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3 books match the query 'American Values'

cover of American Values, Religious Voices, Volume 2: Letters of Hope from People of Faith

American Values, Religious Voices, Volume 2

Letters of Hope from People of Faith

Edited by Andrea Weiss and Lisa Weinberger

University of Minnesota Press, 2022

Religious scholars and leaders engage in a nonpartisan letter-writing campaign following the 2021 Presidential inauguration.

In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, biblical scholar Andrea L. Weiss and graphic designer Lisa M. Weinberger teamed up to create Values & Voices, a national nonpartisan campaign that used letters and social media to highlight core American values connected to our diverse religious traditions. The result was American Values, Religious Voices: 100 Days, 100 Letters, a collection of one hundred letters written by some of America's most accomplished and thoughtful scholars of religion interspersed with original artwork during the first one hundred days of the Trump presidency.

In 2021, Weiss and Weinberger invited religious scholars and leaders to address President Biden, Vice President Harris, and members of the 117th Congress in their national letter writing and social media campaign. During the first 100 days of the Biden administration, religious leaders from across the country and from a range of religious denominations once again sent one letter a day to elected leaders in Washington. These letters bring an array of religious texts and teachings to bear on our most pressing contemporary issues. Arranged chronologically, the 2021 edition features 59 returning letter writers and 42 new scholars, new artwork, original essays, and and a new section focused on putting the letters into practice by using them for teaching, preaching, meditative practice, civic activism, and more. An alternate table of contents arranged by core values that emerged in the letters over the 100 days allows for thematic reading.
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cover of American Values, Religious Voices: 100 Days. 100 Letters

American Values, Religious Voices

100 Days. 100 Letters

Andrea L. Weiss and Lisa M. Weinberger

University of Minnesota Press, 2018

In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, many Americans questioned how to respond to the results and the deep divisions in our country exposed by the campaign. Many people of faith turned to their religious communities for guidance and support. Many looked for ways to take action. In November 2016, biblical scholar Andrea L. Weiss and graphic designer Lisa M. Weinberger teamed up to create an innovative response: a national nonpartisan campaign that used letters and social media to highlight core American values connected to our diverse religious traditions.
 
American Values, Religious Voices: 100 Days, 100 Letters is a collection of letters written by some of America’s most accomplished and thoughtful scholars of religion during the first 100 days of the Trump presidency. While the letters are addressed to the president, vice president, and members of the 115th Congress and Trump administration, they speak to a broad audience of Americans looking for wisdom and encouragement at this tumultuous time in our nation’s history.
 
This unique volume assembles the 100 letters, plus four new supplemental essays and many of the graphic illustrations that enhanced the campaign.
 
Published near the midway point of the Trump presidency, this book showcases a wide range of ancient sacred texts that pertain to our most pressing contemporary issues. At a time of great division in our country, this post-election project models how people of different backgrounds can listen to and learn from one another. The letters offer insight and inspiration, reminding us of the enduring values that make our nation great.
 
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cover of Look Closer: Suburban Narratives and American Values in Film and Television

Look Closer

Suburban Narratives and American Values in Film and Television

Coon, David R

Rutgers University Press, 2013

In recent years, the media landscape in the United States has followed a pattern similar to that of the physical landscape by becoming increasingly suburbanized. Although it is a far cry from reality, the fantasy of a perfect suburban life still exists in the collective imagination of millions of Americans. This dream of suburban perfection is built around a variety of such ideologically conservative values and ideals as the importance of tradition, the centrality of the nuclear family, the desire for a community of like-minded neighbors, the need for clearly defined gender roles, and the belief that with hard work and determination, anyone can succeed.

Building on the relationships between suburban life and American identity, Look Closer examines and interprets recent narratives that challenge the suburban ideal to reveal how directors and producers are mobilizing the spaces of suburbia to tell new kinds of stories about America. David R. Coon argues that the myth of suburban perfection, popularized by postwar sitcoms and advertisements, continues to symbolize a range of intensely debated issues related to tradition, family, gender, race, and citizenship. Through close examinations of such films as American Beauty, The Truman Show, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith as well as such television series as Desperate Housewives, Weeds, and Big Love, the book demonstrates how suburbia is used to critique the ideologies that underpin the suburban American Dream.

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