Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

America, The Ignorant

'In Europe, if you go to a fancy dinner party and talk about how the Chinese have slitty eyes and are loud, chances are you would not be invited back," says Andrei S. Markovits, author of Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America. "But at the same dinner party no one would think twice about someone saying Yanks are dumb, fat, ugly, uncouth, and on and on. It's a form of prejudice [they] tout." On Wednesday, May 16, Markovits, a professor of comparative politics and German studies at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, will lecture on "Understanding the Rise of Anti-Americanism in Europe" at UCSD.

Markovits argues that, in Europe, the word "American" is often used pejoratively, or "whenever you want to say that something is bad, cheap, uncouth, inauthentic, artificial, but yet also dangerous. What makes it so threatening is that there is a certain form of attractiveness to it; it's alluring. You hate it, and you know it's cheap, and yet somehow you can't quite resist. It's seductive, like pornography."

Markovits stresses that negative sentiments and views of America are driven not only by what America does but by what America "is." In his article "Western Europe's America Problem" written for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Markovits explains that in the German language, amerikanische Bedingungen, or "American conditions," almost always refers to something "at once negative and threatening."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Markovits continues, "In Britain, 'Americanization' and 'American-style' also have an almost exclusively negative connotation -- often with the adjective 'creeping' as a telling modifier in front: 'the creeping Americanization of the car's feel for the road,' 'the cult of guns fueled by creeping Americanization through violent films,'" and so on.

The professor's research revealed that the concept of Americanization connotes "every kind of deterioration in the European world of work." American terms such as "flexibility," "mobility," and "working vacation" have become pervasive in the European business culture. "Yet, rarely, if ever," writes Markovits, "have I read anything about a purported 'Japanization' or -- of increasing relevance -- 'Chinazation' of European work life."

According to Markovits, America has become the face of globalization and modernization, ideologies that represent a potential future for a Europe characterized by homogenization. "Europe in many ways is much more modern than America. The fear is not based in reality; it's an identity issue. If you use a euro, does that mean you are less German? Greeks and Finns do not feel European, but they feel European towards something else, and what is the something else? America. Emotionally, their identity is that they are 'not American.'"

European politicians often exhibit disdain for Americanization. "The best example is the debate about the EU constitution in France, where both sides argued using the concept of Americanization. Chirac wanted the EU constitution to pass because only a strong EU could confront America. Those who were anti-EU said all French should vote against it because the EU would be too much like America."

Markovits says that Europeans abhor Americanization in matters of morality ("America's being the purveyor of the death penalty and of religious fundamentalism, as opposed to Europe's having abolished the death penalty and adhering to an enlightened secularism"), work ethics, sports, schools, and holidays (e.g., American children celebrate Halloween instead of All Saints Day and birthdays rather than "name days"). "It's seen as an intrusion of American commercialism taking over."

After writing an article in Spiegel Spezial praising the American college system and its student evaluation of teachers, Markovits received angry letters from German colleagues, one of whom wrote, "We are not, thank God, in America, where universities are just upgraded [secondary] schools." Markovits writes that at a lecture given in 2002, German sociologist Erwin K. Scheuch called for "blocking any attempt to introduce American course credits to German institutions and decried the introduction of performance-oriented salaries, which he said would destroy Germany's 'collegial structures.'"

Markovits says, "What matters to me on a personal level is that I don't like any kind of prejudice, even against the strong or seemingly strong. In the New Statesman, an important British journal, a reviewer said [anti-Americanism] is the only prejudice in Europe which is totally open and even laudable." -- Barbarella

Lecture: "Understanding the Rise of Anti-Americanism in Europe" Wednesday, May 16 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Robinson Auditorium UCSD Main Campus La Jolla Cost: Free Info: 858-822-5297 or http://iicas.ucsd.edu/

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount

'In Europe, if you go to a fancy dinner party and talk about how the Chinese have slitty eyes and are loud, chances are you would not be invited back," says Andrei S. Markovits, author of Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America. "But at the same dinner party no one would think twice about someone saying Yanks are dumb, fat, ugly, uncouth, and on and on. It's a form of prejudice [they] tout." On Wednesday, May 16, Markovits, a professor of comparative politics and German studies at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, will lecture on "Understanding the Rise of Anti-Americanism in Europe" at UCSD.

Markovits argues that, in Europe, the word "American" is often used pejoratively, or "whenever you want to say that something is bad, cheap, uncouth, inauthentic, artificial, but yet also dangerous. What makes it so threatening is that there is a certain form of attractiveness to it; it's alluring. You hate it, and you know it's cheap, and yet somehow you can't quite resist. It's seductive, like pornography."

Markovits stresses that negative sentiments and views of America are driven not only by what America does but by what America "is." In his article "Western Europe's America Problem" written for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Markovits explains that in the German language, amerikanische Bedingungen, or "American conditions," almost always refers to something "at once negative and threatening."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Markovits continues, "In Britain, 'Americanization' and 'American-style' also have an almost exclusively negative connotation -- often with the adjective 'creeping' as a telling modifier in front: 'the creeping Americanization of the car's feel for the road,' 'the cult of guns fueled by creeping Americanization through violent films,'" and so on.

The professor's research revealed that the concept of Americanization connotes "every kind of deterioration in the European world of work." American terms such as "flexibility," "mobility," and "working vacation" have become pervasive in the European business culture. "Yet, rarely, if ever," writes Markovits, "have I read anything about a purported 'Japanization' or -- of increasing relevance -- 'Chinazation' of European work life."

According to Markovits, America has become the face of globalization and modernization, ideologies that represent a potential future for a Europe characterized by homogenization. "Europe in many ways is much more modern than America. The fear is not based in reality; it's an identity issue. If you use a euro, does that mean you are less German? Greeks and Finns do not feel European, but they feel European towards something else, and what is the something else? America. Emotionally, their identity is that they are 'not American.'"

European politicians often exhibit disdain for Americanization. "The best example is the debate about the EU constitution in France, where both sides argued using the concept of Americanization. Chirac wanted the EU constitution to pass because only a strong EU could confront America. Those who were anti-EU said all French should vote against it because the EU would be too much like America."

Markovits says that Europeans abhor Americanization in matters of morality ("America's being the purveyor of the death penalty and of religious fundamentalism, as opposed to Europe's having abolished the death penalty and adhering to an enlightened secularism"), work ethics, sports, schools, and holidays (e.g., American children celebrate Halloween instead of All Saints Day and birthdays rather than "name days"). "It's seen as an intrusion of American commercialism taking over."

After writing an article in Spiegel Spezial praising the American college system and its student evaluation of teachers, Markovits received angry letters from German colleagues, one of whom wrote, "We are not, thank God, in America, where universities are just upgraded [secondary] schools." Markovits writes that at a lecture given in 2002, German sociologist Erwin K. Scheuch called for "blocking any attempt to introduce American course credits to German institutions and decried the introduction of performance-oriented salaries, which he said would destroy Germany's 'collegial structures.'"

Markovits says, "What matters to me on a personal level is that I don't like any kind of prejudice, even against the strong or seemingly strong. In the New Statesman, an important British journal, a reviewer said [anti-Americanism] is the only prejudice in Europe which is totally open and even laudable." -- Barbarella

Lecture: "Understanding the Rise of Anti-Americanism in Europe" Wednesday, May 16 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Robinson Auditorium UCSD Main Campus La Jolla Cost: Free Info: 858-822-5297 or http://iicas.ucsd.edu/

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader