In his Second Treatise of Government (1690), John Locke famously wrote that “in the beginning, all the world was America.” For Locke, America symbolized ideologically neutral ground, a kind of geographic blank slate upon which our natural rights would flourish unencumbered by corrupt political laws or restrictive theological mandates. In principle, Locke’s metaphor has hovered over the laws and sociopolitical initiatives of the United States since its founding, and it remains the core ideal behind the “American Dream,” or the powerful myth that anyone can achieve wealth, status, and “happiness” here regardless of their initial circumstances.

In practice, however, the American Dream -- and its central premise of ideological neutrality -- has proved far more complicated and contentious. In this class, we will read literary and cultural materials that both promote and problematize the American Dream, exploring how it has informed specific policies and (often conflicting) beliefs associated with such issues as nationalism, race, class, assimilation, and immigration. Writers will include Benedict Anderson, David Roediger, Horatio Alger, Anzia Yezierska, Frank Webb, Herman Melville, and Jamaica Kincaid.