American Icons

Catalog description

American Icons are objects, images, and symbols of identification, which represent the United States and are associated with the idea of America both at home and in the global world. The significance of American icons derives not solely from their own internal qualities, but often from the qualities and ambitions that they have come to represent for others. Through a critical examination of their creation, dissemination, and legacies, this course explores the variety of meanings that these figures and symbols have come to represent. Central themes include the relevance of the past for the present, varieties of cultural representation, the impact that different forms of representation have on their content, and the coherence of American culture. IC, IIB. PA-3B, PA-4B, SI-04.