American Identities

Series produced by Hold That Thought

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How do groups and individuals define and express their unique American identities? Scholars of American Culture Studies discuss art, music, religion, the legacy of slavery, and more.

Throughout its history, the United States has been home to a huge range of cultures, ethnicities, lifestyles, and alliances. Within all this diversity, how do groups and individuals define and express their unique American identities? Scholars of American Culture Studies discuss art, music, religion, the legacy of slavery, and more.


10 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Professor Adrienne Davis sits down to talk about the legal side of "irregular" intimate relationships in the US.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 16, 2013
  • Length: 14:30
  • Purchases: 1
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Whether looking at the 1920s or 2013, people's behavior and attitudes toward race are often influenced by factors beyond their own experience and c...

  • Added: Nov 21, 2013
  • Length: 15:45
Caption: In 1912, Abdul-Baha, leader of the Baha'i faith, visited Greenacre, a religious community in Maine founded by Sarah Farmer., Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Spiritual but not religious? Professor Leigh Schmidt uses the story of Sarah Farmer, a 19th-century visionary, to illustrate the ever-present strug...

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 13:10
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Frederic Church, “Our Banner in the Sky” (1861)
Professor Angela Miller uses examples of portraits, landscape and genre paintings, folk art, and more to describe the intersection of American arts...

Bought by WABE


  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 13:58
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: From the FBi file of W.E.B Du Bois
Under longtime director J. Edgar Hoover, for decades FBI agents obsessively read - and even imitated - African-American writing. Dr. William J. Max...

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 11:04
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Brooks of Liverpool, 1789, Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Sowande' Mustakeem reveals the forgotten world of 18th century slave ships, sharing the story of one enslaved woman and discussing why it's so ...

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 11:31
  • Purchases: 1
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Essayist Ula Biss, author of Notes from No Man's Land, offers candid reflections on the role of race in her own life and in American history.

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 11:20
  • Purchases: 1
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Associate professor Patrick Burke reveals how musicians in the 1960s, including the rock band the Godz, resisted predetermined categories and simpl...

  • Added: Oct 30, 2013
  • Length: 14:00
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A musicologist on how this iconic American show tune has been shaped and reshaped over time.

Bought by WABE


  • Added: Sep 10, 2013
  • Length: 14:00
  • Purchases: 1
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Author and American Studies scholar Iver Bernstein discusses the tension between the idea of American unity and the diverse experiences that make u...

  • Added: Sep 09, 2013
  • Length: 12:00