MACMILLAN Seeking the American Dream: A Sociological Inquiry

Historically, the United States has been viewed by generations of immigrants as the land of opportunity, where through hard work one can prosper and make a better life. The American Dream is perhaps the United States’ most common export. For many Americans, though, questions remain about whether the American Dream can be achieved in the twenty-first century. Americans, faced with global competition and increased social complexity, wonder whether their dwindling natural resources, polarized national and local politics, and often unregulated capitalism can support the American Dream today. This book examines the ideas and experiences that have formed the American Dream, assesses its meaning for Americans, and evaluates its prospects for the future. Review “In terms of subject matter, Seeking the American Dream: A Sociological Inquiry could not be more timely. … As such, the book is, above all, a comprehensive literature review of sociological analyses of the American Dream. … Hauhart has written a valuable book. It should serve as an important reference guide for those eager to conduct research on the American Dream as well as those interested in teaching courses on it.” (Francesco Duina, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 47 (5), 2018) Review “There have been countless invocations, but fewer searching studies, of the American Dream. What makes Hauhart's work notable is the care this book shows in conceptualizing the Dream and the systematic attempt to ground it in previous scholarship on the subject. A valuable contribution to understanding a (perhaps amazingly) persistent national myth.” (Jim Cullen, author of The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation) “Hauhart’s book is at once laser-focused and wide-ranging. It is focused in its sustained attention to a single core cultural symbol in American society. It is wide-ranging in its synthesis of analyses addressing that symbol over a century and across multiple disciplines and venues. Hauhart’s historical framework allows him to trace both changes and constants in the meaning – and the attainability – of the American Dream, and allows the book as a whole to serve as a sharp lens for understanding broader dynamics in American society, including meritocracy, polarization, and individualism. It is this ‘heaven in a grain of sand’ approach that will appeal to students of American culture and to those interested in the impacts of the economic changes that have reshaped class landscapes in recent decades. It might be read productively as a text in a variety of classes, and as a synthetic review of a century of analyses of the American Dream for popular audiences.” (Dennis Downey, Professor and Chair of Sociology, California State University at Channel Islands, USA, and Faculty Director for the Center for Community Engagement, Amherst College, USA) “Seeking the American Dream is an excellent study of America’s guiding ideal from a sociological perspective. Unlike previous studies, many of which took an economic perspective, Hauhart shows what sociological studies over the course of American history have told us about how people of various backgrounds actually lived, what they believed, and what they sought to achieve for themselves and their children. This is a study of the American Dream as it was lived and experienced by real people and as it was studied and reported by the sociologists among them. It will benefit a wide range of readers.” (Cal Jillson, Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University, USA, and author of Pursuing the American Dream: Opportunity and Exclusion Over Four Centuries) “Always a timely topic, this book offers a thorough examination of the American Dream before it even had a name. An engaging journey through the studies of key scholars gives us a comprehensive and clear understanding of the loaded meaning the American Dream contains today.” (Karen Sternheimer, Associate Profes