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America Through Foreign Eyes

Approx. 34 hours to complete

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Course Summary

Explore how America has been perceived by other nations through history and how those perceptions have shaped our current global relationships.

Key Learning Points

Gain a unique perspective on American history and foreign relations
Learn how other cultures have viewed America throughout history
Understand the impact of these perceptions on current global relationships

Learning Outcomes

Develop a nuanced understanding of how America has been perceived by other nations
Analyze the impact of these perceptions on current global relationships
Gain insight into the importance of cultural diplomacy in international politics

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

No prior knowledge of American history or foreign relations required
Open to anyone interested in exploring how America has been perceived by other nations

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Self-paced
Online
Video lectures

Similar Courses

Global Diplomacy – Diplomacy in the Modern World
International Relations
Cultural Intelligence for Leaders

Related Education Paths

Notable People in This Field

Madeleine Albright
Henry Kissinger

Related Books

Description

The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies. The course features five core modules, each covering the perceptions and interactions of particular regions with America, Americans and Americanization.

Outline

Introduction
Chapter 1: Course Overview
Chapter 2: America through Foreign Eyes: Introduction to Course
Chapter 3: Perceptions of Other Cultures: Generalizations, Essentialisms, and Stereotypes
Chapter 4: Student Approaches and Course Material
Welcome Survey (complete before beginning course)
How To Complete This Course
Chapter 1, 2, 3: Further Explorations
Introduction Bibliography
Current Events Reading List
Introduction

America through African Eyes
Chapter 1: Introduction: America Through African Eyes
Chapter 2: Africans Appropriating Americans: Elvis and the Chewa of Malawi
Chapter 3: Africans Appropriating Americans: Tupac Shakur in Sierra Leone
Chapter 4: Africans in America: America through Enslaved Peoples' Eyes
Chapter 5: Africans in America: Sudanese Refugees in America: Navigating America in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 6: Africans in America: Africans and Race in America
Chapter 7: African-Americans and Africans in Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah, American Civil Rights, and Ghanaian Independence
Chapter 8: African-Americans and Africans in Ghana: Slave Tourism: How West Africans see African-American Tourists
2020 Update: Barack Obama through Kenyan Eyes
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Selections from the Narratives of Captured Slaves
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Africa Bibliography
2020 Update: Further Explorations
Africa - Check for Understanding 1
Africa - Check for Understanding 2
America through African Eyes

America Through Chinese Eyes
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Chinese Cultural System
Chapter 2: First Contact with America and the West
Chapter 3: China's Entry Into the World: Opium, the Unequal Treaties and the Exclusion Act
Chapter 4: From Reform to Revolution
Chapter 5: The New Culture Movement
Chapter 6: Madame Chiang Kaishek: A Study in Chinese and American Interactions in the Republican Era
Chapter 7: America as Enemy and as Friend: The Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution and the Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Chapter 8: China's Re-Entry into the World
Chapter 9: Taiwan and Hong Kong
Chapter 10: Voices from China and Taiwan
2020 Update: Geopolitical Crises since 2015
Chen Lei, December 7, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Feng Yu, December 7, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Jorge Liu, August 17, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Li Zhonggui, August 13, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
China Bibliography
China - Check for Understanding 1
China - Check for Understanding 2
America through Chinese Eyes

America Through French Eyes
Chapter 1: France and America: Friend and Foe
Chapter 2: America: Land of Democracy
Chapter 3: America = Modernity
Chapter 4: American Capitalism: Mass Production, Mass Consumption, and Inequality
Chapter 5: Globalization and the Cultural Exception
Chapter 6: Racism and Xenophobia in the United States and France
Chapter 7: Religion and Secularism
Chapter 8: Franco-American Cultural Exchange: Art, Artists, and Art Patrons
Chapter 9: Intellectual Life: The American University
Chapter 9: Simone de Beauvoir at Rice, by Melissa Kean
Chapter 10: America as Hyperreality
2020 Update: France Averts its Gaze
Marie Darrieussecq, May 20, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Eric Fassin, May 19, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Fabrice Morel, May 22, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Jean-Loup Chrétien, December 7, 2016, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
France Bibliography
France - Check for Understanding 1
France - Check for Understanding 2
America through French Eyes

America Through Mexican Eyes
Chapter 1: America through Mexican Eyes: Inseparable Histories
Chapter 2: The Gringo, Yankee, and American
Chapter 3: Immigration
Chapter 4: Racism
Chapter 5: Religion
Chapter 6: Temples of Knowledge: Education, Universities and Libraries
Chapter 7: Food
Chapter 8: American Women
Chapter 9: Capitalism and Modernity
Chapter 10: Democracy and Empire
2020 Update: Post-2016: A low point in US-Mexico relations
Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
Mexico Bibliography
Mexico - Check for Understanding 1
Mexico - Check for Understanding 2
America through Mexican Eyes

America through Russian Eyes
Chapter 1: Russia and the United States: Competing Systems, Failed Dialogues
Chapter 2: Russian Serfs, American Slaves
Chapter 3: The Russian Revolution and American Modernity
Chapter 4: Soviet Hollywood
Chapter 5: Soviet Perceptions of Race in America
Chapter 6: The American National Exhibition, Moscow 1959
Chapter 7: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Chapter 8: Russian Immigrants in the United States
Chapter 9: America, the Model of Democracy: Russia in the 1990s
Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Russia Bibliography
America through Russian Eyes

Reversing the Gaze
Chapter 1: Reversing the Gaze: Africa through American Eyes
Chapter 2: Reversing the Gaze: China through American Eyes
Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Fung
Chapter 3: Reversing the Gaze: France through American Eyes
Chapter 4: Reversing the Gaze: Mexico through American Eyes
Chapter 5: Reversing the Gaze: Russia through American Eyes
Rice Students Discuss America Through Foreign Eyes
End-of-Course Survey (complete after finishing the course)

Summary of User Reviews

Discover America's history and culture through the eyes of foreigners in this highly rated course. Users praise the engaging lectures and insightful perspectives of the course. However, some users note that the course could benefit from more interactive elements and a clearer structure.

Pros from User Reviews

Engaging lectures
Insightful perspectives
Interesting subject matter

Cons from User Reviews

Lack of interactive elements
Unclear structure
Some technical difficulties
Some lectures are repetitive
Not enough depth in some topics

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