Keyword 'Defining America'

Gruesz begins by examining what areas come under the title 'America', thus highlighting the difficulty in defining it. If the term 'America' is in contestation in a geographical sense, then placing a meaning upon it as a national identity becomes increasingly difficult. As Gruesz continues, looking at the history of the name 'America', it appears to become evident that it is an unresolveable argument. As she states, "The continuing life of this debate suggests that what is really at stake is not some ultimate etymological truth but a narrative of shared origins." Greusz looks at how America went from defining itself as settlers with names like "New-England, Nieuw-Amsterdam, Nueva Espana", to a unified nation when, as she puts it, America becomes synonymous with USA. Greusz goes on to look at issues of defining America as a country and an identity from Buffon (1789) to Radway (1998/2002). Gruesz section mentioning 'Americas' studies, shows the plurality of the name, and also her final notes on NAFTA add scope to the examination of the scale of what the geographical term 'America' means.