American Studies and the Concept of Culture

its goals and methods. Part of its uncertainty is due to the skeptical attitudes of some scholars who identify themselves with the older, more respectable and secure disciplines. But despite the matter of prestige, the problem of theory and method is very real. As yet there is no generally recognized theory of American Studies, and thus we do not really know who we are, and what we are doing. There is even disagreement as to whether or not such a theory is desirable at this time. While a number of scholars have suggested theories and methods, others feel that the best procedure is to avoid dogmatic definition of content or method, and to wait for the discipline to define itself through practice. Henry Nash Smith writes: Method in scholarship grows out of practice, or rather out of repeated criticism of practice intended to remedy observed shortcomings.' While those who suggest that practice must come before theory deserve our respect, especially because of their outstanding practical successes, it seems doubtful to me whether anything is to be gained from the neglect of theory, provided that theoretical suggestions are treated as just that, as suggestions, and not as dogmatic attempts to circumscribe a new and developing field. Theory and definition have the value of clarification, of suggesting useful distinctions and possibly fruitful hypotheses. There comes a point when the justification of a new field must exceed a reaction against the narrow perspectives of either the New Criticism or purely quantitative social science. Nor are the suggestions that the defining characteristic of

Art · Culture of the United States · Epistemology · Literature · Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Philosophy

• Prismatics, Multivalence, and Other Riffs on the Millennial Moment

  Open Access•Michael Frisch, Michael J Frisch•American Quarterly•2001

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• The Death of American Studies

  Open Access•Simon J Bronner•European Journal of American…•2018

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