Page 148 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
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šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
lation – both in thoughts and in (political) praxis. The American dream
and the enlightenment overlap in more than one sense and they certain-
ly both include in their core an idea of the emancipative role of education.
American Dream is not just a Trope
When the topic of a discussion is a syntagm, which is actually a conden-
sation of multiple meanings, it is difficult to conceive any final definition
or clarification of it. The idea – assuming that it is not only an empty sig-
nifier – of the American Dream is undoubtedly such a syntagm. In Cyril
Ghosh’s words, “/…/ the American Dream is an ‘essentially contested con-
cept’ that does not lend itself easily to definitions” (2013: p. 2). At the same
time an abundance of “definitions” is extant. These different definitions
permeate many discourses, from political rhetoric to literary narratives,
and undoubtedly many casual daily conversations. Educational discours-
es make no exception among them. Therefore, in spite of the difficulties of
defining the idea, it looks as if the meaning of the notion of the American
Dream is generally known. Ghosh finds out that in spite of many refer-
ences especially in the American political theory, there is a “scholarly vac-
uum” as far as the analysis of the concept is concerned. “Perhaps political
theorists, like most people in the United States, assume the concept to be
self-evident to the point that it requires, or even merits, no further clari-
fication” (ibid.: p. 6). In probably the most exhaustive book on the mean-
ings of the American Dream written so far, Ghosh persuasively demon-
strates that the concept of the American Dream is not just a trope and
he argues that the notion is an ideological term. “It is important to rec-
ognize that the American Dream is a quintessentially twentieth-centu-
ry iteration of the vision of New England settlers” (ibid., p 7). The author
then continues by emphasizing that “imbricated relationship between the
ideas of work, virtue, and happiness” has been around since the start and
that the American Dream is “an artefact of the twentieth century” (ibid.).
Some verified historical facts clearly confirm this claim, considering that
it is known who first uttered the word and when.2 Throughout the book,
Ghosh recalls and explains, but he also sometimes disputes, widely known
facts and beliefs about the historical roots of the American Dream. Thus,
he actually demonstrates that the analysis of the idea finally becomes an
analysis of the American political culture. Individualism, equal opportu-
2 Ghosh and, indeed, many other authors as well as encyclopaedias and histories report that
the historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, James Truslow Adams, is supposed to be the first,
who in 1931 defined the term in a sense that everyone should be given the opportunity for
attaining a rich life regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. Before him in the
19th Century, the popular writer Horatio Alger in his extensive fiction produced the myth
of “rags-to-riches”, but in fact he did not invent the idea of the American Dream.
146
lation – both in thoughts and in (political) praxis. The American dream
and the enlightenment overlap in more than one sense and they certain-
ly both include in their core an idea of the emancipative role of education.
American Dream is not just a Trope
When the topic of a discussion is a syntagm, which is actually a conden-
sation of multiple meanings, it is difficult to conceive any final definition
or clarification of it. The idea – assuming that it is not only an empty sig-
nifier – of the American Dream is undoubtedly such a syntagm. In Cyril
Ghosh’s words, “/…/ the American Dream is an ‘essentially contested con-
cept’ that does not lend itself easily to definitions” (2013: p. 2). At the same
time an abundance of “definitions” is extant. These different definitions
permeate many discourses, from political rhetoric to literary narratives,
and undoubtedly many casual daily conversations. Educational discours-
es make no exception among them. Therefore, in spite of the difficulties of
defining the idea, it looks as if the meaning of the notion of the American
Dream is generally known. Ghosh finds out that in spite of many refer-
ences especially in the American political theory, there is a “scholarly vac-
uum” as far as the analysis of the concept is concerned. “Perhaps political
theorists, like most people in the United States, assume the concept to be
self-evident to the point that it requires, or even merits, no further clari-
fication” (ibid.: p. 6). In probably the most exhaustive book on the mean-
ings of the American Dream written so far, Ghosh persuasively demon-
strates that the concept of the American Dream is not just a trope and
he argues that the notion is an ideological term. “It is important to rec-
ognize that the American Dream is a quintessentially twentieth-centu-
ry iteration of the vision of New England settlers” (ibid., p 7). The author
then continues by emphasizing that “imbricated relationship between the
ideas of work, virtue, and happiness” has been around since the start and
that the American Dream is “an artefact of the twentieth century” (ibid.).
Some verified historical facts clearly confirm this claim, considering that
it is known who first uttered the word and when.2 Throughout the book,
Ghosh recalls and explains, but he also sometimes disputes, widely known
facts and beliefs about the historical roots of the American Dream. Thus,
he actually demonstrates that the analysis of the idea finally becomes an
analysis of the American political culture. Individualism, equal opportu-
2 Ghosh and, indeed, many other authors as well as encyclopaedias and histories report that
the historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, James Truslow Adams, is supposed to be the first,
who in 1931 defined the term in a sense that everyone should be given the opportunity for
attaining a rich life regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. Before him in the
19th Century, the popular writer Horatio Alger in his extensive fiction produced the myth
of “rags-to-riches”, but in fact he did not invent the idea of the American Dream.
146
