I really enjoyed reading Coping with Anti-Americanism and feel it is a must read for prospective U.S. study abroad students and their parents as well as for the greater international education community and other campus/organizational stakeholders. Graham provides the reader with a clear picture of the realities American students face while abroad and she puts into perspective their place in the world outside of U.S. borders. Graham's work challenges U.S. students to take a step back and do some critical thinking on how the U.S. is viewed abroad and how they will be viewed and how they will represent the U.S. while studying abroad. In addition to providing prospective U.S. study abroad students with valuable insight and guidance on how to cope with the anti-Americanism abroad they are bound to encounter this book is a valuable guide for study abroad program staff to inform discussions with students and their parents as well as for preparing pre-departure orientations and related meetings.
Chapters in Coping with Anti-Americanism are as follows:
1. American and Americans Through Foreign Eyes
2. The Land Without a History
3. Perceptions of Religion and the American South
4. Multiculturalism, Political Correctness, and Perceptions of a Divided America
5. "American Idiots"
6. The President of the Earth
7. Sheriff to Gunfighter: The United States and the World
8. Superpower Diplomacy
9. Ambassador for Life
Coping with Anti-Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Studying Abroad is published by Potomac Books and is available for purchase here.
A note about the author Carol Madison Graham: in 1981 Graham joined the U.S. Diplomatic Service and worked in France, Lebanon, Tunisia and in the United Arab Emirates. In 2002 she was appointed to the UK Fulbright Commission as Executive Director and was the first American to ever hold this position. She is now a board member of the Marshall Scholarships and a trustee of the Carnegie U.K. Trust. She is available for speaking engagements and you can contact her here if you wish to further explore such an opportunity.
Graham also maintains the Engage Abroad! (which I have on my blogroll) and she is on Twitter at @engageabroad.
Thank you very much for sharing the existence of this book. I imagine that international students in the U.S. face similar circumstances and it stands to reason that there may be issues with American students abroad. The brief chapter layout makes clear some of the reasons for anti Americanism abroad.
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Thank you David for sharing this book. It seems like an excellent book. I can see from the titles listed above that it really discusses the reasons that most people provide for their feelings of anti-Americanism. My favorite is, "Sheriff to Gunfighter: The United States and the World".
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