Page 13 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 13
American Dream Studies in the 21st Century:
An American Perspective
Robert C. Hauhart
Introduction
In a paper published a few years ago I argued (somewhat tongue in
cheek) that the United States’ most common export is not McDon-
ald’s hamburgers, Levi’s jeans, nor rock n’ roll; rather, it is the Ameri-
can Dream. (Hauhart, 2011) However, although perhaps not entirely se-
rious at the time, the publication of this special issue of the journal in
Slovenia leads me to believe I may have been on to something: the Ameri-
can Dream is known and of interest across the globe, not just in the Unit-
ed States. The iconic phrase is, in fact, a staple of journalistic meditations,
both in the United States and elsewhere as this random sampling of arti-
cles suggests. (“Aarondeep Living the American Dream,” Coventry Tel-
egraph, Coventry, UK (January 20, 2015); Krishnaswamy, V. “American
Dream,” Mail Today, Delhi, India (January 22, 2016); Rifkin, Jeremy.
“Worlds Apart on the Vision Thing,” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ont.,
CAN (August 17, 2004), at A15; Ng, Teddy. “President Living in a Dream
World.” South China Morning Post, Hong Kong (April 4, 2013); “Mi-
chelle Obama and the American Dream.” Turkish Daily News, Ankara,
TR (August 30, 2008); “Holding on to European Dream still a Possibil-
ity.” Irish Times, Dublin, IRL (February 11, 2005); and Sun, Xi. “When
the ‘Chinese Dream’ meets the ‘American Dream.’” Straits Times, Sin-
gapore (May 1, 2013)) Moreover, as the list of book length studies used as
references to this paper, including my own Seeking the American Dream
(2016), suggests there is no dearth of longer examinations of the Dream.
Still, serious research into the American Dream has been less than satis-
11
An American Perspective
Robert C. Hauhart
Introduction
In a paper published a few years ago I argued (somewhat tongue in
cheek) that the United States’ most common export is not McDon-
ald’s hamburgers, Levi’s jeans, nor rock n’ roll; rather, it is the Ameri-
can Dream. (Hauhart, 2011) However, although perhaps not entirely se-
rious at the time, the publication of this special issue of the journal in
Slovenia leads me to believe I may have been on to something: the Ameri-
can Dream is known and of interest across the globe, not just in the Unit-
ed States. The iconic phrase is, in fact, a staple of journalistic meditations,
both in the United States and elsewhere as this random sampling of arti-
cles suggests. (“Aarondeep Living the American Dream,” Coventry Tel-
egraph, Coventry, UK (January 20, 2015); Krishnaswamy, V. “American
Dream,” Mail Today, Delhi, India (January 22, 2016); Rifkin, Jeremy.
“Worlds Apart on the Vision Thing,” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ont.,
CAN (August 17, 2004), at A15; Ng, Teddy. “President Living in a Dream
World.” South China Morning Post, Hong Kong (April 4, 2013); “Mi-
chelle Obama and the American Dream.” Turkish Daily News, Ankara,
TR (August 30, 2008); “Holding on to European Dream still a Possibil-
ity.” Irish Times, Dublin, IRL (February 11, 2005); and Sun, Xi. “When
the ‘Chinese Dream’ meets the ‘American Dream.’” Straits Times, Sin-
gapore (May 1, 2013)) Moreover, as the list of book length studies used as
references to this paper, including my own Seeking the American Dream
(2016), suggests there is no dearth of longer examinations of the Dream.
Still, serious research into the American Dream has been less than satis-
11
