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Elsewhere in America
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Elsewhere in America

The Crisis of Belonging in Contemporary Culture

Elsewhere in America

The Crisis of Belonging in Contemporary Culture

ByDavid Trend
Edition 1st Edition
First Published 2016
eBook Published 28 April 2016
Pub. location New York
Imprint Routledge
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623245
Pages 316 pages
eBook ISBN 9781317225430
SubjectsArea Studies, Social Sciences
Get Citation

Get Citation

Trend, D. (2016). Elsewhere in America. New York: Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623245
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract
CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract
ABOUT THIS BOOK
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract

Americans think of their country as a welcoming place where everyone has equal opportunity. Yet historical baggage and anxious times can restrain these possibilities. Newcomers often find that civic belonging comes with strings attached––riddled with limitations or legally punitive rites of passage. For those already here, new challenges to civic belonging emerge on the basis of belief, behavior, or heritage. This book uses the term "elsewhere" in describing conditions that exile so many citizens to "some other place" through prejudice, competition, or discordant belief. Yet, in another way, "elsewhere" evokes an undefined "not yet" ripe with potential. In the face of America’s daunting challenges, can "elsewhere" point to optimism, hope, and common purpose?

Through 12 detailed chapters, the book applies critical theory in the humanities and social sciences to examine recurring crises of social inclusion in the U.S. After two centuries of incremental "progress" in securing human dignity, today the U.S. finds itself torn by new conflicts over reproductive rights, immigration, health care, religious extremism, sexual orientation, mental illness, and fear of terrorists. Is there a way of explaining this recurring tendency of Americans to turn against each other? Elsewhere in America engages these questions, charting the ever-changing faces of difference (manifest in contested landscapes of sex and race to such areas as disability and mental health), their spectral and intersectional character (recent discourses on performativity, normativity, and queer theory), and the grounds on which categories are manifest in ideation and movement politics (metapolitics, cosmopolitanism, dismodernism).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |6 pages
Belonging Where? Introduction
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART I Belonging There: People like Us
View abstract
chapter 1|19 pages
Makers-and-Takers: When More Is Not Enough
View abstract
chapter 2|25 pages
True Believers: Spiritual Life in a Secular Age
View abstract
chapter 3|17 pages
Ordinary People: The Normal and the Pathological
View abstract
chapter 4|23 pages
Homeland Insecurities: Expecting the Worst
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART II Belonging Somewhere: Blurred Boundaries
View abstract
chapter 5|22 pages
Reality Is Broken: Neoliberalism and the Virtual Economy
View abstract
chapter 6|30 pages
Mistaken Identities: From Color Blindness to Gender Bending
View abstract
chapter 7|25 pages
No Body Is Perfect: Disability in a Posthuman Age
View abstract
chapter 8|25 pages
On the Spectrum: America’s Mental Health Disorder
View abstract
part |4 pages
PART III Belonging Elsewhere: The Subject of Utopia
View abstract
chapter 9|25 pages
Gaming the System: Competition and Its Discontents
View abstract
chapter 10|31 pages
To Affinity and Beyond: The Cyborg and the Cosmopolitan
View abstract
chapter 11|27 pages
Medicating the Problem: America’s New Pharmakon
View abstract
chapter 12|13 pages
The One and the Many: The Ethics of Uncertainty
View abstract
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