Citizenship Education and American Nationalism

Citizenship Education and American Nationalism Public Deposited

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Creator

Winkelman, Joel M.
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science

Abstract

Scholars typically think of the United States as an example of civic nationalism, a relatively inclusive nation that is held together by a shared commitment to the civic principles of freedom, equality and toleration. I argue to the contrary, that the American nation is a culturally particular nation whose citizens must conform to more than belief in those principles. To make this case, I examine the process by which non-Americans are assimilated and educated for citizenship, reviewing citizenship education materials— manuals, handbooks and textbooks—from three periods of particularly intense nationalism from the early twentieth century to today. Through this review, I show that citizenship in the United States has historically meant assuming a much more comprehensive identity than the one a civic nationalist account of the American nation might suggest.

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