ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses icons and semiotic theory about the second topic in the title: American culture and society. There have been countless books about American culture, character, society and politics by foreign travelers, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, pop culturists, media theorists, cultural studies theorists, and scholars in many other disciplines. DeTocqueville, a Frenchman who visited the United States in 1831, is generally considered to have written one of the most incisive interpretations of American culture and politics. He focused attention on the egalitarian institutions and coined the term 'individualism', to describe an important aspect of the American national character. The chapter discusses several analyses of American culture and society, starting with one of the most famous and insightful works, Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. DeTocqueville was impressed by the egalitarian nature of American society and used our egalitarianism to help explain American character, society and politics.
