry St. John de Crévecoeur in his third "Letter from an American Farmer".
4.The American Dream in art then and now: Albert Bierstadt, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol and Lauren Greenfield.
5.The American Dream in literature then and now: F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Toni Morrison and Amy Tan.
6.The American Dream and consumerism: Ads and commercials for cars and other American products, major brands like Nike or Coca Cola, or events like the Super Bowl.
7.The American Dream in popular culture: Music and films that reflect the American Dream.
8.From rags to riches: Compare America and Denmark regarding "social mobility".
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