Call for Contributors for a textbook project with the tentative title “The Image of the United States in nineteenth- and twentieth-century European Society and Culture”

For many centuries, Europeans have imagined the United States rather than actually visited the country. And although only a small number of Europeans made the voyage across the Atlantic, every European has a specific perception of American society. Since the late 1900s, many children across continental Europe have grown up with Karl May’s Winnetou novels which, translated into 33 languages, reached an estimated 200 million audience and provided the very first encounter with “America” for readers of all generations. Travel books, documentaries, and movies about the people and landscapes of the United States often reinforced stereotypical images already existing in the mind of Europeans.

This textbook seeks to provide a comprehensive and geographically far-reaching treatment of the European (both Eastern and Western European) imagination of the United States. It is envisioned as a textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate classes which deal with transnational and world history.

The textbook will be organized along five topics: (1) the scientific (ethnological, anthropological, geographic) image of the United States; (2) the fictional image of the United States in novels and movies; (3) the image of the United States as a modernizing force in economy; (4) the image of the United States as a beacon of democracy; (5) the image of the United States as a model for civil society/philanthropy.

I am looking for authors who would be willing to contribute to these collaborative chapters since each chapter is envisioned to include images from across European societies. I am currently in contact with a major international publisher which has voiced a strong interest in pursuing this project.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact Dr. Thomas Adam at adam@uta.edu