title: The coinage of the term American Exceptionalism and its original meanings
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Adamova, Nina Eduardovna
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2017-05-18T13:07:29Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2017-05-18T13:07:29Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2017-03
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Adamova N. E. The coinage of the term American Exceptionalism and its original meanings. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 2017, vol. 62, issue 1, pp. 106–119.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: 10.21638/11701/spbu02.2017.109
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/6367
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: Within the past two decades, ‘American exceptionalism’ has become a trendy term both in political
  debates and academic discussions. Today, the words ‘American exceptionalism’ generally imply either
  the uniqueness or superiority of a number of American features over those of the rest of the world.
  However, the term originally had little in common with such interpretations when it was coined in a
  controversy among American Communists in 1920s. Relying on the publications of various Marxist
  factions in the USA and documents of the Comintern, this paper aims to trace the early history of the
  term ‘American exceptionalism’ in the 1920 and 1930s and to deconstruct related concepts. It is argued
  that even solely within Marxist discourse the term ‘American exceptionalism’ had several meanings
  and all of them differed considerably from contemporary definitions. First, it was used sarcastically
  to address the members of the Communist Party who did not believe that the crisis of capitalism had
  already started in America. Then, the interpretations of the term ranged from the belief in the exceptional
  impeccability of the Comintern under the Soviet leadership, to the claims that exceptional features
  of American imperialism should be taken as evidence of Lenin’s theory of uneven development.
  The paper also outlines the concepts, which ‘American exceptionalism’ tended to imply later, from the
  1940s to 1960s both inside and outside Marxist discourse. In addition, the paper employs a range of
  methods suitable for analysing any myths of exceptionalism, with special attention to Roland Barthes’
  theory of mythological systems. Finally, the paper suggests a definition of exceptionalism, which may
  be used as a starting point for the historical study of similar myths. Refs 46.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: en
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Vestnik of St Petersburg University. History;Volume 62; Issue 1
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: American exceptionalism
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Lovestone
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Foster
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Comintern
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Communist Party of the USA
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: CPUSA
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Marxism
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: consensus history
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Daniel Bell
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: identity
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: the theory of myth
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Barthes
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: The coinage of the term American Exceptionalism and its original meanings
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 09-Adamova.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/6367/1/09-Adamova.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 658,36 kB