Defining 'America'

Although Gruesz makes reference to the contested definition of the keyword 'America' in populist terms such as geography and origin, the focus of her essay emphasises the importance of the contextural in understanding the usage of keywords in the field of American Studies. The context is multi-faceted and may be a product of time, author, audience and scope (the when, why, and by whom, of usage). Gruesz uses examples to illustrate the importance of understanding these elements in both transmission and reception of words - in this case 'America'.

Her reference to Walt Whitman is one such example (she's an authentic source on him). His use of the term 'America' is described relative to his ideology ('the heterogeneous mixing of immigrants into a "race of races"') and his political views ('expansionist'), and also his era and biography - nineteenth century United States native in this case. Against that context, our understanding (reception) of Whitman's 'America' would differ from his understanding (transmission). Likewise the term 'Americanisation' appears 'self evident' to some in its contemporary definition - a populist term for global cultural homogenisation by the United States. However, a century ago it would have been equally 'self-evident' that the term referred to the process of cultural assimilation under which immigrants became 'Americans'.

Her essay emphasises the requirement to challenge our understanding of the usage of 'America' whilst also suggesting the scope of a contemporary definition - a scope which invokes an explicit pluralism. Dare I suggest that given Ms Gruesz Hispanic ancestry (and areas of academic interest) this may illustrate her particular position on the debate of 'America' as 'a narrative of shared origins' in which she stakes her specific group's 'claim' to 'primacy and symbolic..... ancestry of the Americas'.