Page 203 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 203
abstracts
blikovano različico pozitivne diskriminacije, ki upošteva socialno-ekon-
omsko ozadje. Nenazadnje obstajajo tudi tisti, ki zagovarjajo zamenjavo
pozitivne diskriminacije z načrtovanimi odstotki, ki predstavljajo rasno
nevtralne načrte, ki pa imajo kljub temu kot posledico zagotavljanje ras-
no in socialnoekonomsko raznolikih učilnic v državnih visokošolskih us-
tanovah. V tem članku predlagam, da so izmed vseh predlogov načrtovani
odstotki najbolj usklajeni s splošno popularno ideologijo ameriških sanj
in imajo zatorej lahko potencialno najširšo možno podporo Američanov
v okviru celotnega ideološkega spektra. Ti načrti zagotavljajo tudi zasto-
panje socialno-ekonomske in rasne raznolikosti na način, ki nobeni skupi-
ni ljudi ne daje “prednostnega” obravnavanja in zato pri ameriškem preb-
ivalstvu uživajo široko podporo.
Ključne besede: pozitivna diskriminacija, načrtovani odstotki, ameriške
sanje, enake možnosti, meritokracija
THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND ARCHETYPAL TRACES IN THE
AMERICAN DREAM: EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF THE
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM
Maja Gutman
The concept of the American Dream has been present in modern socie-
ty for over a century; it has fueled numerous academic discussions in ef-
fort to systematically understand its functions and implications on cul-
ture and society. As proposed in this paper, the potency of the American
Dream lies precisely in its intriguing and well-defined structure; the idea
of prosperity and the pursuit of happiness, which is to be achieved through
hard work, can be argued as a fairly stable and consistent maxima, that not
only fits into different historical contexts, but also into different cultural
systems. Furthermore, it can be argued that even if the concept is a result
of careful considerations that converge with contemporary dominant sys-
tem of social and cultural values, its power lies in intrinsic double aspect,
which surpasses the social engineering objectives. Moreover, the power
of the concept comes from its fundamental properties; the first property
can be attributed to narrative functions, and the second to the function
of an archetype, which, by default, consists of an intriguing binary aspect.
This paper aims to analyze the narrative and archetypal frameworks of the
American Dream and demonstrate, how the solid structure of this con-
cept forms an invisible modern mythological fabric in modern media rep-
resentations, and more broadly, popular culture.
Keywords: narrative structure, hero-archetype, symbolism, media con-
structs
201
blikovano različico pozitivne diskriminacije, ki upošteva socialno-ekon-
omsko ozadje. Nenazadnje obstajajo tudi tisti, ki zagovarjajo zamenjavo
pozitivne diskriminacije z načrtovanimi odstotki, ki predstavljajo rasno
nevtralne načrte, ki pa imajo kljub temu kot posledico zagotavljanje ras-
no in socialnoekonomsko raznolikih učilnic v državnih visokošolskih us-
tanovah. V tem članku predlagam, da so izmed vseh predlogov načrtovani
odstotki najbolj usklajeni s splošno popularno ideologijo ameriških sanj
in imajo zatorej lahko potencialno najširšo možno podporo Američanov
v okviru celotnega ideološkega spektra. Ti načrti zagotavljajo tudi zasto-
panje socialno-ekonomske in rasne raznolikosti na način, ki nobeni skupi-
ni ljudi ne daje “prednostnega” obravnavanja in zato pri ameriškem preb-
ivalstvu uživajo široko podporo.
Ključne besede: pozitivna diskriminacija, načrtovani odstotki, ameriške
sanje, enake možnosti, meritokracija
THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND ARCHETYPAL TRACES IN THE
AMERICAN DREAM: EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF THE
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM
Maja Gutman
The concept of the American Dream has been present in modern socie-
ty for over a century; it has fueled numerous academic discussions in ef-
fort to systematically understand its functions and implications on cul-
ture and society. As proposed in this paper, the potency of the American
Dream lies precisely in its intriguing and well-defined structure; the idea
of prosperity and the pursuit of happiness, which is to be achieved through
hard work, can be argued as a fairly stable and consistent maxima, that not
only fits into different historical contexts, but also into different cultural
systems. Furthermore, it can be argued that even if the concept is a result
of careful considerations that converge with contemporary dominant sys-
tem of social and cultural values, its power lies in intrinsic double aspect,
which surpasses the social engineering objectives. Moreover, the power
of the concept comes from its fundamental properties; the first property
can be attributed to narrative functions, and the second to the function
of an archetype, which, by default, consists of an intriguing binary aspect.
This paper aims to analyze the narrative and archetypal frameworks of the
American Dream and demonstrate, how the solid structure of this con-
cept forms an invisible modern mythological fabric in modern media rep-
resentations, and more broadly, popular culture.
Keywords: narrative structure, hero-archetype, symbolism, media con-
structs
201
