22 March 2018
Many modern myths of the United States and Europe were formed during war and occupation. Some saw the U.S. as culture’s redeemer. Others saw a stereotypical America, rich in civilization but poor in culture, overtake a stereotypical Europe, rich in culture and equally rich in disaster. Others, reading in the ruins, found wisdom in Moby-Dick. To be an Americanist was to navigate an era of transatlantic projection, disparity, recrimination, and longing.