Science Fiction and American Culture » January 28th: American Studies Introduction

January 28th: American Studies Introduction

Announcments

  • Charlotte Motor Speechway was a success!
    Debate had a Semifinalist and 3rd-place overall Speaker
    The Speech Team had numerous awards
  • Debate Practice Open to All
    Tuesdays, 5:30pm – 6:30pm
    Fretwell 219 (this room)
  • $500 stipends for Foundations of American Democracy debates
    Five-six scripted debates for the 2025-2026 school year
    Open to all debate-ready students

Plan for Today

Lyrics to Ponder

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom from choice
Is what you want
Devo. “Freedom of Choice.” Freedom of Choice, Warner Bros., 1980.

Consider: Capitalism is a major American cultural value, and it privileges profits: if it doesn’t make money, it’s not real work. Work is exchanging labor for wages, which then allow citizens–trained by ideology–the freedom to consume.

Definitions for Discussion

Often when dealing with philosophy, rhetoric, and theory, the terms we use aren’t universally understood across disciplines. Meaning(s) is (are) entwined with word usage and history. Therefore, dictionary definitions are often inadequate to grasp the meaning of a term fully. The definitions below are to guide you in ways of thinking about culture as opposed to regurgitating in casual conversation.

  • Critical Theory: [definition not in the reading] often referred to as “theory,” an umbrella term for the many analyses of culture; examining society and culture and their products to understand how culture mediates a society’s ideology. Uncovering the ideology of a culture.
  • Critical Rhetoric: this perspective is in contradiction to an assumed universalist sense of reason in the formation of a discursively constructed reality. “The perspective is useful both for the political speaker, as heuristic in composing discourse, and for the rhetorical critic or audience member responding to that discourse” (Sloane, Encyclopedia of Rhetoric, p. 619). Traditional rhetoric (and all speech acts) persuades if both sender and receiver agree upon logic and reason–they’re “universal.” Critical rhetoric recognizes contexts and situations.

Thomas Jefferson et. al.

I included this reading in order to have us revisit the formal document that establishes (sure, not totally) the United States of America.

  • People should be able to govern based on the consent of those governed (in fact, they are guaranteed this right by nature).
  • After the preamble: notice the listing of abuses. There aren’t heavy details, but there are many abuses the writers point to for why the colonies ought to separate from Britain.
  • In essence, the listing is a group of sound bites that can be used to gather support for rebellion.
  • The Natives: notice the one group (besides the British) that the writers “call out” as particularly aggressive. They seem like…

Whenever the Declaration of Independence is referred to, the main focus is on the beginning paragraphs: “When in the Course of human events…” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Go to the National Archives copy and search “Indian” (use [Ctrl]+F for Chrome browsers). Compare that result with the John Gast painting I linked to on the American Culture page.

James Madison, Federalist Paper 10

As I mentioned last class, we’ll only be discussing Federalist Paper #10. There’s quite a bit to unpack here, and there are many ways to approach this text. Think back to the discussion on discourse communities–a group of people adhereing to intersubjective epistemology, a “faction,” right? If we were in a History or Political Science class, we might think through the historical developments leading to this document and/or the ways in which it influences both the US Constitution and also our contemporary assumptions about the meaning of the Consititution, especially the ellusive nature of “framers intent.”

Although he doesn’t have a musical (overrated or not), James Madison was an important founder of the United States, specifically for his role in creating and supporting the Constitution and Bill of Rights. His background is relevant to specific parts of the Constitution (he was a life-long slave owner), but, remember, our approach to texts is for cultural analysis. One can learn an awful lot about a culture by reviewing the texts of that culture. I’ve selected several passages that are indicative of American culture:

  • para. 1: Complaints are everywhere heard from our most considerate and virtuous citizens, equally the friends of public and private faith, and of public and personal liberty, that our governments are too unstable, that the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties, and that measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.
    • My take on this is that it explains the problem of the tyranny of the majority.
    • For this class, think about this as prevailing social norms making us conform (as opposed to the legal letter of this statement).
  • para 2: By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.
    • I think of this refers to special interests.
  • para. 6: As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves.
    • the former: opinions
      the latter: passions
      therefore, one’s passions “attach themselves” to one’s opinions.
    • We have freedom to create narratives, but nothing compels us to be infallible. Our emotions (or self-interests–mistaken or not) influence our opinions, which are our interpretations of events, observations, reality.
  • para. 7: A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views.
    • Does this mean people with money think differently from those without money?
  • para. 18: In the next place, as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to centre in men who possess the most attractive merit and the most diffusive and established characters.
    • I’m not sure how this relates to this class, but I couldn’t resist pulling this out. To me, it means our elected official from larger pools (governors, Senators, and Presidents) will have the most merit.
  • para. 22: A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State.
    • For this class, the warning about the particular maladies possible in small-scale vs large-scale situations is very relevant.
    • Notice the economic issues Madison is warning about. What do you think a contemporary example might be?

George Washington’s Farewell Address (23 Sept. 1796)

Another rather important founder, George Washinton, had this to say about political factions:

“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism” (Senate.gov, p. 13).

Question for Today

How might Devo’s lyrics below relate to the James Madison’s discussion of factions or majority rule in Federalist Paper #10?

Comment on Two-Party System

There’s a critique of the two dominant American political parties essentially being a monoparty. Of course, the last Presidential Debate underscores this, there are differences between Democrats and Republicans, but, because they hold all the power in the United States, we can consider their totality as a monoparty. Additionally, third parties have almost no chance (especially on the national level) to effect change and win elections. By living in this two-party system, we’re immersed in the assumptions that they’re all that’s possible. The media focus predominantly (almost exclusively) on Democrats and Republicans, which reinforces their normalcy. Political scientists will tell us that the winner-takes-all system is why we have two parties and will point to parliamentary forms of government to demonstrate how proportional representation (percentage of votes) better allows for multiple parties. But that’s only part of the story. Similarly to our discussions on technology, once a system is in place, it’s difficult to conceive of an alternative, so the two-parties continue being entrenched. Disrupting this system would be a monumental, revolutionary task.

The two parties and the vast federal, state, and local bureaucracies maintain the status quo. The monoparty is conservative in that only small, incremental changes will happen, and there will be some back and forth (Roe v. Wade and Dobbs). Our cultural studies approach is to think of the prevailing norms that holds society together. There are always exceptions, so it’s good to avoid universals; however, when you see patterns, it’s unethical to claim that those observations are unexamined assumptions.

Next Class

We’re going to move onto Stanley Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” and two Samuel R. Delany readings: “Aye, and Gomorrah” and “Racism and Science Fiction.” Preview Weekly Discussion Post #3 and set a calendar reminder for Thursdays to make sure you don’t miss any.