America Through Foreign Eyes

The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, Russia, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies.

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Level Foundation
Duration 34 hours
Course by Rice University
Offered by

About

The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies. The course features five core modules, each covering the perceptions and interactions of particular regions with America, Americans and Americanization.

Modules

Introduction

4 Videos

5 Readings

2 Discussion

1 Assignment

Show info about module content

1 Assignment

Introduction

2 Discussions

Introduction Discussion #1
Introduction Discussion #2

4 Videos

Chapter 1: Course Overview
Chapter 2: America through Foreign Eyes: Introduction to Course
Chapter 3: Perceptions of Other Cultures: Generalizations, Essentialisms, and Stereotypes
Chapter 4: Student Approaches and Course Material

5 Readings

Welcome Survey (complete before beginning course)
How To Complete This Course
Chapter 1, 2, 3: Further Explorations
Introduction Bibliography
Current Events Reading List

America through African Eyes

9 Videos

10 Readings

3 Discussion

3 Assignment

Show info about module content

3 Assignment

Africa - Check for Understanding 1
Africa - Check for Understanding 2
America through African Eyes

3 Discussions

Africa Discussion #1
Africa Discussion #2
Africa Discussion #3

9 Videos

Chapter 1: Introduction: America Through African Eyes
Chapter 2: Africans Appropriating Americans: Elvis and the Chewa of Malawi
Chapter 3: Africans Appropriating Americans: Tupac Shakur in Sierra Leone
Chapter 4: Africans in America: America through Enslaved Peoples' Eyes
Chapter 5: Africans in America: Sudanese Refugees in America: Navigating America in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 6: Africans in America: Africans and Race in America
Chapter 7: African-Americans and Africans in Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah, American Civil Rights, and Ghanaian Independence
Chapter 8: African-Americans and Africans in Ghana: Slave Tourism: How West Africans see African-American Tourists
2020 Update: Barack Obama through Kenyan Eyes

10 Readings

Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Selections from the Narratives of Captured Slaves
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Africa Bibliography
2020 Update: Further Explorations

America Through Chinese Eyes

11 Videos

12 Readings

3 Discussion

3 Assignment

Show info about module content

3 Assignment

China - Check for Understanding 1
China - Check for Understanding 2
America through Chinese Eyes

3 Discussions

China Discussion #1
China Discussion #2
China Discussion #3

11 Videos

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Chinese Cultural System
Chapter 2: First Contact with America and the West
Chapter 3: China's Entry Into the World: Opium, the Unequal Treaties and the Exclusion Act
Chapter 4: From Reform to Revolution
Chapter 5: The New Culture Movement
Chapter 6: Madame Chiang Kaishek: A Study in Chinese and American Interactions in the Republican Era
Chapter 7: America as Enemy and as Friend: The Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution and the Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Chapter 8: China's Re-Entry into the World
Chapter 9: Taiwan and Hong Kong
Chapter 10: Voices from China and Taiwan
2020 Update: Geopolitical Crises since 2015

12 Readings

Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
China Bibliography

Exclusive Chinese Interviews

4 Videos

Show info about module content

4 Videos

Chen Lei, December 7, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Feng Yu, December 7, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Jorge Liu, August 17, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao
Li Zhonggui, August 13, 2014, Interviewed by Dr. Anne Chao

America Through French Eyes

12 Videos

12 Readings

3 Discussion

3 Assignment

Show info about module content

3 Assignment

France - Check for Understanding 1
France - Check for Understanding 2
America through French Eyes

3 Discussions

France Discussion #1
France Discussion #2
France Discussion #3

12 Videos

Chapter 1: France and America: Friend and Foe
Chapter 2: America: Land of Democracy
Chapter 3: America = Modernity
Chapter 4: American Capitalism: Mass Production, Mass Consumption, and Inequality
Chapter 5: Globalization and the Cultural Exception
Chapter 6: Racism and Xenophobia in the United States and France
Chapter 7: Religion and Secularism
Chapter 8: Franco-American Cultural Exchange: Art, Artists, and Art Patrons
Chapter 9: Intellectual Life: The American University
Chapter 9: Simone de Beauvoir at Rice, by Melissa Kean
Chapter 10: America as Hyperreality
2020 Update: France Averts its Gaze

12 Readings

Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
France Bibliography

Exclusive French Interviews

4 Videos

Show info about module content

4 Videos

Marie Darrieussecq, May 20, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Eric Fassin, May 19, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Fabrice Morel, May 22, 2015, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette
Jean-Loup Chrétien, December 7, 2016, Interviewed by Dr. Julie Fette

America Through Mexican Eyes

11 Videos

12 Readings

3 Discussion

3 Assignment

Show info about module content

3 Assignment

Mexico - Check for Understanding 1
Mexico - Check for Understanding 2
America through Mexican Eyes

3 Discussions

Mexico Discussion #1
Mexico Discussion #2
Mexico Discussion #3

11 Videos

Chapter 1: America through Mexican Eyes: Inseparable Histories
Chapter 2: The Gringo, Yankee, and American
Chapter 3: Immigration
Chapter 4: Racism
Chapter 5: Religion
Chapter 6: Temples of Knowledge: Education, Universities and Libraries
Chapter 7: Food
Chapter 8: American Women
Chapter 9: Capitalism and Modernity
Chapter 10: Democracy and Empire
2020 Update: Post-2016: A low point in US-Mexico relations

12 Readings

Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Chapter 10: Further Explorations
2020 Update: Further Explorations
Mexico Bibliography

America through Russian Eyes

9 Videos

10 Readings

3 Discussion

3 Assignment

Show info about module content

3 Assignment

Russia - Check for Understanding 1
Russia - Check for Understanding 2
America through Russian Eyes

3 Discussions

Russia Discussion #1
Russia Discussion #2
Russia Discussion #3

9 Videos

Chapter 1: Russia and the United States: Competing Systems, Failed Dialogues
Chapter 2: Russian Serfs, American Slaves
Chapter 3: The Russian Revolution and American Modernity
Chapter 4: Soviet Hollywood
Chapter 5: Soviet Perceptions of Race in America
Chapter 6: The American National Exhibition, Moscow 1959
Chapter 7: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Chapter 8: Russian Immigrants in the United States
Chapter 9: America, the Model of Democracy: Russia in the 1990s

10 Readings

Chapter 1: Further Explorations
Chapter 2: Further Explorations
Chapter 3: Further Explorations
Chapter 4: Further Explorations
Chapter 5: Further Explorations
Chapter 6: Further Explorations
Chapter 7: Further Explorations
Chapter 8: Further Explorations
Chapter 9: Further Explorations
Russia Bibliography

Reversing the Gaze

7 Videos

2 Readings

3 Discussion

Show info about module content

3 Discussions

Reversing the Gaze Discussion #1
Reversing the Gaze Discussion #2
Reversing the Gaze Discussion #3

7 Videos

Chapter 1: Reversing the Gaze: Africa through American Eyes
Chapter 2: Reversing the Gaze: China through American Eyes
Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Fung
Chapter 3: Reversing the Gaze: France through American Eyes
Chapter 4: Reversing the Gaze: Mexico through American Eyes
Chapter 5: Reversing the Gaze: Russia through American Eyes
Rice Students Discuss America Through Foreign Eyes

2 Readings

End-of-Course Survey (complete after finishing the course)
Reversing the Gaze and Current Affairs

Auto Summary

"America Through Foreign Eyes" is an interdisciplinary course from Rice University on Coursera, exploring global perceptions of the United States. With faculty expertise across various disciplines, it delves into how regions like France, Mexico, China, Russia, and African countries view America. The course spans five core modules and is perfect for those interested in World Cultures and American Studies. It offers Starter and Professional subscription options, catering to foundational-level learners.