MACMILLAN American National Identity, Policy Paradigms, and Higher Education: A History of the Relationship between Higher Education and the United States, 1862–2015

This volume examines the role of higher education in producing and reproducing American cultural identity from 1862 to 2015 and considers whether changes in federal policy regarding higher education result in paradigm shifts that directly impact the purpose of higher education. American institutions of higher education have served as a beacon of American idealism and identity since the foundation of the earliest universities.  As the nation developed, higher education matured and maintained a position of importance in the future of the nation.  While the university has perpetuated American national cultural identity, the nation-state has resourced and legitimated the university, inextricably linking national identity and higher education. In this historical analysis, the relationship between national identity, federal legislation, and higher education is established, and an identity of superiority, defined in economic terms, reinforced by higher education, is revealed. Review “This book takes the study of higher education in bold new directions. This theoretically rigorous and empirically grounded study offers a pioneering account of higher education and American national identity. It situates higher education within complex historical, cultural, and policy contexts, problematizes contemporary policy assumptions, and raises critical questions about the future of higher education.” (David F. Ayers, Associate Professor of Community College Leadership, Old Dominion University, USA) From the Back Cover This volume examines the role of higher education in producing and reproducing American cultural identity from 1862 to 2015 and considers whether changes in federal policy regarding higher education result in paradigm shifts that directly impact the purpose of higher education. American institutions of higher education have served as a beacon of American idealism and identity since the foundation of the earliest universities.  As the nation developed, higher education matured and maintained a position of importance in the future of the nation.  While the university has perpetuated American national cultural identity, the nation-state has resourced and legitimated the university, inextricably linking national identity and higher education. In this historical analysis, the relationship between national identity, federal legislation, and higher education is established, and an identity of superiority, defined in economic terms, reinforced by higher education, is revealed. About the Author Allison L. Palmadessa is Assistant Professor of History and Coordinator of Social Studies Licensure, Greensboro College, USA.