Overview
Americans have always shown a fascination with the people, customs, and legends of the """"East""""--witness the popularity of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the performances of Arab belly dancers and acrobats, the feats of turban-wearing vaudeville magicians, and even the antics of fez-topped Shriners. In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression. According to Nance, these traditions reveal how a broad spectrum of Americans, including recent immigrants and impersonators, behaved as producers and consumers in a rapidly developing capitalist economy. In admiration of the Arabian Nights, people creatively reenacted Eastern life, but these performances were also demonstrations of Americans' own identities, Nance argues. The story of Aladdin, made suddenly rich by rubbing an old lamp, stood as a particularly apt metaphor for how consumer capitalism might benefit each person. The leisure, abundance, and contentment that many imagined were typical of Eastern life were the same characteristics used to define """"the American dream."""" The recent success of Disney's Aladdin movies suggests that many Americans still welcome an interpretation of the East as a site of incredible riches, romance, and happy endings. This abundantly illustrated account is the first by a historian to explain why and how so many Americans sought out such cultural engagement with the Eastern world long before geopolitical concerns became paramount.
Full Product Details
Author: Susan Nance
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Edition: New edition
Dimensions:
Width: 15.40cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 23.30cm
Weight: 0.555kg
ISBN: 9781469614953
ISBN 10: 1469614952
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 01 March 2014
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
Surprises with its persuasiveness and originality.-- Saudi Aramco World
This engaging, thoroughly researched look into an intriguing facet of US cultural identity is well worth the read. -- Choice
[This] is a well-researched and engaging study of a wide variety of people....The strength of the book is its dense archival research.--Journal of American Studies
[This] is a well-researched and engaging study of a wide variety of people .The strength of the book is its dense archival research.-- Journal of American Studies
Author Information
Susan Nance is assistant professor of U.S. history at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
