Overview

The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream: Volume 3 explores the social, economic, and cultural aspects of the American Dream in both theory and reality in the twenty-first century. This collection of essays brings together leading scholars from a range of fields to further develop the themes and issues explored in the previous two volumes. The concept of the American Dream, first expounded by James Truslow Adams in The Epic of America in 1931, is at once both ubiquitous and difficult to define. The term perfectly captures the hopes of freedom, opportunity, and upward social mobility invested in the nation. However, the American Dream appears increasingly illusory in the face of widening inequality and apparent lack of opportunity, particularly for the poor and ethnic, or otherwise marginalized, minorities in the United States. As such, an understanding of the American Dream through both theoretical analyses and empirical studies, whether qualitative or quantitative, is crucial to understanding contemporary America. Like the previous volumes of The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream, this collection will be of great interest to students and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences.

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9781032756110

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream provides an excellent overview on the promises and pitfalls of one of the world's most powerful ideas and ideologies. A must-read for everyone interested in understanding the history and present of the United States."" Johannes Drerup, Professor of Education, Technical University of Dortmund, Germany ""Whether the reader is a historian, a professional in the social sciences or humanities, or simply a student inquiring into the American Dream, there is nowhere better to begin or continue one’s interest in the United States and its dominant cultural mythos than here."" Oto Luthar, Director of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia ""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of sociology, American Studies, and cultural studies. The detailed analyses provided in the book offer nuanced, probing insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the evolving discourse on the American Dream."" Mary Scherer, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Sam Houston State University in Contemporary Sociology 54/1 (2025)

""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream provides an excellent overview on the promises and pitfalls of one of the world's most powerful ideas and ideologies. A must-read for everyone interested in understanding the history and present of the United States."" Johannes Drerup, Professor of Education, Technical University of Dortmund, Germany ""Whether the reader is a historian, a professional in the social sciences or humanities, or simply a student inquiring into the American Dream, there is nowhere better to begin or continue one’s interest in the United States and its dominant cultural mythos than here."" Oto Luthar, Director of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia ""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of sociology, American Studies, and cultural studies. The detailed analyses provided in the book offer nuanced, probing insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the evolving discourse on the American Dream."" Mary Scherer, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, United States

""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream provides an excellent overview on the promises and pitfalls of one of the world's most powerful ideas and ideologies. A must-read for everyone interested in understanding the history and present of the United States."" Johannes Drerup, Professor of Education, Technical University of Dortmund, Germany ""Whether the reader is a historian, a professional in the social sciences or humanities, or simply a student inquiring into the American Dream, there is nowhere better to begin or continue one’s interest in the United States and its dominant cultural mythos than here."" Oto Luthar, Director of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia ""The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of sociology, American Studies, and cultural studies. The detailed analyses provided in the book offer nuanced, probing insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the evolving discourse on the American Dream."" Mary Scherer, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Sam Houston State University

Author Information

Robert C. Hauhart is a Professor at Saint Martin’s University, Lacey, Washington, USA. He has written or edited twelve books including The Lonely Quest (2018), Seeking the American Dream (2016), Designing and Teaching Undergraduate Capstone Courses (2015), and the first two volumes of The Routledge Handbook on the American Dream. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the Research Center for the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2019. Mitja Sardoč is Senior Research Associate at the Educational Research Institute, where he is Head of Centre for the Philosophy of Education, and researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is editor of numerous books and reference works including the Handbook of Patriotism, The Impacts of Neoliberal Discourse and Language in Education, The Palgrave Handbook of Toleration, Handbook of Equality of Opportunity, and Talents and Distributive Justice. He is Managing Editor of Theory and Research in Education. Tomaž Deželan is Professor of Political Science at the University of Ljubljana and American Studies doctoral study coordinator. He holds the Jean Monnet Chair for Civic Education and has acted as advisor for the fields of higher education, citizenship, and youth to many international organizations (e.g. OSCE, IDEA, Council of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament), governments, and private initiatives. He has coordinated many European research projects and published widely.

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