The Social Construction of Realityand American Studies: Notes toward Consensus

Abstract

It is no secret that the American Studies movement finds itself methodologically fragmented and that definitions of its uniqueness and its relationship to other disciplines are a matter of debate within the profession. It is also no secret that attempts to move beyond the “nationalcharacter” and “myth-symbol-image” approaches have fallen short of consensus. Innovations and new directions in other disciplines include approaches and methods we have consideredourprovince and frequently seem to move us in new directions that further fragment our movement.