🟨 KNOWT SET 2 — CULTURE + IDENTITY

Identity

How a person or group understands who they are.

American Identity

The ideas, values, experiences, and characteristics used to describe what it means to be American.

J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur

An 18th-century writer who asked what makes someone an American.

What Is an American?

Crèvecœur's famous letter explaining how he believed American identity developed.

The American "New Man"

Crèvecœur's idea that Americans became a new type of person because of life in America.

American Identity According to Crèvecœur

Being American comes from a new way of life, government, work, and society rather than only ancestry.

Immigration

Crèvecœur presents America as a place where European immigrants could build a new life.

American Opportunity

Crèvecœur connects America with land, work, freedom, and the chance to improve one's life.

Self-Interest

Crèvecœur says people are motivated by the rewards they receive from their own work.

American Environment

Crèvecœur argues that people's surroundings, government, religion, and work help shape who they become.

Mary Helen Washington

An African American Studies scholar who argues that American Studies should take African American experiences seriously and place them at the center.

African American Studies

A field that studies African American history, culture, experiences, and contributions.

Washington's Main Argument

American Studies becomes stronger when African American Studies and Black experiences are treated as central rather than secondary.

Centering African American Studies

Studying America from African American experiences and perspectives instead of treating them as a side topic.

Marginalization

When a group or perspective is pushed to the side instead of being treated as important.

Interdisciplinarity in Black Studies

Using fields like literature, history, sociology, religion, journalism, music, and art together to study Black experiences.

Critique of American Studies

Washington argues that traditional American Studies did not fully include African American scholarship and perspectives.

Multiple Perspectives

Understanding America through different groups and experiences instead of assuming one experience represents everyone.

Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality

Washington explains that these categories can overlap and affect people's experiences together.

Democratization

Opening American Studies to more voices, topics, and perspectives.