Bibliograph

Exceptional America, what divides Americans from the world and from each other, Mugambi Jouet

Type

Label

Exceptional America, what divides Americans from the world and from each other, Mugambi Jouet

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-341) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Exceptional America

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

961266515

Responsibility statement

Mugambi Jouet

Sub title

what divides Americans from the world and from each other

Summary

"Why does a country built on the concept of liberty have the highest incarceration rate in the world? How could the first Western nation to elect a person of color as its leader suffer from institutional racism? How does Christian fundamentalism coexist with gay marriage in the American imagination? In essence, what makes the United States exceptional? In this provocative exploration of American exceptionalism, Mugambi Jouet explores why Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues--including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, the literal truth of the Bible, abortion, gay rights, gun control, mass incarceration, and war. Drawing inspiration from Alexis de Tocqueville, Jouet, raised in Paris by a French mother and a Kenyan father, wields his multicultural sensibility to parse the ways in which the intense polarization of U.S. conservatives and liberals has become a key dimension of American exceptionalism--an idea widely misunderstood to mean American superiority. Instead, Jouet contends that exceptionalism, once a source of strength, may now spell decline, as unique features of U.S. history, politics, law, culture, religion, and race relations foster grave conflicts and injustices. This book offers a brilliant dissection of the American soul, in all of its outsize, clashing, and striking manifestations"--Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Introduction -- One nation, divisible -- From the American Enlightenment to anti-intellectualism -- The exceptional influence of Christian fundamentalism -- The culture wars of faith, sex, and gender -- Between democracy and plutocracy -- Millions standing against their own economic interest -- Mass incarceration, executions, and gun violence in "the land of the free" -- America and the world -- Conclusion

Target audience

adult

resource.variantTitle

What divides Americans from the world and from each other

Classification

Creator