August 20 - 26 from 9am to 12am
(Except for Sunday, August 23: 11am to 2pm)

Location: Hauptschule Alpbach
Language: English

Chairpersons:

Udo HEBEL, Professor and Chair of American Studies, Department of English and American Studies, Faculty of Languages and Literatures, University of Regensburg
Miles ORVELL, Professor of English and American Studies, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia


Content:
Trust is an essential component of American culture, from its ideological promises, governmental systems, consumer culture, and international relations. Yet in some ways the recent history of the United States - from bank failures to dubiously declared wars - has brought about a crisis of trust, both within the United States and in U.S. global relations.

Understanding the culture of the United States at the present time requires us to look at several inter-related areas of American culture and at the history of trust in American society.  Using a variety of materials (literature, visual materials, film, documents and speeches), this seminar will explore trust in terms of the following broad areas and agencies:

- The promise of America:  Does the U.S. still offer its citizens and immigrants a vision of the American Dream?

- Trusting the government:  Can individual rights be balanced against state power? 

- Trusting self and trusting others: Is the culture of individualism still alive?  How strong is collectivism?

- Trusting the corporation: What are the responsibilities of businesses? To whom are they responsible?

- Trusting the media:  Given an absolute dependence on information, can Americans believe what they see and hear?

- Trusting science and trusting religion:  In the face of our technological challenges, how do science and religion compete for authority in the U.S.?