Transcultural visions of identities in images and texts

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This volume, stemming from an international conference honoring Günter H. Lenz at Humboldt University Berlin in February 2005, aims to address Shelley Fisher Fishkin's inquiry about the impact of a transnational focus in American Studies. The editors aspire to challenge the methodological nationalism prevalent in the field. The contributions explore literary, political, and cultural practices in America, both historical and contemporary, seeking to move beyond entrenched paradigms of American “exceptionalism” and the notion of a singular Americanness as a nationalist mythology. Instead, “America” is presented as a signifier shaped by influences beyond its national borders. The volume draws on concepts from the “New American Studies,” particularly “Post-Nationalist American Studies,” signaling a shift in research approaches away from nation-state myths and towards a transnational and intercultural understanding of U.S. culture. This redefinition interprets “America” as a complex interplay of diverse interpellations, where no single perspective dominates. It promotes a dialogic cultural critique and inter- and postnational American culture studies, highlighting the bidirectional processes of transculturation and the competing visions and ideologies that exist both within and outside the United States.