ABSTRACT
One way of demonstrating the usefulness of American studies may be to employ its mix of approaches in discussing recent, tumultuous events in the United States. Knowledge of the American past, to begin with, is helpful in positioning the 6 January attack in a history of insurrectionary actions against forms of power viewed as oppressive by those protesting. Authors considered in the Introduction how the US flag has had variable meanings for African Americans, conjuring up ideas of liberation for some but connotations of violent threat for many more. Angeli’s costuming and body decoration, together with the props he carried, present the authors with an abundance of signs to interpret. In advancing the cause of American studies, however, it is important not to be shrill. The risk of hyperbole is ever-present, as when Edwards and Gaonkar go so far as to claim that critical interest in the United States suffuses the globe.
