Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History

Edited by: Mary Kupiec Cayton and Peter W. Williams
Published by Charles Scribner's Sons

This Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History surveys the richly layered dimensions of American life in a format that clarifies the many issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience. How is the West defined as a cultural region? What did the notions of "secession" and "union" mean to Americans living in the 1860s? How does Disney pervade and influence perceptions about America today? In more than 200 articles written by scholars and enriched with illustrations, boxed biographies and documentary excerpts from primary sources, American thought and culture is thoroughly explored. The Encyclopedia covers not only historic periods such as the Colonial era and the Reagan era, but also looks at cultural groups such as the working class and cultural institutions and forms such as the university and cinema.

For a list of some of the topics covered in this product click here.

Review:

"Librarians familiar with the Encyclopedia of American Social History (1993, also edited by Cayton) and other titles in the Scribner American Civilization series will recognize the way in which this new set tackles its subject. The introduction describes the approach as a 'systematic reference essay genre' that explores a subject 'more thoroughly than the usual encyclopedia entry and more accessibly than the typical academic journal article.'...The first eight parts constitute a chronological survey of American intellectual and cultural development...The remaining nine parts of the encyclopedia are more thematic, examining broad topics...The set brings together a remarkable array of material and interpretation from across a number of discipline. Although some of the essays are heavy going, others make fascinating reading. It will be at home on the shelves of large public and academic libraries."
-- Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin (September 15, 2001)

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